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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 for a month or more 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.

Sources

The figures and rules on this page come from these sources, last checked against them on September 24, 2026. How we check facts.