Canadian Sales Tax Calculator (GST/HST/PST)

How sales tax works in Canada: GST, HST and PST

Every purchase in Canada carries the 5% federal Goods and Services Tax (GST) unless the item is zero-rated or exempt; what changes from province to province is the tax stacked on top. There are three systems, and the calculator above handles all of them.

In the HST provinces – Ontario (13%), Nova Scotia (14%), New Brunswick (15%), Newfoundland and Labrador (15%) and Prince Edward Island (15%) – the GST and the provincial tax are blended into one Harmonized Sales Tax that the Canada Revenue Agency collects. Quebec, British Columbia, Manitoba and Saskatchewan keep a separate provincial tax (PST, QST or RST) that they administer themselves, charged alongside the GST. Alberta, Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut have no provincial sales tax, so the 5% GST is the whole bill.

That is why the same $1,000 television costs $1,050.00 in Alberta but $1,150.00 in New Brunswick. The highest combined rate in 2026 is 15% (New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island); the lowest among the provinces is 5% in Alberta.

Which province’s rate applies when you shop online or across a border

For goods, the rate is set by where the item is delivered, not where the seller is. The CRA’s place-of-supply rules say that if the supplier delivers goods or makes them available in a province, the supply is made in that province. The CRA’s own example: an Alberta store that ships to an address in Ontario must charge Ontario’s 13% HST, even though the store charges only 5% GST at its own counter.

Services follow the customer’s address. If a Quebec web designer builds a site for an Ontario company and gets its Ontario address in the normal course of business, the CRA treats the service as supplied in Ontario and HST applies. So when you check an online receipt, compare the tax with the rate for your delivery or billing province, not the seller’s.

Separate provincial taxes (PST, QST and Manitoba RST) have their own rules for out-of-province sellers. If an out-of-province seller does not charge a provincial tax that applies, the buyer may have to self-assess it. The province pages linked below explain each one.

What is free of GST/HST: zero-rated versus exempt

Not everything is taxed. The CRA splits untaxed items into two groups, and the difference matters mainly to businesses.

Zero-rated supplies are taxed at 0%: basic groceries (milk, bread, vegetables), most farm livestock and fishery products, prescription drugs, certain medical devices such as hearing aids, feminine hygiene products and exports. The seller charges no tax but can still claim input tax credits for the GST/HST it paid on its costs.

Exempt supplies are outside the tax altogether: long-term residential rent (one month or more) and condo fees, sales of used housing, most health, medical and dental services, child care, vocational courses leading to a certificate or diploma, music lessons, financial services and the issuing of insurance policies. The buyer pays no GST/HST, but the seller generally cannot recover the tax on its own inputs.

"Groceries are tax-free" has exceptions. The CRA’s basic groceries memorandum keeps carbonated drinks, candy and chocolate bars, chips and similar snacks, single-serving drinks under 600 mL, food sold hot, vending-machine sales, and pastries or doughnuts sold in packs of fewer than six fully taxable. Restaurant meals always carry GST/HST, though British Columbia exempts them from its PST.

Who has to charge GST/HST: the $30,000 small supplier rule

Most businesses must register for and charge GST/HST once their taxable sales worldwide (with associated businesses, and including zero-rated sales) pass $30,000 in a single calendar quarter or over four consecutive calendar quarters. Below that, you are a small supplier and registration is optional.

How fast you must act depends on how you crossed the line. According to the CRA, if you exceed $30,000 in a single quarter you stop being a small supplier that day and must charge tax starting with the sale that took you over. If you cross it only over four quarters, you stop being a small supplier at the end of the month following the quarter in which you went over. Either way, you charge tax from your effective date of registration and must register within 29 days of that date. Taxi drivers and commercial ride-sharing drivers must register even if they are small suppliers.

Common sales tax mistakes

• Charging QST on top of GST. Since January 1, 2013, Quebec’s QST has been calculated on the price excluding GST. On a $100.00 item the QST is $9.98, not $10.47.
• Using an old rate. Nova Scotia’s HST fell from 15% to 14% on April 1, 2025, so a spreadsheet or invoice template set up before then overcharges.
• Reversing tax by subtracting the percentage. Taking 13% off a tax-included total understates the price; divide by 1.13 instead (see the reverse sales tax calculator).
• Assuming the GST and provincial exemptions match. BC exempts restaurant meals from PST but they still carry GST; Ontario rebates only the 8% provincial part on children’s clothing, so 5% GST still applies.
• Worrying about a one-cent gap. The CRA notes that its own calculator results can differ from final totals by a cent or two because of rounding.

Getting some sales tax back: the GST/HST credit

Lower-income households get part of their sales tax back through a tax-free quarterly payment. From July 2026 the GST/HST credit is called the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit; for July 2026 – June 2027 it pays up to $445 per adult and $234 per child, reduced by 5% of family net income above $46,432. You get it by filing a tax return. Estimate yours with the GST/HST credit calculator (/ca/gst-hst-credit-calculator).