HST
HST is a single combined federal-provincial sales tax used by the provinces that harmonized their sales tax with GST, replacing separate GST and provincial tax.
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Key facts
| Category | GST, QST & HST |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Harmonized Sales Tax |
| Used by | Ontario, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island |
| Rate charged | Set by the destination province under place-of-supply rules |
| Reported on | The same GST/HST return, by line for each rate |
| Credits | Recovered as ordinary input tax credits, whatever the rate |
| Authority | Canada Revenue Agency |
What it means in practice
Ontario, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island use HST. Québec, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and British Columbia keep a separate provincial tax alongside GST, and Alberta and the territories charge GST only. The rate you charge follows the place-of-supply rules — broadly, where the customer receives the goods or services, not where your business is located. A Montréal firm invoicing an Ontario client will often charge Ontario HST rather than GST and QST. Getting place of supply wrong is the most common sales-tax error for businesses selling across provincial lines.
One registration, several rates
A single registration covers GST and HST across Canada. There is no separate provincial registration for the HST provinces — what changes is the rate you charge, decided by where the supply is made rather than where your business sits. For goods, the place of supply generally follows delivery. For services it usually follows the address of the recipient that you obtain in the ordinary course of business, which makes a properly captured billing address a compliance record and not just a bookkeeping detail. The reporting side is straightforward: all rates go on the same return, on separate lines, and input tax credits are recovered at whatever rate you actually paid.
FAQ
I am registered in Québec. Do I need to register in Ontario to charge HST?
What rate applies to a digital service sold across Canada?
Need this applied to your situation?
A definition only gets you so far. Talk to a Montréal CPA about what this means for your return — in English or French.