Updated Checked by the Tax-Services.ca editorial team How we check
Alberta sales tax is just the 5% federal GST. There’s no provincial sales tax on top, so a $1,000 purchase costs $1,050.00 and the $50.00 of tax goes to Ottawa. Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut charge the same 5%.
What does 5% look like on real prices?
Quick maths, and you can do it in your head: move the decimal and halve it. On $200 that’s $10.00, so the till shows $210.00. The GST and HST calculator gives the same answers for any amount once you pick Alberta.
| Price before tax | Alberta (GST 5%) | Ontario (HST 13%) | Saskatchewan (GST 5% + PST 6%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| $200 | $210.00 | $226.00 | $222.00 |
| $1,000 | $1,050.00 | $1,130.00 | $1,110.00 |
| $2,500 | $2,625.00 | $2,825.00 | $2,775.00 |
On a $2,500 purchase the gap with Ontario is $200. That’s a couple of hundred bucks, though it’s not a reason to move a business.
Why is there no PST in Alberta?
Shoppers ask it a lot, usually while standing at a till in Calgary or Edmonton.
Because the province has never put one in place, and we couldn’t find an official Alberta page that spells out the reasons, so we won’t guess at them. What the federal agency’s rate page shows is simple: Alberta is on the list with GST only. Check the Alberta government’s own tax pages if you need the province’s wording for a document.
Is everything 5% in Alberta?
No, and this catches people out. The federal rules still apply. Basic groceries and prescription drugs are zero-rated, which means 0%. Residential rent is exempt. A restaurant meal is taxable.
Take a Saturday in Edmonton. You buy $60 of basic groceries and then sit down to a $40 lunch. The groceries carry no tax, the lunch carries $2.00, and your total is $102.00. Same day, same city, two different treatments.
Other charges can show up on a bill, such as levies on particular products or services. We haven’t checked those, so they aren’t in the table above, and the 5% isn’t a promise about the full cost of every purchase.
How do you take the GST out of a total?
Receipts often show only one number. Finance teams and anyone claiming expenses then need the tax split out, and the method is the same each time.
Divide by 1.05. A $1,050.00 total holds $1,000.00 of goods and $50.00 of tax. Use it when you’re filing an expense claim from receipts with the tax folded in. The reverse HST calculator runs the same step for any province, so pick Alberta and enter the total.
Don’t take 5% off the total. On $1,050 that would remove $52.50, which is wrong by $2.50.
How can you check a receipt in ten seconds?
Look at the subtotal and the GST line. The tax should be one twentieth of the subtotal. On a $84.00 subtotal that’s $4.20, so the total is $88.20. If you see a second tax line on a purchase made in Alberta, it’s worth asking the cashier what it is, since it may be a fee or a levy rather than a sales tax.
This also helps when you shop online from a store based elsewhere. A site in another province may charge its own rate, so compare the tax line to the table above before you hit the pay button.
What if you run a business in Alberta?
You only ever deal with the federal agency for sales tax, which is one less filing than a business in British Columbia or Saskatchewan. You register once your taxable sales pass $30,000 over four calendar quarters in a row, or in a single quarter. You then have 29 days to sign up, counted from the sale that crossed the limit.
After that you charge 5% and claim input tax credits on what you pay for the business. Claims need proper invoices, and for purchases above $500 the agency’s page lists what must be on them. Filing is annual for taxable supplies up to $1.5 million, unless you choose quarterly or monthly.
A neighbour across the border is a question on its own. If you sell into British Columbia, Saskatchewan or Manitoba, the provincial tax may apply to that sale, and the rules differ by province. See the GST and PST calculator for the tax side of a buyer in those provinces, keeping in mind that its BC setting taxes everything at 12%.
Sources, and how we checked them
The 5% GST, the rate comparisons and the zero-rated and exempt examples come from the Canada Revenue Agency‘s rate page and its guide for GST/HST registrants, RC4022, read in September 2026. The Ontario and Saskatchewan columns use rates from the same agency page, and the totals were worked out with our calculator. Provincial details, such as Saskatchewan’s PST, are set by those provinces.
Frequently asked questions
What is the sales tax in Alberta?
It's the 5% federal GST. Alberta has no provincial sales tax.
Does Alberta have PST or HST?
No. Only GST applies on the Canada Revenue Agency's rate list for Alberta.
How much tax is on $100 in Alberta?
GST is $5.00, so you pay $105.00.
Are groceries taxed in Alberta?
Basic groceries are zero-rated under the federal rules, so they carry 0% GST. Restaurant meals are taxable.
When does an Alberta business register for GST?
When taxable sales pass $30,000 over four calendar quarters in a row, or in a single quarter. You have 29 days to register from the sale that crossed the limit.
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