Results are estimates for educational purposes only. Some goods and services are zero-rated or exempt — always confirm exact GST/HST treatment for your specific product or service.
How Canadian sales tax works
Canada's sales tax system has three layers depending on where you are: GST (federal, 5% everywhere), PST (provincial, charged separately on top of GST in some provinces), and HST (a single harmonized rate combining both federal and provincial tax in provinces that have merged them).
2026 sales tax rates by province
Province/Territory
System
Combined rate
Ontario
HST
13%
Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, PEI, Newfoundland
HST
15%
British Columbia
GST + PST
12%
Manitoba
GST + PST
12%
Saskatchewan
GST + PST
11%
Quebec
GST + QST
14.975%
Alberta, Yukon, NWT, Nunavut
GST only
5%
Worked example: $100 sale in Ontario
Adding HST: $100 × 13% = $13.00 tax, for a total of $113.00. Removing HST from a $113.00 tax-included price: $113.00 ÷ 1.13 = $100.00 pre-tax, meaning $13.00 was tax.
Why this matters for small businesses
If you're registered for GST/HST (mandatory once your revenue exceeds $30,000 in a 12-month period, optional below that), you need to charge the correct rate based on where your customer is located for most goods and services, then remit the collected tax to the CRA, claiming back any GST/HST you paid on business expenses (input tax credits). Getting the provincial rate wrong on invoices is a common — and avoidable — small business error.
Frequently asked questions
GST (Goods and Services Tax) is the federal 5% sales tax charged everywhere in Canada. PST (Provincial Sales Tax) is a separate provincial tax charged on top of GST in some provinces. HST (Harmonized Sales Tax) combines GST and PST into a single rate in provinces that have harmonized their sales taxes.
Ontario, New Brunswick, Newfoundland & Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island all use HST. The remaining provinces and territories charge GST separately, with some adding their own PST on top.
Alberta charges only the federal 5% GST with no provincial sales tax at all, making it the lowest combined sales tax rate in Canada alongside the territories.
Divide the tax-included price by (1 + the tax rate) to find the pre-tax amount, then subtract that from the total to find the tax portion. Our calculator does this automatically when you select 'Remove tax'.