Provincial sales tax is a separate retail tax charged in British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba on top of GST, filed with the province and generally not recoverable.
In the non-harmonised provinces, British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, a separate provincial sales tax applies on top of the 5% federal GST. Unlike GST/HST, PST is a retail-level tax filed with the province, not the CRA, and it is generally not recoverable as an input tax credit, making it a real cost in the supply chain.
PST rules differ by province, including what is taxable, some services taxed under PST are exempt from GST, so businesses operating in these provinces must track two separate systems. Quebec runs its own QST (administered with GST by Revenu Quebec), and Alberta has no provincial sales tax at all.
A BC retailer charges 5% GST plus 7% PST on a sale. The GST is netted against input tax credits and remitted to the CRA; the PST is filed separately with the province and cannot be recovered.
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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.
Canada taxes income in graduated brackets, so only the income above a threshold is taxed at that bracket's higher rate and moving up a bracket never reprices the income below it. There is one federal set of brackets and a separate set for each province and territory, and the thresholds are indexed to inflation every year. Look up the current figures for your province on the CRA rate tables rather than relying on an older list.
Open the forms and publications section of canada.ca, search by form number or title, and choose the PDF for the tax year you need, because forms change from year to year and prior-year versions stay available in the same place. Most personal filers need no printed forms at all, since software approved for NETFILE builds the T1 and transmits it. Paper filers should print the version for their province or territory of residence.
Taxable income is what remains after deductions. A personal return moves through stages: total income from all sources, then net income after deductions such as registered retirement savings plan contributions, child care costs and union dues, then taxable income after any further deductions. Tax is calculated on that taxable income using the federal and provincial brackets, and non-refundable credits are applied afterwards, which is why a credit and a deduction are not worth the same amount.
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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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