> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.hiveinspect.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Sales Tax on Inspection Services: Set It Up and See How It's Charged
> Add sales tax to a service in Hive Inspect. Learn what the tax is charged on, how several taxes add up, where clients see it, and what happens to inspections that are already booked.
In the dashboard: Business Tools → Services & Fees → Edit a service → Taxes
## How tax works in Hive
* **Tax is set on each main service**, not for the whole company. Add it to every service you charge tax on.
* **The tax covers the whole order** of an inspection with that service: the base price, add-ons, modifiers, the urgent surcharge and lines you add yourself. Add-ons have no tax of their own.
* **Each tax is a percentage**, such as Sales Tax 6.25%. A service can have several taxes, such as a state tax and a county tax.
* **Tax is worked out by Hive** whenever the price of an inspection is calculated, and shows as its own line.
## Add a tax to a service
Click **Business Tools** in the sidebar, then **Services & Fees**. Click the pencil icon on the service, or **Add New Service** to make a new one.
Scroll to **Taxes** at the bottom of the page and click **Add Tax**. The taxes the service already has are listed here.
| Field | What to enter |
| - | - |
| **Tax Name** (required, up to 50 characters) | The name clients see on the price breakdown and the invoice, such as **Sales Tax**, **HST** or **County Tax**. |
| **Percentage** (required) | The rate, from 0 to 100, such as **6.25**. Hive keeps two decimal places. |
Click **Add Tax**.
On a service you are **editing**, the change saves on its own a moment later, and the **Service Preview** on the right lists the tax under **Taxes**. On a **new** service, click **Save Service** at the bottom of the page.
To change a tax, click its pencil icon. To remove it, click the trash icon and confirm.
Hive keeps two decimal places, so a rate of 8.875% is saved as 8.88%.
## What the tax is charged on
Hive adds up every line of the order before tax and charges the tax on that total:
* the main service's base price
* its modifiers, such as square footage or distance
* add-ons and their modifiers
* the urgent request surcharge
* lines your team adds with **Edit Price or Duration**, such as a trip fee
Discount codes come off before the tax is worked out, so the client never pays tax on money taken off. See [Discount codes and tax](#discount-codes-and-tax).
Each tax is rounded to the cent.
### Example
Home Inspection \$400, square footage \$75, Radon Testing \$150, and a 6.25% Sales Tax:
| Line | Amount |
| - | - |
| Home Inspection | \$400.00 |
| Square Feet | \$75.00 |
| Radon Testing | \$150.00 |
| Sales Tax, 6.25% of \$625.00 | \$39.06 |
| **Total** | **\$664.06** |
### Several taxes on one service
Each tax is charged on the same total before tax. Taxes aren't charged on each other.
For example, a State Tax of 4% and a County Tax of 1.5% on a \$500 order are \$20.00 and \$7.50, so the total is \$527.50.
## Where tax shows
The **Pricing Summary** on the inspection shows each tax as its own line, marked **tax**, after all the other lines. The **Total** includes it.
The tax isn't part of inspector pay splits: payouts are based on the services billed before tax.
* **Online scheduler and quote widget:** the **Estimated Total** doesn't include tax. Tax is added when the inspection is booked.
* **Your public company page:** services with a tax say **plus tax** next to the price.
* **Inspection review link:** the **Pricing Summary** shows each tax as its own line with its name and percentage. The **Total** includes it.
* **Invoice and payment:** the invoice shows the tax as its own line, and the amount the client pays includes it.
* **Agreements and emails:** the `{{{inspection_price}}}` placeholder is the total, tax included. `{{{inspection_price_breakdown}}}` lists the main service, add-ons, discounts, fees and each tax on its own line, then the same total.
## Inspections that are already booked
* **Changing a tax in Services & Fees doesn't change booked inspections on its own.** They keep the tax they were booked with.
* **Tax always follows the total.** When your team edits a price, removes a line or adds a line on an inspection, the tax is worked out again on the new total.
* **When the order changes**, for example your team adds an add-on or a discount code, Hive prices the order again with the service's current taxes. A new rate, a new tax or a removed tax then applies to that inspection.
* **When a client adds an add-on** from the review link or the client portal, the tax already on the order is worked out again on the new total.
* **An inspection booked before you set up the tax** doesn't get it when the client adds an add-on. Ask in the chat bubble in your dashboard and we'll help.
The tax line can't be removed from an inspection. If you type a different tax amount with **Edit Price or Duration**, it is replaced the next time the pricing changes.
## Discount codes and tax
Discount codes come off first and tax is charged on what's left, in the dashboard and on online bookings alike.
* **A fixed code:** a \$50 code on a \$500 order with 10% tax: \$500 − \$50 = \$450, plus \$45 tax = **\$495**.
* **A percentage code:** 10% off the same order: \$500 − \$50 = \$450, plus \$45 tax = **\$495**. The percentage is worked out on the services before tax.
* **A code limited to some services or add-ons** comes off those items only. Tax is then charged on the whole order after the discount.
* **The urgent surcharge** is 25% of the services after discount codes, and tax is charged on it too.
See [Discount codes](/business-tools/discount-codes).
## Tax-exempt clients
There is no tax-exempt setting for a client or an inspection. For clients who don't pay tax, create a copy of the service without the tax and book them with that service:
1. On the **Services & Fees** page, click the copy icon on the service. The copy gets the same price, add-ons, modifiers and taxes, and " - Copy" at the end of its name.
2. Edit the copy: rename it, for example "Home Inspection (Tax Exempt)", and delete its tax.
3. To keep it off your online scheduler, tick **Hidden on scheduler**. Your team can still pick it in the dashboard.
4. If any automations are limited to certain services, add the copy to them.
## QuickBooks
If you use the QuickBooks integration, map each Hive tax to a QuickBooks tax code in the **Tax setup** card on the QuickBooks page. Tax then posts to QuickBooks as sales tax, not as service income. See [QuickBooks: Sales tax](/integrations/quickbooks#sales-tax).
## Frequently asked questions
No. Tax is set on each service. Add the same tax to every service you charge it on. When you copy a service, its taxes are copied too.
Yes. Add-ons have no tax of their own; the main service's tax is charged on the whole order, add-ons and their modifiers included.
The online scheduler and the quote widget show an **Estimated Total** before tax. Tax is added when the inspection is booked, and shows on the review link and the invoice.
Tax is added when an inspection is priced. Inspections booked before you set up the tax don't have it. Ask in the chat bubble in your dashboard and we'll help.
Not on their own. They keep the tax they were booked with until your team changes the order in the dashboard, for example adds an add-on or a discount code. Hive then prices the inspection again with the current rate.
Yes. Add both to the service. Each is charged on the same total before tax, and each shows as its own line.
There is no tax-exempt setting. Book the client with a copy of the service that has no tax. See [Tax-exempt clients](#tax-exempt-clients).
No tax is charged on the card processing fee. Card fees are set up separately in **Business Tools → Payments**.
Next step
Related
This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.