GST, HST, PST and QST rates by province
Canada does not have a national sales tax rate. It has three systems, thirteen jurisdictions and one recent change that a lot of published rate tables have missed.
7 min read
What is the sales tax rate in Canada?
The federal GST is 5% everywhere. Five provinces replace it with a blended HST: Ontario 13%, Nova Scotia 14%, and New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island 15%. British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Quebec add a separate provincial tax to the 5% GST. Alberta and the three territories charge GST only.
The full rate table
This is the complete picture as at 1 August 2026, taken from the Canada Revenue Agency's own rate table rather than from a secondary summary.
| Province or territory | Federal | Provincial | Total | System |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alberta | 5% GST | — | 5% | GST only |
| British Columbia | 5% GST | 7% PST | 12% | GST + PST |
| Manitoba | 5% GST | 7% RST | 12% | GST + PST |
| New Brunswick | — | — | 15% HST | HST |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | — | — | 15% HST | HST |
| Northwest Territories | 5% GST | — | 5% | GST only |
| Nova Scotia | — | — | 14% HST | HST |
| Nunavut | 5% GST | — | 5% | GST only |
| Ontario | — | — | 13% HST | HST |
| Prince Edward Island | — | — | 15% HST | HST |
| Quebec | 5% GST | 9.975% QST | 14.975% | GST + QST |
| Saskatchewan | 5% GST | 6% PST | 11% | GST + PST |
| Yukon | 5% GST | — | 5% | GST only |
HST rows show a single blended figure because that is genuinely how the tax works there — the federal and provincial shares exist underneath, but you never split them on an invoice.
Why Nova Scotia is 14% and not 15%
Nova Scotia reduced the provincial portion of its HST from 10% to 9% with effect from 1 April 2025. The combined rate fell from 15% to 14%.
More than a year later this remains the most common error in published Canadian rate tables. It is worth checking any calculator or price list you rely on: if it still returns 15% for Nova Scotia, it has not been maintained since early 2025, which tells you something about the rest of its figures too.
For invoices dated before 1 April 2025, 15% is still the correct rate. The CRA published transitional rules covering supplies that straddle the change, which matter mostly for real property and long-running contracts.
The three systems, and why the difference matters
Which system a province uses changes more than the number on the receipt. It changes how many returns you file and to whom.
- HST provincesOntario, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Island. One blended tax, administered entirely by the Canada Revenue Agency, filed on one return. The provincial share is settled between the governments without involving you.
- GST plus PST provincesBritish Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Two separate taxes with two separate registrations, two administrations and two filing schedules. The provincial half has its own exemption list, which is why a receipt can show GST on a line with no provincial tax next to it.
- GST plus QSTQuebec only. Structurally the same as a PST province, but Revenu Québec administers both taxes, so a Quebec business files the federal GST to Revenu Québec rather than to the CRA. This is unique in Canada.
- GST onlyAlberta, Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut. No provincial sales tax at all — 5% is the whole story.
PST is not charged on GST
This is the second most common error after the Nova Scotia rate, and it is worth being precise about because it used to be true in one place.
In British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, the provincial tax has always been calculated on the selling price before GST. The two taxes sit side by side on the same base. British Columbia's combined rate is therefore 12%, not 12.35%.
Quebec is the exception that created the confusion. Before 1 January 2013, the QST genuinely was calculated on the GST-inclusive price, so the taxes compounded. Since then both apply to the pre-tax figure, and the combined rate is a straight 14.975%. Guidance written before 2013 and never revised still describes the old method.
Which rate do you charge?
The rate is set by the place of supply, not by where your business is registered. For most goods that means where they are delivered; for most services it means the customer's address.
A Toronto consultancy invoicing a Calgary client charges 5% GST, not 13% HST. A Vancouver shop shipping to Halifax charges 14% HST rather than BC's 12%. Getting this backwards is one of the more expensive bookkeeping errors available, because it is usually discovered a year later across every invoice.
The CRA publishes detailed place-of-supply rules for the harder cases, including digital services, freight and goods that cross a provincial border mid-transaction. If your situation is not obviously simple, that is the document to read.
Working backwards from a total
To find the pre-tax price inside a tax-included total, divide rather than subtract. Divide by 1.13 in Ontario, 1.14 in Nova Scotia, 1.15 in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador or Prince Edward Island, 1.12 in British Columbia and Manitoba, 1.11 in Saskatchewan and 1.14975 in Quebec.
Subtracting the rate from the total always removes too much, because the tax was calculated on the smaller pre-tax figure. On a $226 Ontario total the real HST is $26.00; subtracting 13% of $226 would remove $29.38.