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Alberta Sales Tax (GST) Calculator 2026

Updated

This calculator adds Alberta’s GST to a price, or switches to reverse mode to find the pre-tax amount in a total you’ve already paid.

What do you want to do?
Amount Before Tax (Pre-Tax)
Total After Tax
Pre-Tax Amount
GST
Total Tax

Stores round the tax on each receipt, so a total can differ from this result by a cent or two.

How sales tax works in Alberta

Alberta is the only province without a provincial sales tax, so a purchase carries just the 5% federal GST, collected by the Canada Revenue Agency. An $800 phone costs $840.00 after tax. The same phone costs $896.00 in neighbouring British Columbia, $888.00 in Saskatchewan and $920.00 in the provinces with the highest rate, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island.

The difference matters most on big purchases. On a $40,000 vehicle bought from a dealer, the tax is $2,000 in Alberta against $5,200 in Ontario, and a private used-car sale in Alberta carries no sales tax at all, since there is no GST on a private sale. The car sales tax by province page covers vehicles in detail.

The GST follows the federal rules in Alberta as everywhere else: basic groceries, prescription drugs and residential rent carry no GST, while restaurant meals, clothing and most services do. The zero-rated and exempt section lists what the GST doesn’t cover.

Why Alberta has no PST

Non-renewable resource revenue, mostly oil and gas royalties, is a large part of Alberta’s budget: the province estimates $23.0 billion for 2026-27, 27% of its total revenue. The Alberta Taxpayer Protection Act also allows a bill imposing a general provincial sales tax to be introduced only after a referendum on it, so one can’t be added in an ordinary budget.

The taxes Alberta does charge on purchases

No PST doesn’t mean no provincial tax at the till:

  • Tourism levy: hotels, motels, short-term rentals and other temporary accommodation carry a 6% levy on top of the GST, for stays booked from April 1, 2026 (it was 4% before). It applies to the full price, including booking, service and cleaning fees, and online booking platforms that take payment collect it too. A stay of 28 days or more by the same person is exempt. On a $200 night, the levy is $12.00 and the GST $10.00.
  • Fuel, tobacco and vaping products: these carry Alberta’s fuel tax, tobacco tax and vaping tax.

Buying in Alberta when you live elsewhere

The GST/HST is charged where the goods are delivered, not where the seller is. If an Alberta store ships an item to an address in Ontario, it charges Ontario’s 13% HST. Carrying a purchase home yourself to a province with a separate PST doesn’t avoid that province’s tax either: BC, for example, expects its PST to be paid on taxable goods brought into the province for use there, and a vehicle is taxed when you register it at home.