Buy the same $100 item in Edmonton, Toronto, and Charlottetown and you'll pay three different totals: $105, $113, and $115. Canada's sales tax system is a patchwork — but a logical one once you see the three building blocks.
The Three Taxes
- GST (5%) — the federal Goods and Services Tax, charged on most purchases everywhere in Canada.
- PST — a separate provincial sales tax layered on top of GST. British Columbia (7%), Saskatchewan (6%), and Manitoba (7%, called RST) run their own. Quebec's version, QST, is 9.975%.
- HST — a single harmonized tax that merges the federal and provincial portions into one line: Ontario (13%), Nova Scotia (14%), and New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and PEI (15%).
Alberta, Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut charge no provincial tax at all — just the 5% GST.
Current Rates at a Glance (as of July 2026)
| Province | Total Rate |
|---|---|
| Alberta, NT, NU, Yukon | 5% |
| Saskatchewan | 11% |
| BC, Manitoba | 12% |
| Ontario | 13% |
| Nova Scotia | 14% |
| Quebec | 14.975% |
| NB, NL, PEI | 15% |
(Nova Scotia cut its HST from 15% to 14% in April 2025 — a reminder that rates do move. Always verify against CRA or provincial sources for anything official.)
Adding and Removing Tax
Adding is easy: multiply by 1 plus the rate. $80 in BC → 80 × 1.12 = $89.60.
Removing is where people slip. To find the pre-tax price inside a total, divide by 1 plus the rate — don't subtract the percentage. A $113 receipt in Ontario contains 113 ÷ 1.13 = $100 of goods and $13 of HST. (Subtracting 13% would wrongly give $98.31.)
Sales Tax CalculatorAdd or remove GST/HST/PST for any province
Common Wrinkles
- Groceries: most basic groceries are zero-rated — no GST/HST. Prepared and snack foods usually are taxed.
- Quebec's QST applies to the pre-GST price (the taxes are parallel, not stacked), giving the 14.975% combined rate.
- PST exemptions vary by province — BC exempts most services, Saskatchewan taxes many of them. When in doubt, check the provincial list.
- Online purchases are generally taxed at the rate of the delivery address, not the seller's location.
Whether you're checking a receipt, pricing a job, or invoicing across provinces, the mechanics are the same: know the province, apply one multiplication — or one division.