HST (Harmonized Sales Tax)

HST (Harmonized Sales Tax) is a single combined Canadian tax that merges the federal 5% GST with a provincial sales tax component, used in Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Applies in: Canada

HST exists to simplify invoicing in Canadian provinces that opted to harmonise their provincial sales tax with the federal GST. Instead of charging two separate taxes on a single invoice (5% GST plus a provincial rate), HST provinces charge one combined rate. Ontario is 13%. The four Atlantic provinces using HST are 15%.

Provinces that did not harmonise charge GST plus a separate provincial tax. British Columbia and Saskatchewan use PST (provincial sales tax). Manitoba uses RST (retail sales tax). Quebec uses QST (Quebec sales tax) under its own administration. Alberta, the territories, and Nunavut charge only the 5% federal GST with no provincial component.

For invoicing, the question is which tax applies to the buyer, not to the seller. A Toronto seller invoicing a Vancouver buyer charges Vancouver's rules (GST plus BC PST), not Ontario HST. Showing the tax label correctly on the invoice ("HST" versus "GST + PST") matters for the buyer's bookkeeping and for input tax reclaims.

Common questions about HST

Which Canadian provinces use HST?

Five: Ontario (13%), New Brunswick (15%), Nova Scotia (15%), Prince Edward Island (15%), and Newfoundland and Labrador (15%). Every other province either uses GST plus a separate provincial tax (BC, Saskatchewan, Manitoba), GST plus QST (Quebec), or just GST (Alberta, the territories).

What rate of HST do I charge?

The rate is set by the province where the buyer is located, not where the seller is based. If you are an Ontario business invoicing a customer in Nova Scotia, you charge 15% HST. If you are invoicing a Vancouver customer, you charge 5% GST plus the applicable BC PST instead, because BC is not an HST province.

Is HST the same as GST?

Mechanically yes, in that it is a value-added tax with input tax reclaims, but it bundles in the provincial sales tax that would otherwise be charged separately. From the seller's perspective the easiest way to think about it: HST is GST plus the provincial part, charged as one line on the invoice.

Use JupiterInvoice for HST

HST on a JupiterInvoice invoice is a field, a label, and an audit trail your buyer can act on without an email back-and-forth.

Invoicing in Canada

How to send an invoice in Canada: GST or HST or PST by province, CAD, transit and institution number, Interac e-Transfer, SWIFT for cross-bo...

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