topic Re: Set default tax rate for customer or company in Commerce Tools

Set default tax rate for customer or company

JGrace8 — Wed, 16 Jul 2025 00:36:27 GMT

Is it possible to set up a default tax rate for a specific customer or company?

For example, in Canada, resellers who buy physical goods at wholesale price get charged a different tax than customers who buy a product at retail.

This is not always location dependent. It is buyer-dependent.

I would like to click to create an invoice for a customer or company, and have a configured tax rate applied automatically, without having to either:

Manually set a tax rate for every line item
Set a one-time tax rate for the entire invoice

How can this be done?

And, if we sync with Quickbooks, and Quickbooks has the customer's default tax rate set up, will that information sync with Hubspot's invoicing tool?

Thank you

Re: Set default tax rate for customer or company

BérangèreL — Wed, 16 Jul 2025 09:47:12 GMT

Hi @JGrace8 and Happy Wednesday!

Great question, thanks for asking the HubSpot Community!

Would this Beta "Set up automated sales tax collection" help you for your use case?

Also, I'd love to invite our Top Experts and Community Members to this discussion: Hi @danmoyle, @HubDoPete, @minna_pre and @ScottPennwood do you have any tips to help @JGrace8, please?

Have a wonderful day and thanks so much in advance!
Bérangère

Re: Set default tax rate for customer or company

JGrace8 — Tue, 22 Jul 2025 18:07:02 GMT

Hello, As far as I can see in the link provided above "Set up automated sales tax collection" the tool could be used to apply taxes based on products and customer location. I have not yet found any documentation about applying taxes based on customer or transaction type, such as for wholesale orders.

The section about QuickBooks (QBO) syncing says that HubSpot invoices can sync to QBO. It doesn't mention whether or not QBO can sync its tax rates to HubSpot. Would this be possible if the customer name is a match?

Is there a way to find out the answers to these questions from an official source? I have been researching and so far can not find anything. Maybe I'm missing something, however.

I appreciate your help.

Re: Set default tax rate for customer or company

danmoyle — Thu, 24 Jul 2025 07:36:45 GMT

Hey there @JGrace8. Interesting use case here. As far as I know, HubSpot doesn't currently support automatically assigning a default tax rate at the customer or company level in a way that would, for example, charge all wholesale buyers a specific tax rate, regardless of their location or the individual invoice. As you're seeing, the current HubSpot approach focuses on product- and location-based tax automation, not buyer type.

As for QuickBooks, I found that a few folks have reported issues where HubSpot's tax data model does not perfectly align with QuickBooks, especially regarding bi-directional sync and product-specific tax rates; certain settings in QuickBooks (like customer-specific tax rates) do not carry over to HubSpot’s invoice creation UI or workflow.

Most resurces I've seen recommend either manually setting the rate on each invoice/line or relying on product/location automation.

I'd definitely add this to this Idea: "Set default tax rate for customer or company" for HubSpot product managers to see.

Re: Set default tax rate for customer or company

JGrace8 — Wed, 23 Jul 2025 18:40:03 GMT

Thank you, I have submitted the idea: https://community.hubspot.com/t5/HubSpot-Ideas/Set-default-tax-rate-for-customer-or-company/idi-p/1180124#M216025

Do you know: if we use QuickBooks for our estimates and invoices, will the HubSpot sync at least be able to show our QuickBooks estimates and invoices as deals?

Since it looks like we will have to use QuickBooks to create invoices with the correct tax rates, in our case, it won't make sense to be creating invoices in QuickBooks and then re-creating every order as a deal in HubSpot. However, we need this to keep track of sales reports. So even if the QuickBooks invoices could just show deal amounts in HubSpot, that would be somewhat helpful...

Re: Set default tax rate for customer or company

danmoyle — Wed, 23 Jul 2025 19:02:55 GMT

Hi @JGrace8. As I understand the connection, by default, HubSpot’s native QuickBooks integration does not automatically create HubSpot deals from QuickBooks invoices or estimates. You may view QuickBooks invoices and estimates in HubSpot but only as invoice objects, not as deals for pipeline and sales reporting purposes. It is possible to manually associate a synced invoice record to a deal within HubSpot after import, but this adds manual steps and is not fully automated.

I've seen some third-party connectors and middleware tools (SyncQ, ConnectInDigital, ScaleXP) claim they can sync QuickBooks estimates and invoices to HubSpot deals, or at least log them as notes or activities within deals, enabling more advanced reporting. I haven't verified that, though.

Re: Set default tax rate for customer or company

JGrace8 — Wed, 23 Jul 2025 20:09:24 GMT

I see, thank you. I appreciate your detailed reply and willingness to help.

Re: Set default tax rate for customer or company

BérangèreL — Thu, 24 Jul 2025 07:40:47 GMT

Thank you so much @danmoyle for your valuable contributions, it is really appreciated! ⭐

And thanks @JGrace8 for creating the Idea and sharing the link here, so helpful! And that way, other Community Members can add their votes! ❤️

I have just upvoted the idea 🙌

Have a great day! 🌞
Bérangère

Re: Set default tax rate for customer or company

danmoyle — Thu, 24 Jul 2025 12:29:37 GMT

You got it, @BérangèreL! And +1 to the sharing of the idea post, @JGrace8. I upvoted and commented. 😊

Re: Set default tax rate for customer or company

JGrace8 — Thu, 24 Jul 2025 18:29:21 GMT

Thank you both @BérangèreL and @danmoyle

Re: Set default tax rate for customer or company

BérangèreL — Fri, 25 Jul 2025 12:14:25 GMT

Hi @JGrace8, just to clarify on this, the data sync is from HubSpot to QuickBooks Online.

And we only support at the moment the one-way sync from HubSpot to QuickBooks Online.

This article has been edited so that it is clearer: "Set up automated sales tax collection".

Thanks and have a great weekend!
Bérangère

Re: Set default tax rate for customer or company

HubDoPete — Wed, 30 Jul 2025 16:13:36 GMT

Hi @JGrace8

I had several customers with similar needs to yours; to automate taxes on a per-buyer company and quote basis, along with a few other wishlist items, such as a simpler quote number. So we developed a HubSpot plugin called 'DoQuotes'. It's been in beta for some time, because we're waiting on a few new features from HubSpot to round out the administration interface, keeping everything inside HubSpot.

The plugin app adds an "Add Tax to Quote" workflow action to HubSpot. So for example, a business in Canada uses a workflow to set a different tax rate on each quote, based on buyer type and ship-to location. In some provinces, the workflow adds two tax types. A company in Germany uses a similar workflow to set different taxes if the buyer country is within the European Economic Community (EEC).

Please send me a message if you would like to try this plugin to see if it solves what you need for now.

best

Pete

Re: Set default tax rate for customer or company

danmoyle — Wed, 30 Jul 2025 17:13:58 GMT

@HubDoPete this is great! I hope more people can take advantage of it. Bravo!

Re: Set default tax rate for customer or company

Taxiom — Sat, 23 Aug 2025 11:33:07 GMT

If it helps, there's a new app available in the HubSpot Marketplace, Sales Tax Powered by AvaTax. Instead of trying to manually manage HubSpot rate tables, you can leverage Avalara's tax engine to automate sales tax colculation.

So when you run a Quote, it returns the right tax value on a per line item basis based on current tax regulations.... instead of just returning the HubSpot tax rate based on a table that likely isn't being updated nearly as often as tax rules change.

Hope that saves you a bunch of time!

Re: Set default tax rate for customer or company

JGrace8 — Sat, 23 Aug 2025 19:23:52 GMT

Hello @Taxiom , can you please explain how your plugin applies to the situtation described in this thread? I had a look at it, and the page doesn't say anything about tax rates based on customer or company types. Which "tax rules", and "current tax regulations" are you referring to in your response, specifically as it relates to the question in this thread?

Re: Set default tax rate for customer or company

Taxiom — Sun, 24 Aug 2025 10:16:09 GMT

Hey @JGrace8 , great question. What I’m suggesting is a different approach to achieve what you’re describing. It sounds like you’re aiming to stay compliant but relying on a mix of HubSpot rate tables and custom properties to do it.

The issue with rate tables is they require constant manual updates. Tax rules change often, and most businesses don’t have someone monitoring them closely, which makes the “set it and forget it” approach risky.

The integration we built connects HubSpot to Avalara’s AvaTax engine so Avalara handles tax calculation for you. Here’s how it works:

Map products: HubSpot product codes are mapped to Avalara tax codes so AvaTax knows what you’re selling.
Map customers: Exempt customers in HubSpot are mapped to Avalara so AvaTax knows who qualifies. Since not all exemptions always apply the same way everywhere, Avalara tracks the nuances for you.
Automated calculation: When a Quote is generated in HubSpot, AvaTax applies the right rules in real time based on current tax regulations, not an outdated rate table.

This means AvaTax automatically assesses both the product and the buyer, keeps you more accurate, and reduces risk. It’s also more scalable, if someone on your team leaves, you don’t lose the process.

In short, this integration lets Avalara’s tax engine do the heavy lifting so your team isn’t stuck maintaining compliance manually.

And just for context, I don’t work for Avalara, we’re a separate company and we built this integration because our clients (and we) needed a way to automate sales tax in HubSpot.

Re: Set default tax rate for customer or company

JGrace8 — Thu, 28 Aug 2025 22:23:50 GMT

@Taxiom

"It sounds like you’re aiming to stay compliant but relying on a mix of HubSpot rate tables and custom properties to do it."

--> I never said this.

Without copying and pasting anything, and without giving any information people didn't ask for in this thread, can you please answer the questions I'm asking?

Can you please answer directly: does your solution allow a company to set up a default tax rate for a specific customer or company?

If these customers can not be "exempt" (as you describe them) in HubSpot, how can they be "exempt" in Avalara?

Will this work with wholesale tax exemptions in Canada in some provinces?

Will your tax rules in HubSpot invoices eventually sync with QuickBooks?

Have you tested this exact scenario and can you confirm with 100% certainty it will solve the exact, precise problem presented in this post?

I see you're providing vauge information from copy/paste marketing language that suggests this, but it is not being said for certain.

Re: Set default tax rate for customer or company

Taxiom — Fri, 29 Aug 2025 01:53:45 GMT

@JGrace8 We’re only trying to help, so the sharpness in your reply is a little surprising 😳 . The information provided does answer the questions you asked—yes, this approach will work for your needs.

What we shared wasn’t copy-pasted—it was additional context to explain why the current HubSpot methods won’t really achieve what you’re asking. Even if those methods did work, they wouldn’t be recommended since they could create other issues.

"It sounds like you’re aiming to stay compliant but relying on a mix of HubSpot rate tables and custom properties to do it."

--> I never said this.

--> You didn't have to, it's implied in the posting.

Without copying and pasting anything, and without giving any information people didn't ask for in this thread, can you please answer the questions I'm asking?

--> The question was answered. Additional context was included because while the question itself seems simple, the solution isn’t as straightforward.

Can you please answer directly: does your solution allow a company to set up a default tax rate for a specific customer or company?

--> That’s not the right way to approach the issue—which is what I was trying to explain. The result you’re looking for is achievable, just not in the way you initially assumed.

If these customers can not be "exempt" (as you describe them) in HubSpot, how can they be "exempt" in Avalara?

--> This was answered in the previous post.

Will this work with wholesale tax exemptions in Canada in some provinces?

--> Yes

Will your tax rules in HubSpot invoices eventually sync with QuickBooks?

--> These aren’t “our” rules. What syncs into QuickBooks depends on the tool you’re using to connect the systems and how it’s configured.

Have you tested this exact scenario and can you confirm with 100% certainty it will solve the exact, precise problem presented in this post?

--> Yes

I see you're providing vauge information from copy/paste marketing language that suggests this, but it is not being said for certain.

--> Nothing was 'copy-paste marketing'. The details shared were meant to provide context and explain the methodology behind how this can be accomplished.

Re: Set default tax rate for customer or company

JGrace8 — Fri, 29 Aug 2025 03:58:33 GMT

I apologize for the way I responded and that it surprised you. I appreciate the detailed, item-by-item follow up to the questions asked. With the further information provided, the issue is clearer now. If we have more questions, we will reach out via your plugin's communicaiton and support channels. Thank you for replying so promptly.

Re: Set default tax rate for customer or company

Taxiom — Fri, 29 Aug 2025 07:40:25 GMT

@JGrace8 No worries—tax has a way of making us all a little stir crazy sometimes. If it helps, here’s a clearer breakdown:

For exempt customers you'd upload their certificate into AvaTax along with their HubSpot customer code.
Then when you create a HubSpot Quote, AvaTax automatically checks both the buyer’s address (for taxability) and whether a valid certificate is on file.
If the certificate is valid, the buyer is exempt. If it’s invalid or expired, tax is charged—which is exactly what should happen if they don’t have a valid exemption at the time of purchase.

This method is much more compliant than permanently marking a customer exempt in the invoicing system. Certificates can expire, and when they aren’t re-verified for every purchase, businesses often end up with far fewer valid certificates than they should—creating significant compliance risks.

The same principle applies to products: mapping them between HubSpot and AvaTax allows AvaTax to calculate the correct tax in real time based on what’s being sold, where, and to whom. This is far more reliable than trying to manually look up rates for each Quote.

In both cases, setting taxability of product/buyer manually not only increases compliance risk, but also creates more work—since someone would constantly need to check product taxability and validate certificates before every purchase across all jurisdictions.

Hope that helps and let me know if you have any more questions!