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Status Card Tax Exemption

Admin

A registered Indian buying on reserve doesn't pay GST, and often not PST. Use this to stop charging those taxes to customers whose status card (Certificate of Indian Status) you have seen, and to keep the registration number on every exempt sale as proof for an audit.

Quick steps​

  1. Go to Settings, click Edit Settings, and open the Tax & Compliance tab.
  2. Under Status card exemption, tick the taxes status card holders don't pay: GST / HST, PST, or both. Both are off until you tick them.
  3. Click Update Settings.
  4. Add the customer's card: open the customer (at the register, or Customers in the back office), enter the 10-digit registration number, and tick I have seen the card.
  5. Check it: attach that customer to a sale at the register. The GST line shows $0.00 and the cart shows Status # 1234567890 — GST exempt.
The card has to be verified

A number on its own doesn't take tax off. Only a card a staff member has looked at and ticked I have seen the card does. The customer's profile shows who verified it and when.

At the register​

  • Customer details → Status card: add or change the number, band / First Nation and card expiry. If the number is on file but not verified, tap I've seen the card — verify once you've looked at the card. The sale on screen updates straight away.
  • New customer: the form has a Status card number box, with I have seen the card under it.
  • Customer search finds a customer by their status number, typed with or without spaces.
  • Take the customer off the sale and the tax comes back.
  • Verifying a card needs a connection. Offline, you can still type a number in; it is verified later.

What's exempt​

  • GST / HST: in single-tax mode this is your one tax rate (for example HST in Ontario).
  • PST: only with split tax (GST + PST).
  • The additional tax (for example the vapour products tax) is still charged.
  • When you charge tax on delivery and shipping fees, the exempt taxes come off the fee too.

Receipts and records​

  • Printed and emailed receipts show Status # 1234567890 — GST exempt under the tax.
  • Each exempt sale keeps the number used, which taxes were exempt, and the tax not collected. Changing or removing the customer's card later doesn't change past sales.
  • A return of an exempt sale refunds no exempt tax (none was charged).

Online orders​

  • Customers can enter their status number on their online account and at checkout. It stays not verified until staff see the card.
  • Online orders are always taxed in full; the order notes show the number they gave.
  • When the customer comes in, load the order into the register (Load into Register), verify the card if needed, and take payment. The exemption comes off then, and the order is completed at the lower total.
  • An order already paid online by card keeps its tax. WooCommerce orders keep the tax charged on your website.

Reports​

  • Reports → Status card exemptions lists every exempt sale in a date range: customer, status number, taxes exempted and the tax not collected, with totals. Export CSV for your accountant or the First Nation.
  • The Tax Summary (CSV) on the Sales report adds a Status Card # and Tax Not Collected column.

Common questions​

The customer says they're exempt but the tax is still there. Open their profile. If the card says Not verified, look at the card and tap verify. Also check the store has the tax ticked in Settings → Tax & Compliance.

The card is expired. The profile shows Card expired, but the exemption still applies (the number doesn't change). Ask for the new card and update the expiry when you see it.

A sale was rung offline. It's saved with the exemption the register showed, as long as the card was verified before the register went offline.