Manitoba Sales Tax Calculator

Manitoba GST and PST: how the combined rate is built

Manitoba shoppers pay two separate sales taxes: the 5% federal GST and the 7% provincial Retail Sales Tax, both worked out on the price before tax, for a combined 12%. Manitoba Finance's Bulletin 004 says it plainly: the RST "is calculated on the selling price before the Goods and Services Tax (GST) is applied", so neither tax is charged on the other.

Most people call the provincial tax "Manitoba PST", but the statute and the receipts say RST. Manitoba collects the RST itself and the Canada Revenue Agency collects the GST. That is why a Manitoba business files two returns and has two tax numbers, and why the two taxes sometimes treat the same item differently.

How to reverse Manitoba sales tax from a receipt total

To take Manitoba GST and PST off a total, divide by 1.12 for an item that attracts both taxes. The result is the pre-tax price; multiply it by 5% and 7% to split out each tax. Our calculator's "remove tax" mode does exactly this.

Example: a receipt shows $560.00 including both taxes. $560.00 ÷ 1.12 = $500.00 before tax, of which GST is $25.00 and RST is $35.00.

Be careful with items that pay only GST. A child's jacket at $149.99 is RST-exempt, so the bill is $149.99 plus $7.50 GST. If a receipt total of $157.50 covers only GST-taxable goods, divide by 1.05 instead, giving $150.00. Dividing by 1.12 would understate the price.

What is exempt from RST in Manitoba

Manitoba exempts a long list of everyday goods from RST. The list is in section 3 of The Retail Sales Tax Act. Many of these items still pay the 5% GST, because the federal rules are different.

• Children's clothing and footwear priced at $150 or less per item (s 3(1)(c)). Bulletin 001 adds that items above the Schedule A sizes still qualify if they are bought for a child aged 14 or under and the buyer signs a written certification. A set sold together, like a suit, counts as one item.
• Diapers and toilet-training items, breast pumps, and nursing, feeding and bathing items, strollers and carriers for children under 24 months, plus car seats and other child safety items (s 3(1)(c.2)–(c.5)).
• Feminine hygiene products, prenatal vitamins, prescription drugs, dental and optical appliances bought on a professional's order, hearing aids and bicycle helmets (s 3(1)).
• Books and free newspapers and magazines (s 3(1)(r), (r.1)).
• Used clothing and footwear worth $100 or less, and used furniture or household items for domestic use worth $100 or less (s 3(1)(z), (bb)).
• Basic groceries that are zero-rated for GST (s 3(4.1)), plus most other food and non-alcoholic drinks bought in a store (s 3(4.2)).

Restaurant meals, takeout and services that do pay RST

Restaurant meals in Manitoba pay the full 12%. Section 3(4.2) keeps RST on food and drink bought in a restaurant, licensed premises, a cinema, sports or live-entertainment venue, a golf course or other recreational facility, from a vending machine, through catering, or ordered by phone or app from any of those places. Section 3(4.3) defines "restaurant" broadly enough to cover bakeries, food courts, coffee shops, cafeterias, concession stands, food carts and food trucks. A coffee bought at the café counter is taxed. A tub of ice cream from the grocery aisle is not.

RST also applies to a list of services in section 4(1). These include hotel and other lodging, telecommunications billed to a Manitoba device, and repairs, maintenance, cleaning or installation of goods. Warranty and service contracts are taxable, as are legal, accounting, architectural, engineering and security services provided in Manitoba. Some insurance premiums are taxable under section 4.1. Section 4.1(7) exempts coverage on real property and on condo or rented-home contents, insurance on registered vehicles, health insurance, and individual life, disability and critical illness policies.

Who must register for Manitoba RST and the GST

Bulletin 004 says any business in Manitoba must hold an RST number before making taxable sales, except small businesses with annual taxable sales under $30,000. Those small businesses pay RST on their own purchases and do not collect it. Their invoices must say RST is included in the price and must not list it separately. The exception does not cover businesses that sell tobacco or liquor, or that buy from out-of-province suppliers who do not collect Manitoba RST. A business that passes $30,000 has one month to register and start collecting.

The GST test also uses $30,000 but is measured differently. According to the CRA, you stop being a small supplier as soon as your taxable sales exceed $30,000 in a single calendar quarter or over four consecutive quarters. You must register within 29 days. Taxi and ride-share drivers must register from their first fare, whatever their income.

Out-of-province sellers are treated as carrying on business in Manitoba, and must register for RST, if they deliver taxable goods into Manitoba, solicit orders there and accept orders from Manitoba, or if they hold stock in Manitoba when they accept an order. A seller who sells only through an online platform that remits the tax does not have to register (s 21.2(2)).

• RST returns are due by the 20th of the month after the period. Vendors with average RST of $5,000 or more a month file monthly, and must file monthly returns online through TAXcess. Vendors at $500 to $4,999 file quarterly, and those under $500 file annually (Bulletin 004).
• GST returns for monthly and quarterly filers are due one month after the period ends. All GST/HST registrants except charities and selected listed financial institutions must file electronically (CRA).

Common Manitoba sales tax mistakes

These are the errors that most often lead to an audit adjustment or an overcharge.

• Charging RST on the GST. On a $100.00 sale the RST is $7.00, not $7.35. Compounding adds $0.35 per $100.00 that the customer does not owe.
• Pricing children's sets separately. A $160.00 snowsuit sold as one set is taxable even if the jacket and pants would each be under $150.
• Forgetting self-assessment. If a non-registered supplier outside Manitoba did not charge RST, the buyer owes it under section 2(1). A business bringing in at least $800 of such goods in two or more months of a year must register to self-assess (Bulletin 004).
• Assuming exempt means exempt from GST too. A Manitoba book, a child's parka under the cap or a bicycle helmet still pays GST. Only the RST disappears.