Sales Tax by Province Canada 2026 | GST, HST, PST Rates

Every province and territory charges the 5% federal Goods and Services Tax (GST). Most provinces add their own tax on top, either as a separate provincial sales tax (PST, or the QST in Quebec) or blended with the GST into one Harmonized Sales Tax (HST), so the total on the same purchase runs from 5% to 15%. Find your province in the table, then its section below for what it taxes differently.

Sales tax rates by province

The lowest total, 5%, applies in Alberta, Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Yukon; the highest, 15%, applies in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island. The latest change listed below was in Nova Scotia, where the HST fell to 14% on April 1, 2025. Earlier changes:

• April 1, 2025: Nova Scotia reduced HST from 15% to 14%
• July 1, 2019: Manitoba reduced RST from 8% to 7%
• March 23, 2017: Saskatchewan increased PST from 5% to 6%
• October 1, 2016: Prince Edward Island increased HST from 14% to 15%
• July 1, 2016: New Brunswick increased HST from 13% to 15%
• July 1, 2016: Newfoundland and Labrador increased HST from 13% to 15%

GST, HST, PST and QST: what’s the difference?

Three systems sit behind the rates in the table.

• HST, one combined tax: New Brunswick (15%), Newfoundland and Labrador (15%), Nova Scotia (14%), Ontario (13%) and Prince Edward Island (15%) charge the HST, which is the 5% GST plus a provincial part, charged as one tax.
• GST plus a provincial tax, two taxes: British Columbia (12%), Manitoba (12%), Quebec (14.975%) and Saskatchewan (11%) charge the 5% GST and a provincial tax of their own. The GST is worked out on the price without the provincial tax, and since January 1, 2013 Quebec’s QST has been worked out on the price without the GST. In Quebec, Revenu Québec generally administers the GST.
• No provincial tax: Alberta, Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Yukon charge the 5% GST and no provincial or territorial sales tax.

On a $100 purchase, an Ontario shopper pays $113.00 with one 13% HST line on the receipt, and a British Columbia shopper pays $112.00: 5% GST and 7% PST, each on the $100. To work out the tax on an amount, or the price before tax from a total, use the sales tax calculator.

Sales tax in each province

Alberta

Alberta charges the 5% GST and no provincial sales tax. It does charge a tourism levy on short-term accommodation in hotels, motels, inns and similar places, including rooms let by residential hosts: 6% from April 1, 2026, up from 4%, which still applies to stays booked before that date. The levy counts booking, service and cleaning fees as part of the price, and it doesn’t apply to a stay of 28 days or more by the same person. For vehicles, see car sales tax by province.

British Columbia

British Columbia charges the 5% GST and a 7% PST, 12% in total. BC’s PST has its own rates and exemptions, so many things carry the GST but not the PST:

• No PST, no paperwork: food, including restaurant meals; books, newspapers and magazines; children’s-size clothing; bicycles; and prescription medicine.
• Liquor carries a 10% PST instead of 7%, so on a restaurant bill the wine carries PST and the food doesn’t.
• Short-term accommodation carries an 8% PST, and participating municipalities, regional districts and other eligible bodies can add a municipal and regional district tax (MRDT) of up to 3%.
• Vehicles have their own PST rates, which rise with the price: see car sales tax by province.

BC’s rule on children’s clothing and footwear:

• Clothing and footwear in children's sizes are exempt, and the store doesn't need any documentation from you.
• Garments designed for girls count as children's sizes up to and including girls' national standard size 16.
• Garments designed for boys count as children's sizes up to and including boys' national standard size 20.
• Children's footwear counts when it has an insole length of 24.25 cm or less.
• Adult-sized clothing and footwear bought or rented for a child under 15 is exempt only with a signed Certificate of Exemption (FIN 425) for each sale.
• Other items for children, such as sports equipment, stay taxable even when bought for a child under 15.

Manitoba

Manitoba charges the 5% GST and a 7% provincial tax it calls the retail sales tax (RST), 12% in total. The RST was cut from 8% to 7% on July 1, 2019, so older pages may still show 8%. Children’s clothing and footwear priced at $150 or less are exempt when they’re in children’s sizes, or larger sizes the buyer certifies in writing are for a child 14 or under. Electricity used only to heat the home you live in is exempt too. For vehicles, see car sales tax by province.

New Brunswick

New Brunswick charges a 15% HST: the 5% GST and a provincial part of 10%, harmonized since April 1, 1997. Books, audio recordings and scriptures get the provincial part back at the till, so they are taxed at the 5% federal rate.

Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador charges a 15% HST, with the provincial part rebated at the till on qualifying books. It also charges its own 15% retail sales tax on taxable insurance premiums for property, risks and events in the province. Auto insurance, including on personal cars, is no longer taxed.

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia has charged a 14% HST since April 1, 2025 (it was 15%). The provincial part is rebated at the till on qualifying books, and on children’s clothing, footwear and diapers. Nova Scotia's First-Time Home Buyers Rebate returns part of the provincial portion of the HST on a newly built home, up to $3,000, to buyers who haven't owned and lived in a home in Canada in the last five years and will use the new home as their primary residence. (first-time buyer programs); the GST/HST new housing rebate page covers the federal rebate on a new home.

Ontario

Ontario charges a 13% HST: the 5% GST and an 8% provincial part, collected by the CRA since July 1, 2010. Ontario rebates the provincial part at the till on printed books, print newspapers, children's clothing and footwear, diapers, car seats and booster seats and prepared food and beverages, and on those the store charges the 5% federal part alone:

• Prepared food and drinks qualify when the qualifying items bought at one time come to $4 or less before tax; wine, beer, spirits and other alcoholic drinks never qualify.
• Status First Nations people living in Ontario (or on the Akwesasne reserve), and the bands and band councils of Ontario reserves, can have the 8% provincial part taken off qualifying purchases made off-reserve, where the store offers it at the till.

Ontario also charges an 8% retail sales tax on taxable insurance premiums, including group insurance; compulsory auto insurance is not taxed. For new homes, see the GST/HST new housing rebate page.

Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Island charges a 15% HST. The provincial part is rebated at the till on qualifying books, children’s clothing and footwear, and heating oil.

Quebec

Quebec charges the 5% GST and the 9.975% Quebec sales tax (QST), 14.975% in total. The odd rate dates from January 1, 2013, when Quebec stopped charging the QST on top of the GST and raised the QST from 9.5% to 9.975% so the effective rate stayed the same. Revenu Québec generally administers the GST in Quebec as well.

Since July 15, 2026, some goods carry the GST but no QST: toilet paper and facial tissues, salted or seasoned nuts and seeds, and granola bars and trail mix. For vehicles, see car sales tax by province.

Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan charges the 5% GST and a 6% PST, 11% in total. In 2017 the province widened its PST to restaurant meals and snack foods, children’s clothing and insurance premiums. Vehicle purchases have their own Saskatchewan rules, covered on the car sales tax by province page.

Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut

The three territories charge the 5% GST and no territorial sales tax.

Which province’s tax do you pay?

The GST/HST rate depends on where the sale is made, which for goods is generally where they’re delivered. The CRA’s example: a Vancouver store that delivers a mattress to Toronto charges Ontario’s 13% HST. If you pick the item up in the store’s province, that province’s taxes apply instead.

A provincial tax can follow goods home too. In British Columbia, a resident who brings or has goods sent into BC for their own use owes BC’s PST on them, and pays it directly to the province when the seller doesn’t charge it.

Foreign sellers of digital products and services, such as music streaming, that sell to Canadian consumers have to register for the GST/HST once their revenue from Canadian consumers is over $30,000 in a 12-month period.

What isn’t taxed?

Some goods and services carry no GST/HST, in two groups that look the same at the till but differ for the seller:

• Zero-rated (taxed at 0% in every province and territory): basic groceries such as milk, bread and vegetables, prescription drugs, certain medical devices such as hearing aids, feminine hygiene products, and exports. The seller can generally recover the tax on its own costs through input tax credits (how input tax credits work).
• Exempt (not taxed): long-term residential rent, most health and dental services from licensed doctors and dentists, child care for children 14 or under for less than 24 hours a day, music lessons, and most banking services and insurance policies.

Status First Nations people generally don’t pay the GST/HST on goods bought on a reserve, or delivered to one by the seller or its agent. CRA says the GST/HST does apply in some cases. Each provincial sales tax has its own list of exemptions, which is why the province sections above differ.

Getting tax back, and if you sell

People with low and modest incomes get some of the GST/HST back as a tax-free quarterly payment, the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit (CGEB), which replaced the GST/HST credit in July 2026. See the payment dates or why you might not be getting it.

For a business: You have to register for the GST/HST once you make taxable sales in Canada and are no longer a small supplier: that happens when your taxable sales go over $30,000 in a single calendar quarter (register from that sale) or over the last 4 consecutive calendar quarters (by the end of the month after that quarter); below that you can register voluntarily. (GST/HST registration for a side business) GST/HST on freelance income covers registering and charging the tax, and the GST/HST calculator for businesses works out what to remit.

Related pages

• Sales tax calculator
• Car sales tax by province
• GST/HST on freelance income in Canada
• Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit (Formerly the GST/HST Credit)