Invoicing & payment — Canada
9 posts for this country. We write our own posts per country instead of translations — the source and the date it was checked sit under every one.
Invoicing & payment
Construction holdback in Ontario: released every year since 2026
Ontario's construction holdback keeps ten percent of every payment until liens expire. Since 1 January 2026 the owner must publish a notice within 14 days of each contract anniversary.
Zirko Redaktion11 min read
Invoicing & payment
GST/HST number on an invoice: when you need it and where it goes
The 15-character number, the $100 line where it becomes required, the QST number in Quebec, what a small supplier writes instead, and how your customer checks it.
Zirko Redaktion6 min read
Invoicing & payment
Invoicing for contractors: the $500 tier and holdback
What a Canadian construction invoice has to carry once it passes $500, why GST/HST on holdback is not payable yet, and the 28-day clock that only starts with a proper invoice.
Zirko Redaktion4 min readInvoicing & payment
Alberta prompt payment: 28 days, 7 days, and a proper invoice
The Prompt Payment and Construction Lien Act gives an owner 28 days from a proper invoice and a contractor 7 days from being paid. Invoice at least every 31 days.
Zirko Redaktion12 min readInvoicing & payment
BC Builders Lien Act: 45 days from the head contract
BC counts from the head contract, not your last day on site. Forty-five days to file, fifty-five days of holdback, one year to enforce — and an owner can cut that to 21 days.
Zirko Redaktion12 min readInvoicing & payment
Construction lien deadlines: Ontario and Alberta 60 days, BC 45
Ontario gives 60 days to preserve and 90 more to perfect. Alberta gives 60, or 90 for concrete. British Columbia gives 45 days from the head contract and a year to enforce.
Zirko Redaktion11 min readInvoicing & payment
Ontario construction trust funds: directors are personally liable
Money received by a contractor on account of a contract price is a trust fund for the people who supplied the work. Since 2018 it must sit in an account in the trustee's name.
Zirko Redaktion11 min readInvoicing & payment
GST/HST on holdback: no tax before the holdback is payable
Subsection 168(7) of the Excise Tax Act carves out holdback: tax is payable on the earlier of the day that part is paid and the day it becomes payable.
Zirko Redaktion11 min readInvoicing & payment
Ontario prompt payment: 28 days, 7 days, and a new invoice rule
An owner pays within 28 days of a proper invoice, a contractor within 7 days. Since 1 January 2026 a deficient invoice is deemed proper unless the owner objects within seven days.
Zirko Redaktion11 min read
