---
title: "Invoice tax showing incorrectly or not removable"
slug: "how-do-i-remove-tax-from-an-invoice"
updated: 2026-08-24T20:31:50Z
published: 2026-08-28T12:00:05Z
canonical: "help.servicetitan.com/how-do-i-remove-tax-from-an-invoice"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.servicetitan.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Invoice tax showing incorrectly or not removable

![](https://cdn.document360.io/961862ab-d0f2-4d91-bb62-a62ee8184eff/Images/Documentation/anvil-wrench.png) Troubleshooting **Role:** Administrator · Bookkeeper · Office Admin**Area:** Accounting · Invoicing · Pricebook · Tax Zones · All versions

## **What you're seeing**

An Invoice has a tax amount that should not be there, or the tax amount is wrong. This may show up in several ways: the invoice has tax even though no service was performed, the customer and location are set to non-taxable but the invoice still charges tax, the tax field is grayed out and cannot be edited, membership tasks are generating tax when they should be exempt, or a technician turns off the tax toggle but it reverts back to On automatically. The issue may affect a single invoice or multiple invoices across different customers.

## **Why this happens**

There are 5 common reasons.

**Reason 1**

**The tax was manually edited or auto-calculated before the customer was marked non-taxable.** The tax field was manually edited by a technician who has the Edit invoice tax amounts permission, or the tax was auto-calculated when the invoice was created before the customer was marked non-taxable.

**Reason 2**

**The invoice is posted or exported, so the tax field is locked.** The tax field is grayed out because the invoice has already been posted or exported, so it cannot be edited directly.

**Reason 3**

**The customer/location wasn't non-taxable when the task was added, or a task's Taxable checkbox is selected.** The customer or location profile was not set to non-taxable at the time the task was added to the invoice, or individual tasks have their Taxable checkbox selected.

**Reason 4**

**Membership tasks in Pricebook have the Taxable option selected.** Membership sale or Billing tasks in Pricebook have the Taxable option selected, which causes membership invoices to include tax.

**Reason 5**

**The invoice was exported and the customer already paid the incorrect tax.** The invoice was exported with incorrect tax and the customer has already been charged, so offsetting the balance is not enough. The tax correction has to be paired with a refund to return the money.

## **Before you start**

- You need permissions to edit invoices, create adjustment invoices, and process refunds. If you don't have these permissions, contact your admin.
- If the invoice has a payment applied to it, you need to unapply the payment before you can edit the tax field. Reapply the payment after making changes.

## **How to fix it**

Run these checks in order. Most issues are resolved by Check 1.

### **1****Remove tax by editing the invoice tax field directly**

Use this if the tax field is editable (the invoice is not yet posted or exported).

1. Search for and go to the invoice with the incorrect tax amount.
2. On the invoice record, check if there is a payment applied to the invoice.
3. If there is a payment, click **Unapply** to remove it temporarily.
4. Click **Update invoice details**.
5. On the Update Invoice Details screen, change the amount in the **Tax** field to $0.00.
6. Click **Save**.
7. If you unapplied a payment in step 3, reapply the payment to the invoice.

> [!NOTE]
> **✓ Done ·** If the tax field was editable and you set it to $0.00, the invoice no longer shows tax. You're done.

### **2****If the tax field is grayed out, use an adjustment invoice to offset the tax**

Use this if the tax field cannot be edited directly. An adjustment invoice can only be added to a posted invoice, so step 1 covers the case where the original is still pending. If the customer has already paid the incorrect tax, use Check 5 instead.

1. Post the original invoice if it is not already posted.
2. Click **Add an Adjustment Invoice** on the invoice screen.
3. On the adjustment invoice, add a service item from your Pricebook (such as a miscellaneous or adjustment service item). If you don't have one, create one in Pricebook first.
4. Set the quantity to **-1** and set the price to the tax amount you want to remove.
5. Click **Save**.

> [!NOTE]
> **✓ Done ·** If the adjustment invoice was created successfully, the tax amount is offset on the original invoice balance. You're done.

> [!NOTE]
> **Only if you use Avalara:** An invoice can also be locked on the Avalara side. Posting an invoice commits the transaction in Avalara, and closing an accounting period with a **Close Through Date** commits it as well. Once Avalara files the sales tax report for a transaction, you can no longer unpost that invoice in ServiceTitan. Use the adjustment invoice in Check 2, and correct the filed transaction in Avalara. See the [**Avalara integration guide**](https://help.servicetitan.com/docs/avalara-integration-guide).

### **3****If the customer or location is non-taxable but the invoice still shows tax, verify the Non-Taxable settings and task-level Taxable toggles**

Use this if the customer or location should be exempt but tax is still charging.

1. Open the invoice and click **Edit Task** for each task on the invoice.
2. Check if the **Taxable** checkbox is selected on any task. If it is, the customer or location may not have been marked non-taxable when the task was added, or the checkbox was manually selected.
3. Open the customer profile and click **Edit**.
4. In the Customer Details section, confirm the **Non-Taxable** checkbox is selected. If it is not, select it and click **Save**.
5. If individual tasks on the invoice still show as taxable, edit each task and clear the **Taxable** checkbox.
6. If the invoice still shows tax after clearing the checkboxes, you may need to recreate the invoice using an adjustment invoice (see Check 2).

> [!NOTE]
> **✓ Done ·** If the customer is now marked non-taxable and the task-level Taxable checkboxes are cleared, future invoices for this customer will not include tax. For the current invoice, the tax should update after editing. You're done.

### **4****If membership invoices are generating tax, update the Taxable setting in Pricebook**

Use this if tax appears on membership sale, billing, or renewal invoices.

1. Go to the navigation bar and click **Pricebook**.
2. Find and select the specific tasks used exclusively for memberships (sale tasks, billing tasks, Renewal tasks).
3. Confirm that the **Taxable** option is NOT selected for those tasks.
4. Click **Save**.
5. As an alternative, you can create a dedicated business unit for memberships and set its default tax rate to 0.0%, then assign all memberships to that business unit. This alternative does not work if your account uses the Avalara integration, because Avalara calculates the tax instead of the business unit default tax rate.

> [!NOTE]
> **✓ Done ·** If the Taxable option was selected on membership tasks and you cleared it, future membership invoices will not generate tax. For existing invoices with incorrect tax, use Check 1 or Check 2 to correct them. You're done.

### **5****If the invoice is exported and tax was charged incorrectly, create an adjustment invoice and issue a refund**

Use this if the invoice has already been exported and the customer was charged tax in error. Use this instead of Check 2 when the customer has already paid, so the money has to be returned rather than offset against the balance.

1. Search for and go to the invoice with the incorrect tax.
2. Click **Add an adjustment invoice**.
3. On the Add a Task screen, add a negative refund task and enter the amount of the tax that was incorrectly charged.
4. Click **Save**.
5. On the adjustment invoice screen, click **Collect and apply payment**.
6. On the Add a Payment screen, enter the tax amount as a negative amount.
7. On the **Type** dropdown, select **Refund**.
8. In the **Memo** field, enter "Refund" or a description of the tax correction.
9. Click **Save**.

> [!NOTE]
> **✓ Done ·** If the adjustment invoice and refund were created, the incorrect tax is offset and the customer has been refunded. You're done.

## **Still not working?**

Contact ServiceTitan Technical Support at [**go.servicetitan.com/ask**](https://go.servicetitan.com/ask) with:

- The invoice number(s) and customer name(s)
- Whether the invoice is pending, posted, or exported
- The tax amount showing and what it should be
- Whether your account uses an external tax engine (such as Avalara)
- Screenshots of the invoice tax field, the customer Non-Taxable setting, and any error messages
- Which checks from this article you already tried

## **Want to learn more?**

[**Update the tax zone of an invoice: recommended workflow ›**](https://help.servicetitan.com/docs/update-the-tax-zone-of-an-invoice-recommended-workflow) Walks through the recommended steps for correcting the tax zone assigned to an invoice.

[**Create an adjustment invoice ›**](https://help.servicetitan.com/docs/create-an-adjustment-invoice) Explains how to build an adjustment invoice to correct charges on a posted or exported invoice.

[**Bulk edit pricebook items ›**](https://help.servicetitan.com/docs/bulk-edit-pricebook-items) For updating the Taxable flag across multiple items at once.

[**Tax zones not auto-populating on POS invoices ›**](https://help.servicetitan.com/docs/tax-zones-not-auto-populating-on-pos-invoices) For a related POS-specific tax zone issue.

[**Taxes not showing on invoice ›**](https://help.servicetitan.com/docs/taxes-not-showing-on-invoice) For the opposite symptom (tax missing when it should be there).

A zone is a group of zip codes. Zones are generally used for organizational purposes. By setting up Zones in ServiceTitan, a color coded system will be created to help you organize jobs in certain locations both on the Dispatch Board and the Schedule Page. You may refer to zones as service areas within your business.

[Learn more →](https://help.servicetitan.com/docs/servicetitan-glossary) · [See the full glossary →](https://help.servicetitan.com/docs/glossary-overview)

The finalized billing document sent to a customer after work is completed, generated from job records in ServiceTitan.

**What it does:** Records all work performed and charges for accurate payment collection, financial reporting, and accounting integration.

**Also called:** Bill, Work order invoice

**Tags:** Core

[See the full glossary →](https://help.servicetitan.com/docs/glossary-overview)

A pricebook service item added to a billing invoice template for an ongoing membership. Every ongoing membership type needs a billing task for periodic billing.

[Learn more →](https://help.servicetitan.com/docs/memberships-glossary) · [See the full glossary →](https://help.servicetitan.com/docs/glossary-overview)

A pricebook service item that activates a membership when added to an invoice. Every membership type needs a sale task to sell the membership.

[Learn more →](https://help.servicetitan.com/docs/memberships-glossary) · [See the full glossary →](https://help.servicetitan.com/docs/glossary-overview)

A pricebook service item that renews a membership when added to an invoice. Every fixed-duration membership type needs a renewal task to renew the membership.

[Learn more →](https://help.servicetitan.com/docs/memberships-glossary) · [See the full glossary →](https://help.servicetitan.com/docs/glossary-overview)