Cornerspot lets you apply tax to a subscription at two levels: on individual line items, and across the whole subscription. Both are set while you're creating the subscription — like line items and discounts, taxes can't be changed afterward. The rates you choose are reflected in the period total and flow onto every invoice the subscription generates. This guide shows you how to apply both.
Two levels of tax on a subscription
- Per-line tax rates are added inside an individual line item's Taxes & discounts panel — use these when a specific product or charge is taxed.
- Subscription-level taxes are added with the + Add tax rate picker under Subscription-level taxes. These apply to the subscription's post-discount subtotal and exclude the line-level taxes, so there's no compounding.
In both cases the tax rates come from your tax-rate catalog and are shown with their percentage (for example, State Sales Tax (8.5%)).
How to apply taxes to a subscription
1. Start a new subscription
From the dashboard, open Subscriptions (under Members & Billing) and click New Subscription in the top-right corner.
2. Pick the customer and the basics
Choose the Customer (the account you're billing), set the Billing frequency and Starts on date, and add an optional description. Then you're ready to add what the subscription charges for.
3. Add a line item
Click Add line item and pick a product from your catalog (or add a custom line), then set the quantity and unit price. You'll apply the per-line tax to this line next.
4. Add a per-line tax rate
On the line item, open the Taxes & discounts panel. Under Tax rates, use + Add tax rate and choose a rate from your catalog. The line's total updates to include the tax.
5. Add a subscription-level tax
Scroll to Subscription-level taxes and use the + Add tax rate picker to add a rate that applies to the whole subscription. As the form notes, this is “Applied to the subscription's post-discount subtotal. Excludes line-level taxes (no compounding).”
6. Create the subscription
The chosen taxes are reflected in the period total. When everything looks right, click Create Subscription. Cornerspot saves it and opens the new subscription's detail page, and the taxes will appear on every invoice it generates.
Good to know
- Set at creation only: Taxes — like line items and discounts — can only be set while you're creating the subscription. To change them later, cancel the subscription and create a new one.
- No compounding: Subscription-level taxes apply to the post-discount subtotal and exclude line-level taxes, so a line's tax is never taxed again at the subscription level.
- Snapshotted: A subscription saves the name and rate of each tax you choose at creation, so later edits to your tax-rate catalog don't retroactively change existing subscriptions.
- On every invoice: The taxes you apply flow onto each invoice the subscription generates.
Tips
- Maintain your tax-rate catalog in billing settings so the rates you need are ready in the + Add tax rate pickers.
- Attach default tax rates to a product so they pre-fill on the line item when you add it.
- Use a per-line rate when only some charges are taxed, and a subscription-level rate for a tax that applies across the board.