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The way to handle PST and QST in your bookkeeping is to keep each tax in its own account, because each one goes to a different government. GST goes to the CRA, BC PST goes to British Columbia, and QST goes to Quebec. If they sit in one blended “sales tax” line, you’ll spend filing day untangling them.
Why PST and QST can’t share a ledger line
The two taxes look alike on an invoice, but they aren’t alike. PST is a provincial sales tax in British Columbia (7%), Saskatchewan (6%) and Manitoba (7%, called RST there). QST is Quebec’s tax at 9.975%. Both sit next to 5% GST. The CRA’s rate table lists all of these.
The filing side differs too. The CRA says its GST/HST NETFILE service excludes accounts administered by Revenu Québec, which tells you Quebec registrants deal with that agency. BC says PST filers can use eTaxBC. So one sale can create obligations to two or three offices.
Picture Jordan, who sells handmade furniture online from Surrey. A buyer in Kelowna pays GST and BC PST, a buyer in Montréal pays GST and QST, and a buyer in Halifax pays HST. Three orders on the same afternoon, three different tax pictures, and none of it is Jordan’s money.
A chart of accounts that works
Set up a liability account for each tax you collect, and a matching line for what you paid on purchases. Here’s a simple layout.
| Account | Type | Holds |
|---|---|---|
| GST collected | Liability | 5% charged on sales, all provinces |
| QST collected | Liability | 9.975% charged on Quebec sales |
| PST payable (BC, SK, MB) | Liability | One account per province |
| GST paid on purchases | Asset or contra | Input tax you may claim |
| QST paid on purchases | Asset or contra | Input tax you may claim |
Whether a given tax can be claimed back depends on your registration and the expense. The rules differ for PST, so don’t assume that PST you pay on a purchase is recoverable. Check the province’s bulletin for your situation.
What does a sale look like in each province?
Take a $400 taxable sale. In BC, per the GST and PST calculator, that’s $20 GST and $28 PST, so the customer pays $448. In Quebec, the GST and QST calculator gives $20 GST and $39.90 QST, so $459.90. In Ontario it’s $52 of HST and $452, handled on the GST/HST calculator.
Your books should show these as three different tax amounts on three different liability lines. If you post only the $448 and $459.90 totals, you’ve lost the information you need.
One detail worth checking on Quebec: our tool works QST on the price before GST, not on price plus GST. That matches Revenu Québec: the 9.975% QST is calculated on the selling price excluding the GST.
Habits that keep it clean
Record the tax on every invoice as a separate line at the time of the sale, not at month end. Keep the customer’s province on each sale, since that’s what drives the rate. Reconcile each tax account against your return before you file, and again after you pay.
Avoid the rounding trap. Tax computed per line and tax computed on the invoice total can differ by a cent. Pick one method and use it the same way every time.
Does accounting software help? It can, but we haven’t tested any package, so we won’t say which does this well. Whichever you use, open the tax settings and confirm each province’s rate yourself, because a wrong default repeats on every invoice.
Do you have to register for GST at all?
Not always. A small supplier doesn’t have to register for GST/HST, and the CRA’s test is $30,000 of worldwide taxable sales. Its memorandum on small suppliers puts it this way for four quarters in a row: the total consideration “does not exceed $30,000”. Go over it in a single calendar quarter and the rule bites sooner.
That threshold is for GST/HST only. PST in BC, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and QST in Quebec, have registration rules of their own, so look them up with each government before you assume you’re under the line. A few bucks of tax collected by mistake is still a mess to unwind.
Mistakes and limits
The expensive one is using a flat combined rate. BC’s combined figure looks like 12%, but some items are exempt from PST, and our BC calculator taxes everything at 12%, so it overstates on those. Another is ignoring a province’s registration rules until you’ve already sold there.
Filing deadlines and audit record rules aren’t covered here. Look them up on the CRA, Revenu Québec and provincial pages that match your registrations.
What this page is based on
The 5% GST, the BC 7%, Saskatchewan 6% and Manitoba 7% PST, and Quebec’s 9.975% QST come from the CRA‘s GST/HST and PST rates page. The Revenu Québec exclusion comes from the CRA’s NETFILE page, and eTaxBC from the BC government’s PST page. The small supplier test comes from the CRA’s GST/HST memorandum on small suppliers. All were read in 2026. The $400 examples are our own arithmetic. This is an independent site, and no government body is behind it.
Frequently asked questions
Should PST and QST share one account?
No. They go to different governments, so each needs its own liability account.
What are the PST and QST rates?
BC PST is 7%, Saskatchewan 6%, Manitoba RST 7%, and Quebec QST 9.975%, each beside 5% GST.
Who do Quebec businesses file GST with?
The CRA's NETFILE page excludes accounts administered by Revenu Québec, so Quebec registrants deal with that agency.
How does BC collect PST?
Through eTaxBC, which the province calls the easiest and fastest way to file and pay.
Can I recover PST paid on purchases?
It depends on the province and the expense. Check the provincial bulletin for your case.
- 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