GST vs HST vs PST vs QST: which one applies?

Which sales tax applies depends on where the sale happens. Alberta and the territories charge only the 5% GST. Ontario and the four Atlantic provinces charge a single HST. British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba charge the GST plus a separate provincial tax, and Quebec charges the GST plus the QST. Here is what each one means.

What is GST?

The Goods and Services Tax is a 5% federal tax that applies everywhere in Canada. Every other tax on this page is either added beside it or combined with it.

In Alberta, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Yukon, the GST is the only sales tax. The rate is 5%.

What is HST?

Five provinces combined their provincial tax with the GST. The result is a single Harmonized Sales Tax, administered by the Canada Revenue Agency, that appears as one line on a receipt.

The 5% federal portion is included in those rates. Ontario’s 13% is 5% federal plus 8% provincial. Nova Scotia’s rate dropped from 15% to 14% on 1 April 2025.

What are PST and RST?

Three provinces outside Quebec kept their provincial tax separate. The receipt shows two lines, and both taxes are charged on the pre-tax price.

Manitoba calls its tax the Retail Sales Tax. The arithmetic is the same as a PST. Use the correct name on invoices.

Provincial tax is charged on the pre-tax price, not on the GST. The two do not compound.

What is QST?

Quebec charges its own tax, the Quebec Sales Tax, at 9.975%. With the 5% GST, the combined rate is 14.975%. For most Quebec businesses, Revenu Québec administers both the GST and the QST, so you deal with one agency for both.

The unusual decimal comes from a change in 2013. Before then, Quebec charged 9.5% QST on the GST-inclusive price, which is tax on tax. When Quebec switched to charging the QST on the pre-tax price, it set the new rate at 9.975%. That is 9.5% of 105%, so the combined rate stayed exactly the same.

In French these are the TPS (federal), the TVQ (Quebec), the TVH (harmonized) and the TVP (provincial). A Quebec receipt shows TPS and TVQ.

Which tax do you charge?

For goods, the tax generally follows where the goods are delivered, not where your business is located. An Ontario business that ships an order to Halifax charges Nova Scotia’s 14% HST, not Ontario’s 13%.

The PST provinces add a step. An Ontario business shipping to Vancouver charges the 5% GST. It charges BC’s 7% PST only if it is registered for BC PST. Sellers outside BC have to register once their taxable sales into BC pass a threshold ($10,000 over the previous 12 months at time of writing). Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Quebec have their own registration rules for sellers outside the province.

Services follow separate place-of-supply rules. If you sell services across provinces, read the CRA’s place-of-supply guidance on canada.ca.

Do you have to charge it at all?

If your worldwide taxable sales are $30,000 or less over four consecutive calendar quarters, you are generally a small supplier. You do not have to register for GST/HST, though you can register voluntarily. Once you are registered, you charge GST or HST on your taxable sales. Provincial taxes have their own registration rules.

Frequently asked questions

Is HST the same as GST? No. HST includes the GST. In an HST province you charge the HST rate, and the 5% federal portion is part of it.

Do I charge GST and HST on the same sale? No. A sale in an HST province carries HST only. A sale in a GST-only or PST province carries GST, plus PST, RST or QST where it applies.

Every rate on this page is built into the sales tax calculator, by province, in both directions. The full table is in the 2026 rate card.