Shops using Workshop + Shopify where different products charge different non-zero tax rates — most often Ireland, UK, and EU (e.g. 23% parts and 13.5% labour), or any store that uses Shopify collection tax overrides.
This guide is not for the typical US fix (Manual Tax + one combined state rate). US shops with a single sales-tax rate should use Shopify (US/Canada) – Manual Tax Setup for Workshop Sync instead.
Related: Shopify Sync Failed – Tax Does Not Match — all tax failure types and general troubleshooting.
What this is for
Shopify lets you assign a different tax rate to products in a manual collection (a tax override). That is how many European shops run standard VAT on parts and reduced VAT on labour or specific goods.
Workshop cannot send separate VAT bands to Shopify like Lightspeed or Xero. For Shopify sync, each line is taxable or not taxable, and Shopify applies per-product rates from your Admin settings — including collection overrides.
Workshop therefore:
Probes your Shopify manual collections that have a tax override different from your default part rate.
Caches the rate Shopify calculates for each collection.
Maps synced stock to the matching Workshop tax class when one exists at the same percentage.
You manage which rate applies in Shopify (collections + overrides). Workshop learns those rates and keeps synced stock defaults aligned.
When you need this guide
Situation | Use this guide? |
Mixed non-zero rates (e.g. IE 23% + 13.5%) | Yes |
Shopify collection tax overrides on manual collections | Yes |
Warning: No matching Workshop tax class on collection tax sync | Yes |
US shop: Shopify calculates $0.00 tax | No — US Manual Tax guide |
Error names a product Charge tax on this product toggle | No — tax mismatch guide |
Part 1 — Shopify: manual collection + tax override
Shopify’s process is two steps: create a manual collection, then add a product tax override for that collection.
Step 1 — Create a manual collection
Shopify Admin → Products → Collections → Create collection.
Enter a name (e.g. Reduced rate, Labour 13.5%).
Under Collection type, choose Manual — not automated rules.
Add the products that should use this rate.
Save.
Important: Workshop only probes manual collections. Smart / automated collections are skipped.
You can keep the collection unpublished if it is only for tax grouping — overrides still apply.
Step 2 — Add the tax override
Shopify Admin → Settings → Taxes and duties.
Open your country or region (e.g. Ireland, United Kingdom).
In Product overrides, click Add override / Override.
Select the manual collection.
Select the region where the override applies.
Enter the tax rate (e.g. 13.5% reduced, 20% or 23% standard).
Save.
Shopify’s help: Tax overrides and exemptions.
Services and custom invoice lines
For labour or services at a reduced rate: link the service to a Shopify product with a POS product ID in Workshop, and put that product in the correct override collection in Shopify. Custom lines with no Shopify link cannot receive a reduced rate.
Part 2 — Workshop: matching tax rates
Workshop does not create tax rates automatically. Every Shopify override percentage needs a Workshop tax rate (tax class) at the same %.
Step A — Add tax rates in Settings
Create one rate per percentage (e.g. Standard 23 at 23%, Reduced Rate at 13.5%).
Set line defaults for Services and Parts / stock.
Mark your main rate as default for new lines.
.
Part 3 — Workshop: sync collection tax rates from Shopify
Configuration → POS & Accounting Integrations (with Shopify connected).
Scroll to Shopify Tax.
Open Collection tax rates.
Click Sync tax rates from Shopify.
Workshop queues a background job (usually within a few minutes). When it finishes, the table shows each probed collection, the Shopify rate, and the Workshop tax class match. A first sync runs automatically when you connect Shopify.
No matching tax class found, see below, in Shopify we have 13.5 but Workshop is 13.6:
After fixing and re-running sync rates from Shopify:
Warning: no matching Workshop tax class
If collections show No matching rate — uses default part tax class: add a tax rate in Settings → Tax rates at the exact % shown, then Configuration → POS & Accounting Integrations and click Sync tax rates from Shopify again.
Synced stock: Tax on Shopify-linked stock is managed in Shopify, not by editing the item in Workshop Stock. If a product sits in several override collections, Workshop uses the lowest non-default override rate among them.
Part 4 — Retry invoice sync
Open the invoice in Workshop.
Confirm each taxed line shows the expected rate.
Open Shopify Sync → Retry.
If sync still fails, work through the general tax mismatch checklist.
What collection tax sync does not fix
Problem | Fix elsewhere |
Shopify returns 0.00 tax | Manual Tax guide (US) or enable tax in Shopify Admin |
Product Charge tax on this product mismatch |
Worked example (Ireland-style)
Setup: Standard parts at 23%, reduced labour at 13.5%.
Shopify: manual collection Reduced rate with 13.5% override; standard parts at 23%.
Workshop: matching rates in Settings → Tax rates.
Workshop: Sync tax rates from Shopify — confirm table shows matched classes.
Invoice: part at 23%, linked service at 13.5% → Retry sync.
Example below of items synced correctly with different tax rates:
Need help?
Email [email protected] with your invoice number, the Shopify Tax → Collection tax rates table, and Settings → Tax rates.