Overview
Navigate to Settings > Tax Codes to create and manage the tax codes used across your Jack account. Tax codes tell the system how tax should be applied to a transaction, such as an invoice, bill, allowance, or change order.
⚠️ You'll need to link your accounting software before adding and syncing tax codes. See How to Connect to QuickBooks for details.
Tax Codes and Tax Rates
Tax codes in Jack are reusable rate references applied to line items throughout the platform. Each code stores a name, one or more rate percentages, and an optional description to help your team pick the right code when building estimates or processing invoices. Jack supports multiple tax codes to accommodate varying rates across states/provinces, trade types, or jurisdictions.
A Tax Code is made up of one or more child Tax Rates:
Tax Rate | What it means |
Sales | The tax charged to your client. |
Purchases (Remittable) | The portion of tax you can claim back via your tax filing. |
Purchases (Non-Remittable) | The portion of tax you pay to a supplier but can't recover. |
Country Differences: US vs. Canada
Tax processing is a bit more layered in Canada than the US, since Canadian tax codes commonly use all three rate types together, while US tax codes typically only need two.
| United States | Canada |
Sales | Used as normal. | Used as normal. |
Purchases (Remittable) | Not typically used. A rate must still exist for the connection to work — create a 0% rate in QuickBooks and link it to the Purchases (Remittable) field in Jack. | Used as normal — e.g. GST/HST, remitted to the CRA or a provincial tax authority. |
Purchases (Non-Remittable) | Used as normal — tax paid to a supplier but not recoverable. | Used as normal — e.g. PST. Stored as a separate percentage and shown in the Effective Purchases Rate header on the Tax Code Selector. |
Naming example | State abbreviation or rate, e.g. "TX Sales Tax" | Province abbreviation or rate, e.g. "QC Sales Tax" |
💡 US users: because Purchases (Remittable) isn't commonly used, the 0%-rate workaround above is what makes the required Sales + Purchases (Remittable) connection possible in Jack. This isn't optional — Jack currently requires both fields linked regardless of country.
Setting Up Tax Codes in QuickBooks
Before creating a tax code in Jack, the matching tax code(s) must exist in QuickBooks.
US: Navigate to All Apps > Sales Tax > Sales Tax Settings, then add a custom rate
for Sales and one for Purchases (Remittable), the latter set to 0%.
Canada: Navigate to All Apps > Sales Tax > Overview >
QuickBooks Canada usually has prefilled rates per province; if one doesn't exist, add a custom tax and agency, checking both "I collect this on sales" and "I pay this on purchases," with the respective percentages.
Creating a Tax Code in Jack
Navigate to Settings > Tax Codes and select the 
.
Enter a Name for the code, this is what your team sees when selecting a tax code on a line item, so use a clear reference (e.g. "TX Sales Tax" or "QC Sales Tax").
Add an optional description, set the Type dropdown, and enter the Rate as a percentage.
Use Add Tax Rate to add a secondary Purchases (Remittable) or Purchases (Non-Remittable) rate.
Click Save.
💡 The Purchases (Non-Remittable) field stays editable in Jack and doesn't require a corresponding QuickBooks rate.
Default Tax Code
Enable Set as Default and save. The default tax code pre-populates on new line items and new Estimates/Jobs automatically, cutting down on manual selection.
Migrating Tax Codes
Click the Tax Codes button in the banner, or navigate to Settings > Accounting and Payments > Tax Codes.
Open a Tax Code.
Click
.Then choose
.
In the Migrate Tax Codes window, link the QuickBooks and Jack rates via the dropdown.
Finally, choose Migrate Tax Code to save.
Once migrated, Jack takes on the tax code information as it appears in QuickBooks, and the code becomes a QuickBooks Tax Code. This is shown both in the Edit Tax Code menu and with a visual indicator on the Tax Codes list.
⚠️ Tax codes map one-to-one. If you migrate a Jack tax code linked to a QuickBooks code, then create a second Jack tax code and try to map it to that same QuickBooks code, the second one will be removed from Jack's list — only the original linked code remains.
Managed vs. Unmanaged Tax Codes
Managed (synced via QuickBooks): Sales and Purchases (Remittable) rate fields are locked and controlled by QuickBooks. Jack still lets you add and edit the Purchases (Non-Remittable) rate on a managed code, since that rate doesn't exist in QuickBooks:
Navigate to Settings > Tax Codes and open the code.
The synced rates appear locked; Purchases (Non-Remittable) stays editable.
Enter the applicable percentage and save.
The non-remittable percentage then appears alongside the remittable rate in the Tax Code Selector header, giving a full picture of the total tax position for that code.
Unmanaged (not linked to an integration): All rates are fully editable in Jack, but the code won't be available for use in an estimate until it's connected to QuickBooks.
Editing a Tax Code
Navigate to Settings > Tax Codes, select the code, adjust the Name, Rate, or Description, and save. Existing line items using this code reflect the updated rate going forward.
⚠️ Once a Tax Code is linked to QuickBooks, the Sales and Purchases (Remittable) Types can't be edited in Jack. Manage percentage changes in QuickBooks and refresh in Jack, or create a separate new tax code.
Applying Tax Codes
Navigate to the relevant estimate, bill, or client invoice and select a line item to set its tax code (e.g. Estimates > Costings > Tax Code Selector, or Finance > Bills). Choose the applicable code from the dropdown; the tax amount calculates automatically based on that code's rate.
You can apply different tax codes to individual line items within the same document where mixed rates apply.
💡 Once your tax codes are migrated and defaults are set, you're ready to sync bills and invoices with QuickBooks.