Post tax to its own line and its own Xero account

On a normal synced invoice the tax sits on the product and shipping lines themselves. Xero works it out from the tax rate on each line, shows a single tax total at the foot of the invoice, and books it through whichever account that rate is set up to use.

Some businesses need the tax to be a line of its own on the invoice, and to land in a particular liability account rather than the one sitting behind the tax rate. That's something we set up per store.

How it Works

The product and shipping lines post with no tax on them, and one extra line is added carrying the tax for the whole order. That line goes to the Xero account you nominate, and is labelled Tax unless you'd like different wording — VAT and GST are the usual requests.

The invoice total doesn't change. If your prices already include tax, the product lines come down by the tax that was sitting inside them, and exactly that amount reappears on the tax line, so the invoice still adds up to what the customer paid.

Duties are treated the same way and go to the same account, unless you've asked for a separate one — Setting a duties/tariffs account and tax type covers that. Refunds follow the invoice: when a credit note is raised, the tax comes back off the same account it went to, so the two net off.

If you sell into several countries and each one's tax needs its own account, that can be set per destination country rather than one account for everything.

How to Request Setup

Email us at help@hyvelabs.co with your shop URL, the Xero account the tax should post to, and the wording you want on the line. Tell us as well if it needs to differ by country, and which countries go where.

This changes how invoices are built from the point we switch it on. Invoices already in Xero keep the shape they were posted with.