Economical Simplified GST/HST Digital Economy Registration for Canadian Businesses

Multiply the pre-tax price by the rate for the province of supply. On a $100 purchase in 2026 that is $13.00 in Ontario (13%), $14.00 in Nova Scotia (14%), and $15.00 in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador or Prince Edward Island (15%). In the non-participating provinces and the three territories only the 5% GST applies, so $5.00, plus any provincial sales tax billed separately.

You can pay through CRA My Business Account or My Payment, through your own financial institution's online banking by adding the CRA GST/HST payment as a payee under your business number, or by pre-authorised debit arranged in My Business Account. Third-party providers accept credit cards for a fee. Payment is due by the deadline for your reporting period, and filing the return does not by itself move the money, so schedule the two separately.

A write-off is simply a deductible expense. You subtract it from the income it helped earn, so the saving equals the expense multiplied by your marginal tax rate, not the full amount spent. To qualify, the cost must be incurred to earn business or employment income, be reasonable in amount, and be backed by a receipt. Purely personal costs never qualify, and mixed-use items such as a vehicle or a home office are split by business-use proportion.

Two different categories carry no tax. Zero-rated supplies are taxed at nil, including basic groceries, prescription drugs, medical devices and most agricultural products, and the seller can still claim input tax credits. Exempt supplies, such as most residential rent, health and dental care and financial services, carry no tax and no input tax credits. Small suppliers below the $30,000 threshold, unchanged for 2025 and 2026, also charge nothing until they register. The CRA lists both categories.

Divide the total by one plus the tax rate, then subtract that result from the total to get the tax. In Ontario at 13% HST divide by 1.13; in Nova Scotia at 14% from 1 April 2025 divide by 1.14; where only 5% GST applies divide by 1.05. Quebec is layered, because QST of 9.975% applies to the pre-GST price, giving a combined 14.975%, so divide by 1.14975 to reach the pre-tax amount.

Saskatchewan's provincial sales tax is 6% for 2026, charged alongside the 5% federal GST for a combined 11% on most goods and many services. Both taxes are applied to the same pre-tax amount, so they do not stack. PST here is a retail sales tax rather than a value-added tax, so a business generally cannot claim it back; relief comes from up-front exemptions such as goods bought for resale.

Sign in to CRA My Account for personal tax, or My Business Account for a corporation or GST/HST account, and open the statement of account: it shows the balance, interest charged and any instalments credited. The CRA's individual enquiries line gives the same figure once you pass identity verification. A representative you authorise with AUT-01 can also look it up. A notice of assessment only shows the balance as at its own date.

Exemptions is American wording. Canada uses non-refundable credits instead, starting with the basic personal amount, which is $16,452 federally for 2026 and reduced at high incomes, plus credits for age, disability, tuition, dependants and more. You list the ones that apply on the personal tax credits return you give your employer, which lowers the tax withheld each pay. The same credits then reduce the tax calculated on your return.

You can claim the spouse or common-law partner amount for a year in which you supported your partner and their net income was low. It is a non-refundable credit that shrinks as their net income rises and disappears once that income passes the limit set for the year, so a full claim generally means a partner with little or no income. Unused tuition, age, disability and pension credits may also transfer to you.

Yes. A vehicle bought from a dealer in Ontario carries 13% HST on the sale price, new or used, plus tax on the dealer's fees. A private sale between individuals has no HST, but a provincial retail sales tax at the same rate is collected when you register the vehicle, calculated on the greater of the price paid and the vehicle's wholesale value. A trade-in reduces the taxable amount at a dealer, not in a private sale.

The Income Tax Act is the federal statute that sets out how income tax works in Canada: who is taxable, how income, deductions and credits are computed, and what powers the CRA has to assess and collect. It is amended most years by budget legislation, and the consolidated text is published free on the Justice Laws website. Regulations, CRA guidance and court decisions sit alongside it. Provinces have their own income tax statutes, and Quebec administers its own.

Some supplies carry no sales tax anywhere in Canada, including basic groceries, prescription drugs, most medical devices, feminine hygiene products and long-term residential rent. Ontario adds point-of-sale rebates of the provincial part of the HST on items such as children's clothing and footwear, children's car seats, diapers, printed books and newspapers, so only the federal part is charged at the till. Everything outside those categories is taxed at the combined rate applying to supplies made in Ontario, so check the category before assuming an exemption.