When should I mark a service as a tax in Books?

TB Books · products · Last updated September 30, 2026 · Version 1

This process works in apps: TB Books, TB POS

This article will teach you when to check This is a tax so a tire tax or similar fee stays off tickets for tax-exempt customers.

Some shop fees are government taxes — a state tire fee or tire tax — and a tax-exempt customer should not pay them. Other fees, such as mount and balance or disposal, still belong on that ticket. Check This is a tax on the service. Auto-add rules can keep pointing at it. When the customer’s Default Tax Rate is Tax Exempt, or the document’s tax picker is set to Tax Exempt, Tire Base leaves that service off and does not add sales tax. Labor and fees that are not marked as a tax still auto-add.

Add Service with This is a fee and This is a tax checked. A tax-exempt invoice shows the tire and Mount & Balance, with no State Tire Tax and Taxes at Tax Exempt $0.00.

Steps

Open Products & Services → Services in Books, or Services in POS. The catalog is shared.
Click Service to add one, or open the existing fee (for example a state tire tax). The form title is Add Service or Edit Service.
Check This is a fee when the line is a fee, and check This is a tax. Charge sales tax is separate — it only decides whether sales tax is calculated on this line for customers who are not exempt.
Save. The services list shows a Tax badge next to Fee or Service.
Open Settings → Auto-add Rules. Click New Rule (or edit the existing rule), choose this service, and keep the include rules that match the products it should follow, such as tires. Leave the rule on for the whole shop.
On the customer, set Default Tax Rate to Tax Exempt.
Add a matching product on a quote, work order, or invoice. Mount, disposal, and other rules still add. The tax service does not, and the document tax stays on Tax Exempt so sales tax is $0.00.
To skip the tax on one document only, open the Tax picker (labeled Taxes on an invoice) and choose Tax Exempt. An auto-added tax line that is already on the document comes off. Choosing a taxable rate again does not put that line back — add the product again, or add the tax service by hand.

Conclusion & best practices

Use This is a tax only for a charge a tax-exempt customer should not pay, and that you still want auto-added for everyone else. Do not check it on mount and balance, disposal, or shop supplies those customers still owe. You can still add the tax service yourself on an exempt ticket when a job needs it. A package does not use this skip — if the tax is inside a package, it is added with the package. Prefer an auto-add rule for a tire tax. See When should I use a package instead of an auto-add rule in Books?.