GST/HST for Canadian Online Sellers
By Selling Fee Tools team ·
Canada’s sales tax has a federal part, the GST, and in five provinces a combined HST. Online sellers deal with it on their sales and, through the marketplaces, on their fees. This guide uses the Canada Revenue Agency’s pages and each platform’s Canadian fee pages, checked in October 2026. It isn’t tax advice; check your own position with the CRA or an accountant.
Rates by province
| Province or territory | Rate |
|---|---|
| Ontario | 13% HST |
| Nova Scotia | 14% HST (15% before 1 April 2025) |
| New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island | 15% HST |
| Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut | 5% GST |
British Columbia, Manitoba, Quebec and Saskatchewan also charge their own provincial sales tax, under their own rules, on top of the 5% GST.
Which rate to charge
The rate depends on where the sale is made under the CRA’s place-of-supply rules, not where your business is. For goods you ship, that is generally the province they’re delivered to. A seller in Alberta shipping to Ontario charges 13% HST; the same seller shipping within Alberta charges 5% GST.
When you have to register
- You’re a small supplier and don’t have to register while your taxable revenues stay at C$30,000 or less, both in any single calendar quarter and over the last four consecutive quarters.
- Once you go over, you must register and charge GST/HST. Public service bodies use C$50,000.
- You can register voluntarily, and must then stay registered for at least a year.
Working out GST/HST in a price
Divide a tax-inclusive price by one plus the rate. In Ontario, divide by 1.13: C$113.00 is C$100.00 plus C$13.00 of HST. At 15%, C$49.99 contains C$6.52 of HST. The GST/HST calculator does it for every province.
GST/HST and marketplace fees
- eBay.ca charges its percentage fees on the total amount of the sale including sales tax, so a buyer in a 15% province costs you more in fees than one in a 5% province.
- Etsy collects GST/HST from Canadian buyers for sellers who haven’t added a GST/HST ID. It then doesn’t charge GST/HST on its transaction and processing fees, but does on the regulatory fee, listing fee and ads. Registered sellers with an ID are charged GST/HST on every fee and can usually claim it back.
- Shopify Payments charges its card fee on the whole amount charged, so when you add GST/HST at checkout the fee applies to the tax too.
- Amazon.ca’s pricing page doesn’t say how GST/HST applies to its fees.
Work out your own numbers
- GST/HST calculator
- eBay, Etsy, Shopify and Amazon fee calculators for Canada
- Selling online in Canada: fees compared
Sources: Canada Revenue Agency pages on GST/HST rates, registration and place of supply, and each platform’s Canadian fee pages, listed on each calculator and on our methodology page.