A Halifax business billed a single HST rate on out-of-province work. We applied the place-of-supply rules and cleaned up the filings.
Nova Scotia is a harmonised province, so one HST applies, but the correct rate depends on where the supply is made rather than where the business is located. This client applied its home rate to every invoice, under-collecting on some provinces and over-collecting on others. We applied the place-of-supply rules by customer location and service type, corrected the affected invoices, and amended the returns so remittances matched the tax actually collectible.
Professional practices are taxed on work in progress and face personal services business risk where one client dominates.
Registration is mandatory once taxable supplies pass $30,000 over four consecutive calendar quarters. Input tax credits require documentation that scales with invoice size.
Why it bites: Unmatched input tax credits are the first thing disallowed in a sales-tax review, and the assessment covers every period reviewed.
The rate charged follows the customer's province, not the seller's: 13% into Ontario, 15% into the Atlantic provinces, 5% plus provincial tax elsewhere.
Why it bites: A seller charging its own province's rate nationally is under-collecting on some sales and over-collecting on others, and owes the difference on the under-collected ones.
Every engagement above was priced as a fixed fee agreed before the work started, and paid only once the client had reviewed the result. If any of this looks like your situation, the first step is a free 15-minute call — we will tell you plainly whether there is anything worth doing.
Reviewed for the 2025 tax year by Udit Gupta, Certified Tax Accountant. Figures describe a real engagement; outcomes depend on your own facts. Client details are omitted for confidentiality.
