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In Saskatchewan you charge two separate taxes on most taxable sales: the 5% federal GST and the 6% provincial sales tax (PST), for 11% in total. The catch is that they go to two different governments. The Canada Revenue Agency collects the GST, and the PST is a Saskatchewan tax that you deal with through the province.
How GST and PST work in Saskatchewan
Each tax is worked out on the pre-tax price and added on. On a $1,000 item the GST is $50 and the PST is $60, so the customer pays $1,110. No tax on tax here.
| Price before tax | GST 5% | PST 6% | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| $100 | $5.00 | $6.00 | $111.00 |
| $500 | $25.00 | $30.00 | $555.00 |
| $1,000 | $50.00 | $60.00 | $1,110.00 |
| $5,000 | $250.00 | $300.00 | $5,550.00 |
Got a price that already includes tax? Take $500 as an example. The price before tax is $450.45, with $22.52 of GST and $27.03 of PST. You can run your own figures through the GST and PST calculator, which handles Saskatchewan, British Columbia and Manitoba.
What does a real sale look like?
Say Colin runs a small furniture shop in Saskatoon and sells a bookcase for $480 before tax. The GST is $24.00 and the PST is $28.80, so the customer pays $532.80. On his invoice he should show the price, the GST line and the PST line separately, because the two amounts end up in different places. The $24.00 goes to the CRA and the $28.80 goes to the province. Mix them into one lump and he’s guessing at both returns later.
Across a month of sales it adds up. If Colin sells $20,000 of taxable goods, he’s holding $1,000 of GST and $1,200 of PST that never belonged to him. Many owners open a separate savings account for it, and honestly it’s the easiest habit to build.
Who deals with what?
This is the part that confuses new business owners, mostly because the same sale produces two tax lines, two sets of rules and two offices that may each want to hear from you at different times. GST/HST registration runs through the CRA and has a small supplier threshold of $30,000 of taxable sales, measured over four consecutive calendar quarters or in any single quarter. Under that, you aren’t required to register for GST/HST.
The PST is separate. It’s administered by the province, and its own rules decide who has to register and file. The province’s provincial sales tax page says all businesses operating in Saskatchewan must be licensed or registered with the Ministry of Finance, and that depending on the business you end up with either a vendor’s licence number or a registered consumer number. Don’t assume the $30,000 CRA threshold gets you out of the PST. Read the provincial pages, or call the ministry, before you decide you’re exempt.
What gets taxed and what doesn’t
Not every sale carries both taxes. Some items are zero-rated or exempt for GST, and the province has its own list for PST. Food, children’s goods, services and used items can fall on different sides of these lists. The same product can be taxed in Saskatchewan and not in another province, so don’t copy the treatment from a supplier in Alberta or Ontario.
For a quick feel of the difference, a $1,000 sale in Alberta carries $50 of GST and nothing more. In Ontario it carries a 13% HST, or $130. In Saskatchewan it’s $110. The GST and HST calculator shows any province side by side.
What are the PST exemptions in Saskatchewan?
Saskatchewan sales tax is easiest to grasp through its exemption list. The province’s PST-2 bulletin for grocery, convenience and drug stores, last revised in March 2025, names the general exempt categories: basic groceries, prescription drugs, books and magazines, feminine hygiene products and certain medical equipment. It names taxable categories too: carbonated and fruit-flavoured beverages, snack foods, sweetened baked goods sold in single servings of fewer than six, and dietary supplements and vitamins. PST also applies to prepared food and drinks that are ready to consume.
For food, the bulletin says PST follows the same treatment as GST. When GST applies to a product, PST applies as well. One difference matters to small sellers. The GST small supplier threshold doesn’t carry over, so a vendor of taxable food and drinks needs a PST licence even with sales under $30,000. Each tax is worked out on the pre-tax price, so on a $10 bag of chips you would add $0.50 of GST and $0.60 of PST. The bulletin is a general guide, so check the full list before you decide how to treat a product.
What goes wrong with the two taxes
The big one is charging one tax and forgetting the other. A sole proprietor under $30,000 who correctly skips GST may still have PST to think about. The reverse happens too, when a business charges both at the till and then only remits the GST.
Another is mixing up the direction of the math. If you backed out tax from a total, you can’t just take 11% off. Divide by 1.11. Five hundred dollars including tax is $450.45 before tax, not $445. And watch your records. You’ll want one line for each tax on every invoice, since they go to two places.
What about selling into Saskatchewan from another province, where you might have no shop, no staff and no office in the province at all? That’s a separate question with its own rules, and it’s not one we could settle from public pages, so ask the province.
If your work is self-employment, remember that sales tax is only part of the picture. Your income is taxed separately, and the self-employed tax calculator is a better place to start for that. Our Saskatchewan page collects the other provincial rates in one place.
Official page on this topic: Canada Revenue Agency: Charge and collect the GST/HST.
How do you split the two taxes at month end?
Use two columns and keep them separate from the first sale. Say Colin sells 25 bookcases at $480 in a month. Sales before tax come to $12,000. The GST column shows $600 and the PST column shows $720, so $1,320 of tax in total, which matches 11% of $12,000. The $600 belongs on the GST side and the $720 on the PST side.
Add up each column from your invoices, then compare the totals with your sales records and the amount you moved into your tax savings account. If the two do not agree, find the invoice that is off. A line with one lump of tax is the usual cause. Check the province's pages or the CRA for the filing dates that apply to you.
How do you check a Saskatchewan total that includes tax?
Divide the total by 1.11. A $555 receipt gives $500 before tax, so the tax is $55, made up of $25 GST and $30 PST. A $532.80 total gives $480. Multiply that $480 by 5% and 6% and you should get the $24.00 and $28.80 shown on the invoice.
The method only works when every item carries both taxes. If one item on the receipt is zero-rated or exempt for either tax, do the division line by line. When the numbers still do not fit, ask the seller which items were taxed and under which tax, and check the provincial bulletins for the item.
The sources behind this page
The 5% GST and the small supplier threshold come from Canada Revenue Agency pages. The 6% Saskatchewan PST rate comes from the Government of Saskatchewan’s provincial sales tax page. All figures are for 2026, checked in September 2026. Nothing here replaces the provincial bulletins that set out which goods and services are taxable.
Frequently asked questions
What is the combined GST and PST rate in Saskatchewan?
It's 11%, made up of the 5% GST and the 6% PST, on most taxable goods and services.
Who collects the PST in Saskatchewan?
The province does. The CRA handles the GST side only.
Does the $30,000 small supplier rule apply to PST?
It's a GST/HST rule. Check Saskatchewan's own PST rules before you assume it applies.
Is PST charged on the GST amount?
No. Both taxes are worked out on the price before tax.
How do I take tax out of a total?
Divide the total by 1.11. A $500 total is $450.45 before tax.
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