GST/HST is Canada's federal value-added tax on most goods and services, collected by businesses on their sales and remitted to the CRA net of input tax credits.
The Goods and Services Tax (5%) applies across Canada; in provinces that harmonised it with their provincial tax it becomes the Harmonized Sales Tax at a single combined rate (13% in Ontario, 15% in several Atlantic provinces). Registered businesses charge it on sales, claim back the GST/HST they pay on purchases as input tax credits, and remit the difference.
Registration is mandatory once taxable revenue exceeds $30,000 over four consecutive quarters, and often worthwhile voluntarily below that to recover input tax credits. Some provinces (BC, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec) also run a separate provincial sales tax that is filed apart from GST/HST.
An Ontario business sells $10,000 of services and charges $1,300 HST. It paid $260 HST on its own expenses. It remits $1,300 − $260 = $1,040 to the CRA, keeping the difference through input tax credits.
Primary sources
- Excise Tax Act, s. 165(1) Imposition of goods and services tax
- Excise Tax Act, s. 221(1) Collection of tax
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HST combines the 5% federal GST with a provincial component in five participating provinces. For 2026 the combined rates are 13% in Ontario, 15% in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Island, and 14% in Nova Scotia since 1 April 2025. Elsewhere you charge the 5% GST alone, or GST plus a separate provincial tax. The rate follows the province of supply, not where your business sits.
Income tax is tax charged on the income you earn in a year, levied by both the federal government and your province or territory. Rates are graduated, so successive slices of taxable income are taxed at higher rates, and credits such as the basic personal amount reduce the tax calculated. Employment income is taxed through payroll withholding and settled on your T1 return. Quebec residents also file a separate provincial return with Revenu Quebec.
Most municipalities do not take credit cards for property tax directly. They accept pre-authorised debit, online or telephone banking, cheque, and in-person payment. Third-party payment processors will charge a property tax bill to a card for a service fee, which normally costs more than the rewards earned. The CRA works the same way for income tax and GST/HST: no direct card payment, but authorised third-party providers accept cards for a fee.
The repayment rate is the share of your regular EI benefits that must be paid back if your net income for the year rises above the EI benefit repayment threshold. It is shown as nil for claimants who have not received regular benefits in the preceding qualifying period, and it never applies to maternity, parental, sickness or compassionate care benefits. Tax software applies it once your income is entered. Check the current threshold on canada.ca before estimating.
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Reviewed and fact-checked by Udit Gupta
Ex Big 4 — Ernst & Young, Deloitte · International & cross-border tax specialist · CPA Canada (In-Depth Tax Program) · Chartered accountant, ICAI & MIA
Udit Gupta has over 15 years of experience helping corporations and business owners with corporate structuring, corporate tax filing, bookkeeping, payroll, GST/HST, cross-border tax and CRA representation. Big 4 trained at Ernst & Young and Deloitte, and qualified as a chartered accountant in India and again in Malaysia, he founded his accounting practice in 2014 to serve entrepreneurs, startups and non-resident business owners across Canada. View full member bio.
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India — member 521458 · Malaysian Institute of Accountants — member CA 44667 · Ex Big 4: Ernst & Young, Deloitte · CPA Canada (In-Depth Tax Program), completed 19 Dec 2023 · In-Depth GST/HST Part I, 12 Jul 2022 · Part II, 5 Jul 2023
Editorial policy. Every page is researched against primary sources — the Income Tax Act, CRA publications and CPA Canada guidance — and every rate or threshold is stated with the tax year it applies to.
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