Updated Checked by the Tax-Services.ca editorial team How we check
A $19.99 price tag with tax added costs $22.59 in Ontario, $22.99 in New Brunswick and $20.99 in Alberta. The gap comes entirely from where you buy, since the 19.99 plus tax sum changes with the province’s rate. “Before tax”, “excluding tax” and “plus tax” all mean the same thing here: the tax hasn’t been added yet.
Shoppers mostly ask this because a shelf price looks small and the till total looks different. The numbers below come from our sales tax engine, so you can repeat any of them in the GST and HST calculator.
What does 19.99 plus tax come to in each province?
| Province | Tax rate | Tax on $19.99 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alberta (GST only) | 5% | $1.00 | $20.99 |
| British Columbia (GST and PST) | 12% | $2.40 | $22.39 |
| Nova Scotia (HST) | 14% | $2.80 | $22.79 |
| Ontario (HST) | 13% | $2.60 | $22.59 |
| Quebec (GST and QST) | 14.975% | $2.99 | $22.98 |
| New Brunswick (HST) | 15% | $3.00 | $22.99 |
Rates are the ones the CRA publishes for HST and GST, plus the provincial rates for BC and Quebec that we hold in our data file. Manitoba and Saskatchewan charge their own PST on top of the 5% GST, so check them in the GST and PST calculator.
What if you buy two of them?
Tax scales with the basket. Two items at $19.99 come to $39.98 before tax, and in Ontario that’s $45.18 at the till, the same as two single purchases of $22.59. Where a store rounds only at the end of the basket, you can end up a cent off, which is normal.
How do you work it out by hand?
Multiply the price by one plus the rate. In Ontario that’s 19.99 times 1.13. You get 22.5887, which rounds to $22.59. The 13% is the HST, and there is no second tax to add on top of it.
Where GST and a provincial tax are charged separately, you add two lines. In British Columbia, $19.99 carries $1.00 of GST and $1.40 of PST, so the total is $22.39. Quebec works a little differently: the QST is worked out on the price before GST, which is why our tool shows $1.00 of GST and $1.99 of QST.
For a quick check in Ontario, take 10% of the price, then add 30% of that again, and you’re close. On a twenty-dollar item that’s $2 plus 60 cents, so about $2.60. In Alberta it’s even easier: the tax is a loonie.
What if the total already includes tax?
That’s a different question, and it’s easy to get wrong. If you paid $22.59 in Ontario, the tax isn’t 13% of $22.59. You divide by 1.13 to find the price before tax, which gives $19.99 again. The reverse HST calculator does the division for you, and it’s the tool to use when a receipt only shows the final figure.
Taking 13% off the total would leave you with $19.65, which is wrong by 34 cents. On one item that hardly matters. On a stack of expense receipts it adds up.
What does the extra tax add up to over a year?
Small prices repeat. Say Aisha in Ontario pays $19.99 a month for a streaming plan or a gym add-on. Over twelve months that’s $239.88 before tax, and about $271 once the HST is added, since each monthly charge is $22.59. In Alberta the same twelve payments come to about $252, and in New Brunswick about $276. The sticker price stays the same, but the yearly bill doesn’t.
Why might your receipt differ by a cent or more?
A few things can move the number. We couldn’t find an official rounding rule for retail tills, so treat a one cent difference as normal. Stores may round each line or only the whole basket.
The bigger catch is that some goods carry no tax, or only part of it. Our calculators apply one rate to everything you enter. They can’t tell if an item is taxable, so a receipt that shows less tax than the table isn’t automatically an error. The CRA and each province’s finance department publish the lists of what is taxed, and those lists are the answer for a specific product.
And watch the wording on signs. “$19.99 plus tax” means the tax is extra. “$19.99 tax included” means you pay $19.99 and the tax sits inside it, so the real price before tax is lower. Shelf prices in Canada often show the before-tax price, so assume it’s extra unless the sign says otherwise.
Which tax rate is yours?
For a shop sale it’s the rate where you buy. The CRA’s page on which rate to charge puts it simply: the rate depends on the place of supply. Online orders and services can follow other rules, and we couldn’t confirm every case. A business that sells in several provinces should read that page before it sets prices.
A quick comparison helps. A $200 order before tax costs $26 of tax in Ontario and $30 in New Brunswick. That’s $4, just from crossing the border. If the price you’ve been given is a discount figure, the discount calculator shows what the sale price is before you add tax at all.
Where this information comes from
HST and GST rates come from the Canada Revenue Agency‘s pages on charging GST/HST (13% Ontario, 14% Nova Scotia since 1 April 2025, 15% in the other HST provinces, 5% GST elsewhere). BC, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Quebec provincial rates come from our own data file, and we haven’t been able to confirm the 2026 Manitoba rate directly. Nothing here is advice for a specific purchase.
Frequently asked questions
How much is $19.99 plus tax in Ontario?
It's $22.59. The 13% HST adds $2.60 to the $19.99 price.
Is $19.99 excluding tax the same as before tax?
Yes. All of these mean the tax hasn't been added yet, so the total at the till will be higher.
How do I take the tax out of $22.59?
Divide by 1.13 in Ontario, which gives $19.99. Taking 13% off the total gives the wrong answer.
Why is the total cheaper in Alberta?
Alberta charges only the 5% GST, so $19.99 comes to $20.99. There's no provincial sales tax.
Do all items carry tax?
No. Some goods carry no tax or less tax, and our tools apply one rate to everything. Check the CRA or your province for the item.
- GST, HST, PST and QST explained for every province
Which GST, HST, PST or QST applies where you shop or sell in Canada, the 2026 rates for every province, who must register and how to add or remove tax