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Canada’s digital tax, the digital services tax aimed at big tech companies, was cancelled. The government announced on 29 June 2025 that it would rescind it, and the repeal has since become law. What you might still pay is ordinary GST/HST on digital subscriptions bought from abroad. “Digital tax” can mean either, so we cover both, and we assume you’re in Canada.
What happened to the digital services tax?
It targeted large technology companies earning money from Canadian users, and a payment was due 30 June 2025. The Department of Finance’s news release put it plainly:
The June 30, 2025 collection will be halted.
Department of Finance Canada news release, canada.ca
The release also said legislation to rescind the Digital Services Tax Act would follow. That legislation came in Part 2 of Bill C-15, the Budget 2025 Implementation Act, No. 1, which received royal assent on 26 March 2026 according to the Parliament of Canada’s bill page.
A later letter from the Minister of Finance to affected companies went further. It committed to a retroactive repeal, and said any payments made to the CRA would be refunded with interest.
For an ordinary person there was never a line on a tax return for it. The tax fell on the companies.
Do you pay tax on Netflix and app subscriptions?
Yes, in most cases. When a foreign company sells digital products or services to someone in Canada who isn’t a GST/HST registrant, the CRA rules require GST/HST to be charged at the rate for that person’s province. Here are the rates the CRA page gives.
| Where you live | Rate charged |
|---|---|
| Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Quebec | 5% GST |
| Ontario | 13% HST |
| Nova Scotia | 14% HST |
| New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island | 15% HST |
Those are the federal amounts only. Provincial sales tax in places like British Columbia, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, and Quebec’s QST, are separate systems, and the CRA page we used doesn’t cover them. So a bill in those provinces may show more than the table.
What does that look like on a $20 subscription?
In Ontario, a $20 monthly plan carries $2.60 of HST, so you pay $22.60. The GST/HST calculator shows it. Move to Nova Scotia and the tax becomes $2.80, for a total of $22.80.
Already have a total and want the pre-tax price? The HST reverse calculator works backwards from what your card was charged.
Over a year, $2.60 a month comes to $31.20 in Ontario. Small on its own, though five $20 subscriptions add up to $13.00 a month, or $156 a year, and nobody notices because it’s a few bucks buried in each bill.
How does a vendor know which province you’re in?
The CRA tells vendors to look at things like your billing address, payment details and IP address. Two or more Canadian indicators, with fewer than two foreign ones, point to a Canadian customer. The same logic then picks the province. If your bill shows the wrong province’s rate, message the seller.
That matters if you’ve moved. Update the billing address on each account, or a company may keep charging the old province’s rate until it has fresh information.
Did the repeal change what you pay on a subscription?
No. The digital services tax was charged to the companies, not added to your bill, so cancelling it doesn’t lower a streaming price on its own. Whether a company raised prices because of it, or lowers them now, is a business decision we can’t see. The GST/HST on your invoice works the same way it did before.
What should you do about a charge that looks wrong?
Compare the tax line with the rate for your province in the table. If it’s off, contact the seller and ask which province they’ve recorded for you. Keep the invoice, since it’s the proof if the answer takes a while. If the amount is right, there’s nothing to do and nothing to claim, because ordinary consumers can’t get GST/HST on personal subscriptions back.
Does any of this matter if you run a business?
It can. If you’re a GST/HST registrant, the rules for foreign digital suppliers are different from the consumer case above, and the CRA has a separate set of pages on the digital economy. We didn’t confirm the business side in enough detail to summarize it, so read those pages. For the income side of a small business, the corporate tax calculator gives an estimate, and we’d treat any small business rate it shows as approximate.
Selling digital products yourself changes the picture too. Add up the numbers before assuming you’re small enough to be exempt.
Common mistakes with digital tax
People expect a separate “digital tax” line on an invoice. There isn’t one. What you see is ordinary GST/HST, sometimes labelled with the province.
Another mistake is treating the cancelled tax as something you can claim back. Refunds under the Minister’s letter go to the companies that paid it, and there’s no personal claim.
Where does this information come from?
The announcement and the repeal commitment come from Department of Finance Canada, in its news release of 29 June 2025 and the Minister’s letter to taxpayers. The royal assent date comes from the Parliament of Canada’s page for Bill C-15. The GST/HST rates and the rules for locating customers come from the CRA page on cross-border digital products or services. Example figures come from our GST/HST calculator. We haven’t verified provincial sales taxes. We’re an independent site, and no government body is behind it.
Frequently asked questions
Is Canada's digital services tax still in force?
The government announced on 29 June 2025 that it would rescind it, and later promised a retroactive repeal. We didn't confirm the final legislative step.
Did the digital services tax affect me directly?
No. It was charged to very large companies, not to individuals.
Do I pay GST/HST on foreign streaming and apps?
Generally yes. Non-resident vendors must charge it at your province's rate when you aren't a GST/HST registrant.
What rate applies in Ontario?
13% HST. A $20 subscription carries $2.60, so you pay $22.60.
How does a vendor decide where I live?
It weighs indicators such as billing address, payment information and IP address, per the CRA page.
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