In Canada, there is a federal level tax and local level tax. The federal-level tax called the Goods and Services Tax or GST is a value-added tax (VAT). Once you are registered for the GST, you will collect the tax in all 10 provinces and three territories. The five provinces of New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Prince Edward Island have decided that they will have the same rules as the GST, and they allow the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to administer the collection of the tax along with the GST. The local tax for these five provinces is called the Harmonized Sales Tax or HST because these provinces have harmonized their tax with the GST. You are automatically approved for the HST when you register for the GST.

The province of Quebec has a local sales tax called the Quebec Sales Tax or QST. It is a value-added tax and has virtually identical rules to the GST/HST.

Most sales of goods and services are taxable in Canada. For physical goods, the purchaser's shipping address will be used to determine if and how they are taxed. For physical services, the location of the service will be used to determine any tax obligation. For all other goods and services – those that are not shipped – the purchaser's billing address will be used to determine any tax obligation. 

GST is a tax levied on goods and services by the federal government. Depending on where your business is registered, you’ll either charge GST as a separate tax at a rate of 5% or as a portion of the HST.

PST is a tax levied on goods and services by the individual provinces. Alternatively known as RST (Retail Sales Tax) in Manitoba—and QST (Quebec Sales Tax) in Quebec—PST tax rates vary by province.

HST is a combined sales tax that participating provinces use in place of separate federal and provincial amounts. Unless you’re operating in a province with HST however, your business will charge GST and PST separately.

No - GST/HST rates are charged depending on the type of service or product being sold

If you made more then $30,000 of Sales then you may be required to file HST returns either annually or quarterly. We have 2 sessions available for you to book if and when you require it.

How often you file and remit GST/HST is determined by the value of taxable supplies you provide annually.

- If you provide taxable supplies worth more than $6M, you must file monthly

-If you provide taxable supplies worth between $1.5M and $6M, you must file quarterly

-If you provide taxable supplies worth less than $1.5M, you can file annually

These values don’t include sales made outside of Canada.

The tax rates charged are based on the provinces your customers are in—not on the location of your business.

If, for example, your business is in BC but you provide taxable supplies to customers in Ontario, you’d apply Ontario sales tax rates to those supplies. You don’t need to collect Canada sales tax from consumers outside the country.