Sales Tax Calculator

Canadian Sales Tax Explained

Canada has one of the more complex sales tax systems in the world, with three different types of consumption tax depending on the province. The federal Goods and Services Tax (GST) applies at 5% nationwide. Five provinces (Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador) have harmonized their provincial sales tax with the GST into a single Harmonized Sales Tax (HST), with combined rates ranging from 13% to 15%. British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba charge a separate Provincial Sales Tax (PST) on top of the GST, while Quebec levies its own Quebec Sales Tax (QST) at 9.975%.

Not all goods and services are taxed equally. Canada distinguishes between taxable, zero-rated, and exempt supplies. Basic groceries (such as milk, bread, fresh produce, and raw meat) are zero-rated, meaning they are technically taxable at 0%, which allows businesses in the supply chain to claim input tax credits. Prescription medications and medical devices are also zero-rated. Exempt supplies, such as residential rent, most health care services, and childcare, are not subject to sales tax at all, but businesses providing these services cannot recover the GST/HST they pay on their own inputs.

Sales Tax Rates by Province and Territory (2026)

The GST/HST credit is a quarterly tax-free payment from the federal government designed to help offset the cost of sales tax for low- and modest-income Canadians — and since July 2026 it is paid as the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit (CGEB). You do not need to apply: the CRA automatically determines your eligibility based on your annual tax return. The amount is income-tested and begins to phase out as your adjusted family net income rises above approximately $46,000. Understanding which items are taxable, zero-rated, and exempt can also help with budgeting, particularly for large purchases like vehicles (fully taxable), groceries (mostly zero-rated), and rent (exempt).

What Changed for 2026

• Nova Scotia’s HST is 14%.The provincial portion was cut effective April 1, 2025, bringing the combined rate from 15% down to 14% — 2026 is the first full calendar year at the lower rate. Nova Scotia is now the only HST province not at 13% or 15%.
• The GST/HST credit became the CGEB in July 2026. The quarterly payment is now delivered as the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit: up to $679 per year for a single person, $890 for a couple, plus $234 per child. Eligibility and the income-tested mechanics work the same way, based on your tax return.
• The federal GST is unchanged at 5%.Alberta, Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut therefore still have a total sales tax of just 5% — the lowest in the country.
• Provincial rates are otherwise stable.Ontario’s HST stays at 13%; New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Island stay at 15%; Quebec’s QST remains 9.975% (14.975% combined); and the PST provinces hold at 7% (BC), 7% (Manitoba), and 6% (Saskatchewan).
• The national spread is wide.The same fully taxable $1,000 purchase carries $50.00 of tax in Alberta and $150.00 in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, or PEI — a $100.00 difference on identical goods.

Worked Example: The Same $1,000 Purchase in Three Provinces

Suppose you buy fully taxable goods — furniture, electronics, adult clothing — priced at $1,000 before tax. Here is the line-by-line receipt math in Ontario (HST), Quebec (GST + QST), and Alberta (GST only), using the rates in the table above.

Two details are worth noting. First, Quebec’s QST is calculated on the price beforeGST, not on top of it — the two taxes are additive (5% + 9.975% = 14.975%), so there is no tax-on-tax. Second, the receipts look different: Ontario shows a single 13% HST line, while a Quebec receipt shows GST and QST separately, because QST is administered by Revenu Québec rather than the CRA. On this $1,000 basket, the gap between Alberta and Quebec is $99.75 — purely a function of where the purchase happens.

Where the rate comes from matters as much as the rate itself. Under the GST/HST place-of-supply rules, goods shipped to a buyer are generally taxed at the rate of the province where they are delivered — an online order shipped to a Toronto address carries 13% Ontario HST even if the seller is in Alberta. Services are usually taxed based on the customer’s location as well. For in-person shopping the rule is simpler: you pay the rate of the province where the purchase physically happens, which is why the same road trip can produce receipts at 5%, 13%, and 14.975%.

Working Backwards From a Total

The calculator’s “extract tax from total” mode reverses the math — useful for expense reports and bookkeeping. If an Ontario receipt shows a $1,130.00 total, the pre-tax price is $1,130.00 ÷ 1.13 = $1,000.00, and the HST portion is $130.00. Dividing by 1 plus the combined rate (not multiplying the total by the rate) is the correct way to back out sales tax from a tax-included amount. The same logic works at any rate: a Quebec receipt totalling $1,149.75 is $1,149.75 ÷ 1.14975 = $1,000.00 before tax, and a Nova Scotia total of $114.00 works out to $114.00 ÷ 1.14 = $100.00.