This calculator adds Nova Scotia’s HST to a price, split into the federal and provincial parts, or switches to reverse mode to take the tax out of a total you’ve already paid.
Stores round the tax on each receipt, so a total can differ from this result by a cent or two.
How the HST works in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia charges the 14% Harmonized Sales Tax: the 5% federal GST plus a 9% provincial part, collected together by the Canada Revenue Agency. On a $1,100 laptop, that is $154.00 of HST, for $1,254.00 in total.
Nova Scotia was one of the first three provinces to harmonize, joining the HST with New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador on April 1, 1997. Its most recent rate change:
- April 1, 2025: Nova Scotia reduced HST from 15% to 14%
That leaves Nova Scotia at 14%, below the 15% charged in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island, but above Ontario’s 13%. The same $1,100 laptop costs $1,265.00 in New Brunswick. Every province’s rate is on the sales tax by province page.
Point-of-sale rebates
Nova Scotia rebates the 9% provincial part of the HST at the till on printed books, children's clothing and footwear and diapers. The store charges only the 5% GST on them, so there is nothing to claim afterwards. “Children’s” means items designed for babies and children, not adult sizes bought for a child. Books include audiobooks and printed scripture.
Among the Atlantic provinces, only Nova Scotia and PEI rebate the provincial part on children’s clothing. Basic groceries and prescription drugs carry no HST at all under the federal rules, which the zero-rated and exempt section explains.
The Your Energy Rebate Program
Home energy gets its own rebate. The Your Energy Rebate Program returns an amount equal to the provincial part of the HST on energy used in a home, whatever the source: electricity, heating oil, natural gas, propane, firewood, wood pellets, coal and kerosene. It doesn’t depend on income.
For electricity billed at a domestic rate, and for heating oil, natural gas, propane or firewood delivered to your home, the supplier takes the rebate off the bill. For fuel you pick up yourself, or for wood pellets, coal and kerosene, you apply to the province within 24 months of the purchase. New Brunswick rebates the provincial part on electricity only.
Buying a new home
A newly built home in Nova Scotia carries the full HST. First-time buyers can get back 18.75% of the provincial part, up to $3,000, through the provincial First-Time Home Buyers Rebate, on top of the federal GST/HST new housing rebate.
Credits that return some of the tax
Lower-income residents get part of their sales tax back through the federal Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit (the former GST/HST credit) and Nova Scotia’s Affordable Living Tax Credit, paid together after you file a tax return. The payment dates page lists when they arrive.
Related pages
- Sales tax by province: every province’s rate and how the three systems work
- New Brunswick, PEI and Newfoundland and Labrador sales tax
- GST/HST calculator for business owners: registration, filing and the Quick Method
- Car sales tax by province