Overview
Luminous lets you mark each SKU as taxable or non-taxable. The flag defaults to taxable (on) for all products. When you add a line item to an invoice or sales order, Luminous takes a snapshot of the SKU's taxable setting at that moment and stores it on the line — so editing the SKU later does not retroactively change existing invoices.
Setting the flag on a product
- Open the product record (go to Inventory → SKUs, open the SKU you want to edit, then click the ⋯ menu at top-right → Edit SKU).
- In the Product Information tab, locate the Taxable checkbox.
- Check it to mark the SKU taxable; uncheck it to mark it non-taxable.
- Save the product.
The flag is also available when editing line items directly inside an invoice or sales order line-item table.
How it affects tax calculation on invoices and sales orders
When a customer-level tax rate is set, Luminous computes the tax amount from the taxable base — the sum of net line amounts where the line is marked taxable. Lines with the non-taxable flag contribute to the order total but are excluded from the tax base.
Example: An invoice has two lines:
- Widget A — $100, taxable ✓
- Setup Fee — $50, non-taxable ✗
- Tax rate: 7%
Tax = $100 × 7% = $7 (not $150 × 7%).
Snapshot behavior: The taxable value is captured per line at the time the item is added. Changing a SKU's taxable flag does not alter invoices that were already created.
Setting the flag in bulk via SKU import
The SKU import spreadsheet supports a TAXABLE column:
| Column | Accepted values | Default |
|---|---|---|
TAXABLE | Yes / No | Yes |
Leave the column blank or set it to Yes to mark the SKU taxable. Set it to No to mark it non-taxable.
External API
The taxable field is available on product read and write endpoints:
- GET a product → response includes
"taxable": trueor"taxable": false. - POST / PATCH a product → include
"taxable": falseto mark non-taxable. - Invoice item responses also include a
taxablefield reflecting the per-line snapshot.
Missing or null values are treated as true (taxable) for backward compatibility.
QuickBooks Online behavior
When Luminous pushes invoices to QuickBooks Online, each line item's tax code is set automatically based on the snapshot:
- Taxable lines → assigned the SKU-level or tenant-level tax code as configured.
- Non-taxable lines → assigned the QuickBooks
NON(non-taxable) code, preventing QuickBooks from applying any additional tax on that line.
This applies to both the default SKU sync mode and Account Sync mode.
FAQ
Q: I changed a SKU to non-taxable but an existing invoice still shows tax on that line — why?
A: The flag is snapshotted at the time the line is added. Existing invoices are not changed. To correct an already-created invoice line, edit the invoice and toggle the taxable setting on the individual line item.
Q: What happens if the taxable field is missing on an older invoice line?
A: Missing or null values default to taxable (true), so existing invoices continue to calculate tax exactly as they did before this feature was introduced.
Q: Does this affect the B2B portal?
A: Yes. When a customer places an order through the B2B portal, each line item inherits the SKU's taxable flag in the same way as a manually created invoice.