Canada Sales Tax 2026: GST/HST/PST by Province & Item

Key summary: Canada has no single checkout tax rate. What you pay depends first on the province and then on the item. A $100 food-only restaurant meal costs about $105 in British Columbia (5% GST only) but about $114 in Nova Scotia (14% HST) ^[1][4]. Basic groceries are 0% nationwide, while a $1,000 laptop is $1,120 in BC and $1,140 in Nova Scotia ^[1][3][4].

When you move to or visit Canada, one of the first surprises at the till is that the price on the shelf is almost never the price you pay. Sales tax is added at checkout, and the amount added is not the same everywhere. Two shoppers buying the identical product can pay different tax simply because they are in different provinces, and two products in the same shopping cart can be taxed at completely different rates.

This guide explains the four sales taxes you will meet in Canada, the 2026 rate in every province, and the more useful question most guides skip: why the same purchase costs a different amount of tax depending on both where you are and what you are buying.

What taxes apply when you buy something in Canada?

Canada layers a federal tax and, in most places, a provincial tax on top of it. There are four names to know:

• GST (Goods and Services Tax) is the 5% federal tax that applies across the whole country ^[2]. Every province and territory has this 5% as a baseline.
• HST (Harmonized Sales Tax) is a single blended tax used in five provinces. It combines the 5% federal GST and the provincial portion into one rate collected together, so you see one line on the receipt. Ontario, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Island use HST ^[2].
• PST (Provincial Sales Tax) is a separate provincial tax charged on top of the 5% GST. British Columbia and Saskatchewan use PST. Manitoba's version is officially the Retail Sales Tax (RST) but works the same way ^[2].
• QST (Quebec Sales Tax) is Quebec's own 9.975% provincial tax, applied alongside the 5% GST for a combined 14.975% on ordinary taxable purchases ^[2].

Alberta and the three territories (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut) have no provincial sales tax at all, so you pay only the 5% GST ^[2]. That is why Alberta is often described as Canada's low-tax province for shopping.

The practical difference between HST and PST provinces is not just the number. Because HST is a single harmonized tax, it usually applies at one rate to most goods and services. In PST provinces, the federal GST and the provincial PST are two separate taxes with two separate rulebooks, and the province often exempts things the federal government still taxes (and occasionally the reverse). That split is the root of most of the "why is my tax different?" confusion covered below.

What is the sales tax in each province in 2026?

Here is the combined rate on an ordinary taxable purchase (for example, a laptop or a piece of furniture) in each province and territory for 2026.

Province / territory	Federal (GST)	Provincial (PST/HST/QST)	Combined 2026 rate
Alberta	5%	none	5%
Northwest Territories	5%	none	5%
Nunavut	5%	none	5%
Yukon	5%	none	5%
Saskatchewan	5%	6% PST	11%
British Columbia	5%	7% PST	12%
Manitoba	5%	7% RST	12%
Ontario	(5%)	8%	13% HST
Nova Scotia	(5%)	9%	14% HST
New Brunswick	(5%)	10%	15% HST
Newfoundland and Labrador	(5%)	10%	15% HST
Prince Edward Island	(5%)	10%	15% HST
Quebec	5%	9.975% QST	14.975%

Rates confirmed for 2026 ^[2]. Two points newcomers often miss:

• Nova Scotia dropped to 14% on April 1, 2025. Its provincial portion fell from 10% to 9%, so its HST went from 15% to 14%. That 14% applies throughout 2026 ^[1]. Older articles and even some official documents still show 15% for Nova Scotia, so check the date.
• Alberta and the territories are the cheapest at a flat 5% on ordinary goods, with no provincial layer ^[2].

For the lowest-rate provinces the checkout math is simple: 5% and you are done. It is the PST provinces where the rate on your receipt depends heavily on what you bought.

Why does the same purchase cost different tax in different provinces?

The combined rate in the table above is the rate for an ordinary taxable good. But many everyday purchases are not ordinary taxable goods. The federal government zero-rates some items, and provinces exempt others, so the effective rate swings with the item category.

What does "zero-rated" mean? A zero-rated item is still inside the tax system, but it is taxed at a rate of 0%, so no sales tax is added at the till. That is slightly different from an exempt item (such as long-term residential rent), which sits outside the tax entirely, but for you as a shopper the result is identical: nothing extra to pay. The distinction mainly matters to businesses, which can recover the GST they paid on their own costs when they sell zero-rated goods, but not for exempt ones. Throughout this guide, "zero-rated" and "0%" mean the same thing on your receipt: no tax. ^[12]

Basic groceries: 0% everywhere. Fresh, frozen, or canned fruit and vegetables, breakfast cereal, most milk products, fresh meat, poultry and fish, eggs, and coffee beans are "zero-rated" federally, meaning they are taxed at 0% ^[3]. This applies in every province, including HST provinces. So a cart of unprepared groceries has no sales tax on it anywhere in Canada.

But not everything sold in a grocery store is a basic grocery. Alcohol, carbonated (soda) drinks, candy, and designated snack foods such as chips, chocolate bars, chewing gum, cheese puffs, granola bars, and salted nuts are always taxable, no matter the package size ^[3].

For several other foods, the size or quantity of the package flips the tax status ^[3]:

• Ice cream and frozen desserts (ice cream, ice milk, sherbet, frozen yogurt): a single serving of less than 500 mL or less than 500 g is taxable, but a container of 500 mL / 500 g or more is zero-rated ^[3]. So a single-serve cup is taxed while a 2-litre tub is not. (A multi-pack of individually wrapped single servings, such as a box of ice cream sandwiches, stays taxable, because each portion is a single serving ^[3].)
• Baked goods (muffins, doughnuts, croissants, bagels, pastries): a package of fewer than six is taxable, but six or more is zero-rated ^[3]. Five muffins are taxed; a pack of six is not.
• Beverages: a single-serving non-carbonated drink under 600 mL is generally taxable, while a larger container or a manufacturer's multi-pack of the same drink can be zero-rated ^[3].

This is why a grocery receipt often shows tax on only some lines: the unprepared basics are 0%, but the snacks, single-serve treats, and drinks are taxed.

Restaurant and prepared food is where provinces split hardest. In PST provinces the rules differ dramatically, which produces the headline contrast below.

Here is the same set of purchases across four provinces:

Item	British Columbia	Nova Scotia	Ontario	Alberta
$100 food-only restaurant meal	~$105 (5% GST only) [4]	~$114 (14% HST) [1]	~$113 (13% HST) [8]	~$105 (5% GST) [2]
$1,000 laptop	$1,120 (12%) [4]	$1,140 (14%) [1]	$1,130 (13%) [2]	$1,050 (5%) [2]
$50 basic groceries	$50 (0%) [3]	$50 (0%) [3]	$50 (0%) [3]	$50 (0%) [3]
$30 bottle of wine/spirits	~$34.50 (15%) [4]	~$34.20 (14%) [1]	~$33.90 (13%) [2]	~$31.50 (5%) [2]

Two worked examples make the province effect concrete:

• The $100 restaurant meal. In British Columbia, food for human consumption, including restaurant meals and takeout, is PST-exempt, so a food-only bill normally carries just the 5% GST and comes to about $105 ^[4]. In Nova Scotia there is no such carve-out: the full 14% HST applies and the same meal is about $114 ^[1]. That is roughly a $9 difference on an identical plate of food, purely because of the province.
• The $1,000 laptop. A laptop is an ordinary taxable good everywhere, so it follows the province's combined rate: $1,120 in BC (5% GST + 7% PST) ^[4], $1,140 in Nova Scotia (14% HST) ^[1], $1,130 in Ontario (13% HST) ^[2], and just $1,050 in Alberta (5% GST only) ^[2].

Children's items are a special case, and often just 5%. Most provinces remove the provincial portion on children's essentials, so you pay only the 5% federal GST, but the rules and the exact items differ by province ^[11].

Province	Children's clothing / footwear	Diapers	Car / booster seats	Net rate
Ontario	rebated	rebated	rebated	5% [9][11]
Nova Scotia	rebated	rebated	full HST	5% clothing/diapers [11]
Prince Edward Island	rebated	full HST	full HST	5% clothing only [11]
New Brunswick / N.L.	full HST	full HST	full HST	15% (no rebate) [11]
British Columbia	PST-exempt	cloth exempt / disposable taxed	exempt	5% (most) [5]
Manitoba	exempt (usually $150 or less)	exempt	exempt	5% [10]
Saskatchewan	taxed	baby diapers exempt	taxed	11% clothing [6]
Alberta / territories	5% GST only	5%	5%	5%

The federal children's-goods rebate applies in Ontario, Nova Scotia, and PEI (the three HST provinces that opted in); New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador did not, so children's clothing there is the full 15% ^[11]. Eligibility follows children's sizes (for example, girls' size 16 or boys' size 20 and under, or footwear with a short insole), and the 5% GST still applies, so the floor is 5%, not 0% ^[11]. Ontario also rebates its provincial portion on qualifying books and newspapers, so those are 5% too ^[9]. Do not assume a BC-style exemption follows you east: Saskatchewan taxes children's clothing and footwear ^[6].

What is taxed differently within a single province?

Even inside one province, the rate can change line by line on the same receipt. British Columbia is the clearest example because its food and drink rules diverge sharply:

• Restaurant food: 5% GST only (PST-exempt) ^[4].
• Sweetened carbonated / soda drinks: 7% PST applies on top of GST, so 12% ^[4]. A fountain pop is taxable even if what is dispensed is juice.
• Alcohol over 1%: charged 10% PST plus 5% GST, for 15%, not the ordinary 12% ^[4]. On $10 of liquor that is $1.00 PST and $0.50 GST.

So a single BC restaurant bill for a burger, a soda, and a beer can carry three different tax treatments: the food at 5%, the soda at 12%, and the beer at 15% ^[4]. The restaurant allocates the correct tax to each item, which is why one meal does not have one tidy rate.

Other provinces have their own internal rules:

• Saskatchewan generally follows the federal food categories: basic groceries are exempt, but prepared, heated, ready-to-eat food, catering, sandwiches, and carbonated drinks are PST-taxable, so a restaurant meal is 5% GST + 6% PST = 11% ^[6]. Alcohol is a special case: instead of the 6% PST, a 10% Liquor Consumption Tax applies alongside GST ^[6].
• Manitoba taxes restaurant and prepared food, including orders placed by phone or online for delivery or pickup, so a normal meal is 5% GST + 7% RST = 12% ^[7].
• Ontario has a "$4 or less" rebate. Qualifying prepared food and beverages totalling $4 or less before HST, sold to one person at one time, get the 8% provincial portion rebated at the till, so you pay only 5% ^[8]. Official examples: a $3.50 prepared salad is 5%; a $2.99 cheeseburger plus a $0.99 soda sold together for $3.98 is 5%; but once qualifying prepared food exceeds $4, the full 13% applies, and alcohol never qualifies ^[8]. Note it is "$4 or less," not "under $4."

What about big purchases - cars, homes, and rent?

The item-and-province logic scales up to your largest buys, with some important twists.

Vehicles. How a car is taxed depends on whether you buy from a dealer or privately, and the rules vary by province. This is a big enough topic that it has its own guide: see the vehicle purchase tax post for dealer versus private-sale treatment and province-by-province details.

New homes. GST (or the federal portion of HST) generally applies to newly built or substantially renovated homes, not to resale homes between private owners. The federal government offers a GST/HST New Housing Rebate that returns part of the tax on qualifying primary residences below set price thresholds, and some provinces add their own rebate. The exact rebate depends on price and province. ^[13]

Rent. Long-term residential rent is exempt from GST/HST, so you do not pay sales tax on your monthly rent for a home or apartment. (Short-term accommodation such as a hotel or a stay under one month is taxable.) For what rent actually costs across Canadian cities, see the cost of renting guide. ^[12]

Do newcomers and visitors pay sales tax?

Yes. Sales tax in Canada is charged at the point of sale to everyone, regardless of citizenship or immigration status. Newcomers, international students, workers, and tourists all pay the same GST/HST/PST as residents. Unlike some countries, Canada no longer offers a general federal sales-tax refund to departing tourists on ordinary shopping. ^[14]

There is relief for lower-income residents, though. The federal Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit (CGEB), which replaced the GST/HST credit in July 2026, is a tax-free quarterly payment designed to offset the sales tax paid by low- and modest-income individuals and families. You generally become eligible once you file a Canadian tax return (newcomers can apply in their first year), and it is calculated from your income. It does not reduce the tax you pay at the till, but it returns money to you through the year to compensate. If you are new to Canada, filing a return is what unlocks it, so file even with little or no income ^[19].

Income tax is a separate system from sales tax. To understand what you owe on earnings, see the tax brackets guide.

Watch out: common sales-tax mistakes

• Assuming one national rate. There is no single Canadian sales tax. Always budget for the local rate, which ranges from 5% in Alberta to 15% in the Atlantic HST provinces ^[1][2].
• Assuming a restaurant meal is taxed like a store purchase. In BC a food-only meal is 5%, but a soda or alcohol on the same bill is taxed higher ^[4]. In Ontario, only prepared food $4 or less gets the reduced 5% ^[8].
• Forgetting cross-border and online tax. Goods shipped to you are usually taxed at the rate of the province they are delivered to, and imports can attract GST/HST (and sometimes duty) at the border. A cheaper US sticker price may not stay cheaper after tax and shipping. ^[15][16]
• Calculating a tip on the post-tax total. Restaurant tips in Canada are customarily figured on the pre-tax amount. Tipping on the after-tax total quietly inflates the tip, especially in 14%-15% HST provinces.
• Trusting outdated rate charts. Nova Scotia is 14% since April 1, 2025, not 15% ^[1]. Verify the year on any table you rely on.

Key Takeaways

• Canada has no single sales tax rate. The tax depends first on the province, then on the item ^[2].
• Combined 2026 rates run from 5% (Alberta and the territories) to 15% (New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, PEI), with Nova Scotia now at 14% ^[1][2].
• Basic groceries are 0% nationwide, but soda, candy, snacks, and alcohol are taxable ^[3].
• In BC a food-only restaurant meal is just 5% GST, while the same meal is 14% in Nova Scotia and 13% in Ontario ^[1][4][8].
• The Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit (CGEB) offsets sales tax for lower-income residents, including newcomers who file a return ^[19].

FAQ

Q: Which province has the lowest sales tax?

A: Alberta and the three territories (Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut) have the lowest, at just 5% GST with no provincial sales tax ^[2]. Every other province adds a provincial layer on top of the 5%.

Q: Which province has the highest sales tax?

A: New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Island are the highest at 15% HST. Quebec is close behind at 14.975%, and Nova Scotia is 14% ^[1][2].

Q: Why is a restaurant meal cheaper tax-wise in BC than in Nova Scotia?

A: British Columbia exempts food for human consumption, including restaurant meals, from its 7% PST, so a food-only bill carries only the 5% GST ^[4]. Nova Scotia applies its full 14% HST to restaurant meals with no such exemption ^[1]. On a $100 meal that is about $105 versus $114.

Q: Are groceries taxed in Canada?

A: Basic groceries are zero-rated at 0% across all of Canada ^[3]. However, alcohol, carbonated soft drinks, candy, and designated snack foods such as chips and chocolate bars are taxable even when bought at a grocery store ^[3].

Q: Is ice cream taxed at the grocery store, and does size matter?

A: Yes, size matters. Ice cream and similar frozen desserts are taxable when packaged or sold in a single serving of less than 500 mL or 500 g, but a container of 500 mL / 500 g or more is zero-rated ^[3]. So a single-serve cup is taxed while a 2-litre tub is not. A multi-pack of individually wrapped single servings (like a box of ice cream sandwiches) stays taxable ^[3]. A similar rule taxes baked goods sold in packages of fewer than six ^[3].

Q: Is there sales tax on rent?

A: No. Long-term residential rent is exempt from GST/HST, so you do not pay sales tax on your monthly home or apartment rent. Short-term stays under one month, such as hotels, are taxable. ^[12]

Q: Do I pay PST on a used car bought privately?

A: It depends on the province, and the private-sale rules often differ from dealer sales. Several provinces charge provincial tax on private used-vehicle sales based on the greater of the price paid or an assessed value. See the vehicle purchase tax guide for the province-by-province details. ^[17][18]

Q: What is the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit (CGEB), formerly the GST/HST credit?

A: The CGEB is a tax-free quarterly payment from the federal government that offsets sales tax paid by low- and modest-income individuals and families. You become eligible by filing a Canadian tax return, and the amount depends on your income and family size. See the CGEB guide ^[19].

Q: What is the difference between GST, HST, and PST?

A: GST is the 5% federal tax that applies nationwide. HST is a single blended tax (5% federal plus a provincial part) used in Ontario and the four Atlantic provinces. PST is a separate provincial tax charged on top of GST in BC, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba (called RST in Manitoba) ^[2].

Q: Does Quebec use GST and PST?

A: Quebec uses the 5% federal GST plus its own 9.975% Quebec Sales Tax (QST), for a combined 14.975% on ordinary taxable purchases ^[2].

Q: Why is alcohol taxed higher than other goods in BC?

A: In British Columbia, liquor over 1% alcohol is charged 10% PST plus 5% GST, for a total of 15%, rather than the ordinary 7% PST ^[4]. So alcohol is taxed higher than a regular 12% good.

Q: Do tourists get a sales-tax refund when leaving Canada?

A: Not on ordinary shopping. Canada no longer offers a general federal sales-tax rebate to departing visitors, so tourists pay the same GST/HST/PST as residents. ^[14]

Q: Is online shopping taxed, and at what rate?

A: Yes. Goods shipped within Canada are generally taxed at the rate of the province they are delivered to, and items imported from abroad can attract GST/HST (and sometimes duty) at the border. Factor tax and shipping in before assuming a foreign price is cheaper. ^[15][16]

Q: Should I tip on the pre-tax or post-tax amount?

A: The Canadian custom is to tip on the pre-tax subtotal. Tipping on the after-tax total slightly inflates your tip, which adds up in 14%-15% HST provinces.

Q: Are children's clothes and books taxed?

A: It varies by province. Ontario, Nova Scotia, and PEI rebate the provincial portion on children's clothing and footwear, so you pay only 5% GST (Ontario and NS also rebate diapers; Ontario adds car seats and books) ^[9][11]. British Columbia and Manitoba exempt qualifying children's clothing from PST, leaving 5% ^[5][10]. New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador have no such rebate, so children's clothing is 15% there, and Saskatchewan taxes children's clothing and footwear ^[6][11].

Q: Is Nova Scotia's HST 14% or 15%?

A: It is 14% as of April 1, 2025, when the provincial portion dropped from 10% to 9% ^[1]. Older charts that show 15% are out of date.