Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world ...

, there are two types of sales taxes levied. These are : *Provincial sales taxes (PST), levied by the

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

. * Goods and services tax (GST)/ harmonized sales tax (HST), a

value-added tax A value-added tax (VAT), known in some countries as a goods and services tax (GST), is a type of tax that is assessed incrementally. It is levied on the price of a product or service at each stage of production, distribution, or sale to the end ...

levied by the

federal government A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-govern ...

. The GST applies nationally. The HST includes the provincial portion of the sales tax but is administered by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and is applied under the same legislation as the GST. The HST is in effect in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English an ...

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native E ...

and

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

. Every province except

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Terr ...

has implemented either a provincial sales tax or the Harmonized Sales Tax. The federal GST rate is 5 percent, effective January 1, 2008. The

territories A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or an ...

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal provinces and territo ...

, and

Nunavut Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' and the '' Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act'', ...

have no territorial sales taxes, so only the GST is collected. The three northern jurisdictions are heavily subsidized by the federal government, and their residents receive some additional tax concessions due to the high

cost of living Cost of living is the cost of maintaining a certain standard of living. Changes in the cost of living over time can be operationalized in a cost-of-living index. Cost of living calculations are also used to compare the cost of maintaining a ce ...

in the north.

Provincial sales taxes

Separate provincial sales taxes (PST) are collected in the provinces of

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Da ...

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...

(retail sales tax or RST) and

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirteen ...

(Quebec sales tax or QST, French: ''Taxe de vente du Québec'' or ''TVQ''). Prince Edward Island switched to a HST on April 1, 2013, the same date that British Columbia reverted to a separate GST/PST after their adoption of a HST in 2010 was rejected in a

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption o ...

. Goods to which the tax is applied vary by province, as does the rate. In all provinces where the provincial sales tax is collected, the tax is imposed on the sale price without GST (in the past, in Quebec and in Prince Edward Island, PST was applied to the combined sum of sale price and GST). Of the provincial sales taxes, only the QST (and the HST) are value-added; the rest are cascading taxes.

New housing rebate

Sales taxes on new or significantly renovated housing used as a primary residence may be eligible to have a portion of charged federal and provincial sales taxes rebated. New homes valued up to $450,000 may be eligible for a 36% rebate on GST charged up to a maximum of $6,300. Provincial sales tax rebate programs on new housing are offered in Ontario, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan, and Quebec (for QST). Terms and conditions vary by province.

References

External links

at the

Canada Revenue Agency The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA; ; ) is the revenue service of the Canadian federal government, and most provincial and territorial governments. The CRA collects taxes, administers tax law and policy, and delivers benefit programs and tax cred ...

Government of British Columbia: Sales Taxes

Revenu Quebec website

Revenu Québec (General Information Concerning the QST and the GST/HST
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sales Taxes In Canada Taxation in Canada Sales taxes

Provincial sales taxes

New housing rebate

References

Further reading

External links