GST vs HST vs PST vs QST: What’s the Difference?

Canada has one federal sales tax and several provincial ones. Which you pay depends on the province where you buy — or, for shipped goods, where they are delivered.

GST: the federal Goods and Services Tax

The GST is 5% and applies in every province and territory. In Alberta, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Yukon it is the only sales tax, so most purchases there cost 5% more than the shelf price.

HST: GST and provincial tax in one

Five provinces have harmonized their sales tax with the GST. The harmonized sales tax (HST) is collected as a single tax by the Canada Revenue Agency and shows up as one line on a receipt.

Province	HST	Federal part	Provincial part
Ontario	13%	5%	8%
Nova Scotia	14%	5%	9%
New Brunswick	15%	5%	10%
Newfoundland and Labrador	15%	5%	10%
Prince Edward Island	15%	5%	10%

Nova Scotia lowered its HST from 15% to 14% on April 1, 2025.

PST and RST: separate provincial sales taxes

British Columbia (7% PST), Saskatchewan (6% PST) and Manitoba (7% retail sales tax, or RST) run their own sales taxes alongside the GST. The province — not the CRA — administers them, and they have their own lists of exemptions. That is why some purchases in these provinces have only the 5% GST.

QST: the Quebec sales tax

Quebec charges the 9.975% QST next to the 5% GST, for 14.975% combined. In French the taxes are the TVQ (QST) and TPS (GST). Since January 1, 2013, QST is calculated on the price before GST.

How each is calculated

Every one of these taxes is calculated on the price before tax — there is no tax on tax anywhere in Canada.

• GST only: $100 × 5% = $5 → $105
• HST (Ontario): $100 × 13% = $13 → $113
• GST + PST (B.C.): $5 GST + $7 PST → $112
• GST + QST (Quebec): $5.00 GST + $9.98 QST → $114.98

Which one should I charge as a business?

Registered businesses generally charge the rate of the province where the customer receives the goods or services. A business in Alberta selling to a customer in Ontario charges 13% HST, not 5% GST. PST and QST are separate registrations: you only collect them if you’re registered with that province.

Quick summary

• GST — 5%, federal, everywhere.
• HST — GST + provincial part as one tax: ON, NS, NB, NL, PE.
• PST / RST — separate provincial tax: BC, SK, MB.
• QST — Quebec’s separate tax.

Use the sales tax calculator to work out any of them, or compare all provinces at once.