GST/HST Rate by Province in Canada

If you are registered for GST/HST purposes you need to charge GST/HST on your taxable supplies to all your customers in Canada. The next question arises what rate to charges? Each province in Canada has its own GST/HST and PST rate. As per the Canada Revenue Agency guideline, you charge the rate based on the province of supply. Hence, if your store is located in British Columbia and you are supplying your goods in Ontario you charge Ontario GST/HST Rate which is 13% to your customer.

SALES TAX (GST/HST) RATES

Sales tax is an indirect tax that is collected from the taxpayer indirectly by the federal and provincial government/tax administrators. The taxpayer pays the tax to the seller of goods and services. The seller collects from taxpayers and pays to federal and provincial government/tax administrators.

In Canada, sales tax is known by GST/HST. GST is the federal sales tax or goods and services tax while HST is the Harmonized sales tax. Before the HST was introduced in Canada in 1997, the sales tax in Canada was divided into two parts. One part was federal sales tax, and the second part was provincial sales tax. HST was introduced to combine the two parts together. However, not all provinces have so far adopted this concept.

Sales tax rates in Canada

         - N/A - Not applicable

         - Ontario also charges RST (Retail sales tax) 8% insurance and benefits plans and 13% on private sales of a used motor vehicle.

          -P - means participating provinces. The provinces which are not participating, you have to file a separate return for those provinces.

GST/HST on Inter-Provincial Sales

For goods and tangible properties

As a general rule, a seller charge GST/HST based on the place of delivery/supply. If your business is located in Vancouver, British Columbia (BC) but you are selling and delivering your product to Toronto, you should charge Ontario 13% HST to the buyer.

Special rules -

         -  When a lessor leases (including a license to use) his products for less than three months, the seller should charge GST/HST based on the place of delivery/supply.

         - When a lessor leases (including a license to use) his products excluding a specified motor vehicle for more than three months, the seller should charge GST/HST based on the place of delivery/supply. However, if the lessee moves the product with                  the lessor's permission, the lessor should charge the provincial rate based on the place of move.

         - When a lessor leases (including a license to use) his products with an option to buy, when the buyer exercises his option to buy, the lessor should charge the provincial rate at which the lessee exercises his option to buy.

When you are selling your services, generally the followings rules apply

The seller charges GST/HST based on the billing address. So, if you are in Quebec and designing a website for a company in Ontario and you are billing your customer address in Ontario, you should charge Ontario 13% HST on your invoice.