xBoox

Understand GST/HST control accounts and refunds

Understand how xBoox separates GST/HST from income and expenses, and how to record refunds and bank-fee reversals.

When GST/HST tracking is enabled, xBoox separates recoverable or collected GST/HST from the income or expense itself. This keeps Profit and Loss amounts separate from the net tax position.

The three managed tax accounts

  • 1300 GST Installment records an installment or prepayment made to the tax authority. It is not the daily GST/HST transaction account.
  • 2500 GST/HST Payable is the daily net control account. GST/HST collected on income increases it; eligible GST/HST paid or payable on expenses decreases it.
  • 2510 GST/HST Suspense is reserved for an explicit filed-return transfer. xBoox does not currently file GST/HST returns or automatically transfer balances to this account.

xBoox finds these accounts by their protected system identity, not by a matching account name or number.

Examples

Taxable sale

You record a $100 sale plus $5 GST and deposit $105:

  • Income: $100
  • GST/HST Payable: increases by $5
  • Deposit To account: increases by $105

Eligible business purchase

You record a $100 purchase plus $5 GST and pay $105:

  • Expense: $100
  • GST/HST Payable: decreases by $5 for the eligible input tax credit
  • Pay From account: decreases by $105

British Columbia purchase with PST

You record a $100 purchase plus $5 GST and $7 PST and pay $112. If the GST is eligible and the PST is not recoverable:

  • Expense: $107, including the nonrecoverable PST
  • GST/HST Payable: decreases by $5
  • Pay From account: decreases by $112

Review the saved tax breakdown. Eligibility and recoverability depend on the actual transaction and applicable tax rules.

Record a refund or reversal

Use the same Category as the original transaction and record the money in the reverse direction. Do not classify an expense refund as ordinary income merely because money came back.

For a manual refund, enter the amount as a negative value. xBoox keeps money stored as positive cents and records the negative entry as the reverse money direction, so the original Category and its GST/HST effect are reduced together.

Bank fee refunded

If the bank charges $20 and later refunds $20:

  1. Record the original $20 against Bank Charges.
  2. Record the $20 refund against Bank Charges in the reverse money direction.
  3. The net Bank Charges expense is $0.

Purchase returned to a merchant

If you buy a $100 item and later receive a full refund:

  1. Record the purchase against the original expense Category.
  2. Record the refund against that same Category in the reverse money direction.
  3. Review and reverse the saved tax amount when the refund document includes the tax reversal.

For a manually entered transaction that was never valid, an eligible user may instead delete it when the product permits deletion. Use a separate reversing record when preserving the original and refund history is important.

Important boundaries

  • xBoox does not determine whether a tax amount is legally recoverable.
  • PST and other nonrecoverable tax remain part of the applicable cost; they do not reduce account 2500.
  • xBoox does not currently file returns or automatically move account 2500 to account 2510.
  • Consult an accountant when a partial refund, mixed-use purchase, filing adjustment, or prior-period correction is uncertain.