# How to Set a Default Tax for a Client

> Set a default tax per client in NIZU and have it applied automatically to every invoice, estimate, proposal, subscription and order. Save time and stop tax mistakes. (Clients)

- Page: https://dashboard.nizu.io/knowledge_base/view/137-how-to-set-a-default-tax-for-a-client
- Part of: [Knowledge base](https://dashboard.nizu.io/knowledge_base/llms.txt) on NIZU — https://dashboard.nizu.io/llms.txt
- Updated: 2026-10-25T11:50:03Z

### How to Set a Default Tax for a Client

Apply the correct tax to a client's invoices, estimates, proposals, subscriptions and orders automatically set it once on the client, and NIZU fills it in every time.

> Why this matters
> Choosing the tax by hand on every document is slow and easy to get wrong especially when several people on your team raise invoices for the same clients. One forgotten or incorrect tax can mean a wrong total, a compliance problem, or an awkward correction with the customer later.

Client Default Tax fixes this at the source. You decide a client's tax once, on the client record, and from then on:

- The right tax is pre-filled automatically on every new invoice, estimate, proposal, subscription and order.
- Your whole team stays consistent nobody has to remember each client's tax.
- Fewer mistakes, fewer corrections, faster billing.
- On store orders that clients place themselves, the tax is enforced, so self-service orders are always charged correctly.

It saves time and prevents errors without taking control away from your team, who can still adjust the tax on any document before saving.

### Before you start

You need permission to manage invoices (the same access that lets you see a client's currency and billing fields).

The tax you want to use must already exist in your workspace's tax settings. If it's missing, add it there first, then come back.

Step-by-step: set a client's default tax:

**Step 1** Open the client Go to Clients and open the client you want (or click Add client to create a new one).

**Step 2** Edit the client Click Edit to open the client form.

**Step 3** Find the Default tax field Scroll to the billing fields, near Currency and VAT number. You'll see a field labelled Default tax.

**Step 4** Choose the tax Select the tax that normally applies to this client from the dropdown.

The list shows the taxes defined in your workspace.

To set no default, leave the dash (-) selected.

**Step 5** Save Click Save. Done the client now has a default tax.

Step-by-step: see it in action

**Step 1** Create a new document Start a new invoice (or estimate, proposal, subscription, or order) for that client.

**Step 2** Watch the Tax field fill in As soon as the client is selected, the Tax field is filled with their default tax automatically. Change the client and the suggestion updates to match.

**Step 3** Keep, change, or clear it You're free to keep the suggested tax, switch it, or remove it. Nothing is locked and nothing is saved until you save the document.

**Step 4** Save the document Save as normal. The tax is recorded only when you save.

> Self-service store orders: When a client places an order through your online store, their default tax is applied automatically and cannot be changed during checkout and the tax shown in their cart matches the final order.

Good to know

1. Primary tax only. The default fills the main Tax field. A second tax or tax-deducted-at-source field is left untouched.
2. Existing documents never change. Setting or updating a client's default tax only affects documents created afterwards.
3. Documents made from another document keep their tax. An invoice generated from an estimate keeps the estimate's tax rather than overriding it.
4. Blank means no default. A client with no default tax behaves exactly as before the field simply starts empty.
5. Need to correct a store order? Open it in your team view and edit the tax there. The "can't change" rule applies only to the client at checkout.