Updated Checked by the Tax-Services.ca editorial team How we check
GST/HST rules for e-commerce work like the rules for any other sale: if you sell goods or services to customers in Canada, tax applies, unless you’re a small supplier. You become a registrant once your taxable revenue passes $30,000 over four consecutive calendar quarters, and the rate you charge depends on where the goods are shipped, not where your shop sits.
Do online sellers have to charge GST/HST?
Yes, once you register. Selling through your own site, a marketplace or social media changes nothing about that. Until your total taxable revenue (yours and your associates’) passes $30,000 over four consecutive calendar quarters, you’re a small supplier and don’t have to register. You can still register voluntarily, which some sellers do so they can claim tax paid on their costs.
The moment you cross matters. If one calendar quarter alone takes you over $30,000, you must charge tax from the day of the sale that crossed the line, including that sale. If you pass it across several quarters, you stay a small supplier until the end of the month after the quarter in which you went over. After that, you have 29 days from your effective date to register with the CRA. The CRA’s page on when to register for and start charging the GST/HST walks through both cases.
Which rate applies to an online order?
The destination rule. When you ship goods to an address in a province, as your contract with the buyer states, the sale takes place in that province. So an Alberta seller shipping to Ontario charges Ontario’s rate.
| Shipped to | What you charge |
|---|---|
| Ontario | 13% HST |
| New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island | 15% HST |
| Nova Scotia | 14% HST |
| Alberta, Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut | 5% GST |
| BC, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec | 5% GST, plus provincial tax under that province’s own rules |
Nova Scotia’s rate fell from 15% to 14% on 1 April 2025 according to this site’s data file. The provincial taxes in the last row are separate from the GST/HST, and this page doesn’t cover when an out-of-province seller must collect them. Quebec’s QST is 9.975%, and Revenu Quebec explains who has to register for it.
What does an order look like in numbers?
Take a single $80 item. Shipped to Ontario, tax is $10.40 and the buyer pays $90.40. To Nova Scotia, tax is $11.20, for $91.20. To Alberta, tax is $4.00, for $84.00. Same product, same seller, three invoices. If your checkout applies one rate to every order, two of those three are wrong.
The GST/HST calculator shows the split for any province. If a customer gives you a total that already includes tax, the HST reverse calculator takes the tax back out. For the western provinces, try the GST and PST calculator, but the BC figure there taxes everything at 12%, which overstates some items such as restaurant food.
What if the customer is outside Canada?
Then the sale can often be zero-rated, meaning you charge 0% instead of skipping the tax altogether. The CRA’s page on GST/HST on imports and exports lists the cases, including a supplier shipping goods directly outside Canada. It also says that in case of an audit you must keep satisfactory evidence the goods were exported, so hang on to the courier tracking and customs paperwork. A zero-rated seller who is registered can still claim input tax credits on costs.
What changed for platforms and foreign sellers?
Since 1 July 2021, the CRA has had a digital-economy regime covering non-resident vendors, distribution platform operators and platforms for short-term accommodation. A simplified registration, reporting and remittance process applies to them. For non-resident vendors, one test is whether their supplies to Canadian customers pass $30,000 over a 12-month period. The CRA has also said that goods held in a fulfillment warehouse in Canada can bring a non-resident seller into the rules.
If you’re a Canadian seller on a big marketplace, read the marketplace’s own terms and the CRA’s page for platform sales. I couldn’t confirm from the pages I opened exactly who collects tax in every marketplace setup, so don’t assume the platform has handled it for you.
Mistakes that catch small online shops
Watching only annual revenue is the big one. The single-quarter rule can put you in the system mid-year, and a strong holiday season is exactly when it happens. Another is pricing with tax in the wrong place: decide if your listed price includes tax, and stay consistent. A third is forgetting shipping. I didn’t confirm the tax treatment of every delivery charge, so check the CRA’s guidance for your case.
And keep records, because a six-year rule applies to business records. If you sell as a sole proprietor, the self-employed tax calculator shows how profit turns into income tax, separate from the sales tax you collect.
How I checked the figures
The $30,000 threshold, the quarter rules and the 29 day registration window come from the CRA‘s registration pages. The destination rule comes from the CRA’s place of supply pages. The rates are from the CRA’s rates by province page and this site’s 2026 sales tax data file, checked in September 2026. The digital-economy details come from the CRA’s pages for those measures. This site has no connection to the CRA or any government.
Frequently asked questions
When does an online seller have to register for GST/HST?
When taxable revenue passes $30,000 over four consecutive calendar quarters. If one quarter alone goes over, you charge tax from the sale that crossed the line.
Which rate do I charge if I ship to another province?
The rate of the province the goods are shipped to, such as 13% HST for Ontario or 5% GST for Alberta.
How long do I have to register?
The CRA says you have 29 days from your effective date of registration.
Do foreign sellers have to charge GST/HST?
Non-resident vendors can be affected by the digital-economy rules that began on 1 July 2021, for example when supplies to Canadians pass $30,000 over 12 months.
Does the marketplace handle tax for me?
Not always. We couldn't confirm every marketplace setup, so read the platform's terms and the CRA's page on platform sales.
- GST, HST, PST and QST explained for every province
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