Canada tax codes overview
In Canada, the following types of sales taxes are levied:
- Provincial sales taxes (PST), levied by the provinces.
- Goods and Services Tax (GST), a value-added tax levied by the federal government.
- The combined Harmonized Sales Tax (HST), also a value-added tax, a single, blended combination of the PST and GST which is used in Ontario and the four Atlantic provinces; New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. British Columbia adapted HST between 2010 and 2013, but eventually abolished the system after a province-wide referendum. The HST is collected by the Canada Revenue Agency, which then remits the appropriate amounts to the participating provinces.
Every province except Alberta has implemented either a provincial sales tax or the Harmonized Sales Tax. The federal GST rate is 5 percent, effective January 1, 2008.
The territories of Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut have no territorial sales taxes, so only the GST is collected. The three northern jurisdictions are heavily subsidized by the federal government, and its residents receive some additional tax concessions due to the high cost of living in the north.
| Province | Type |
Federal Rate GST % |
Province Rate PST % |
Harmonized Rate HST % |
Total Rate % | Comments |
| Alberta (AB) | GST Only | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | |
| British Columbia (BC) | GST + PST | 5 | 7 | 0 | 12 | Sales taxes in British Columbia reverted to a separate GST/PST on April 1, 2013, with a PST of 7%, after their adoption of a HST in 2010 was rejected in a sales tax referendum. |
| Manitoba (MB) | GST + PST | 5 | 8 | 0 | 13 | |
| New Brunswick (NB) | HST | 0 | 0 | 15 | 15 | The HST was increased two points to 10% with an overall tax of 15% on 1 July 2016. |
| Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) | HST | 0 | 0 | 15 | 15 | The HST was increased two points to 10% with an overall tax of 15% on 1 July 2016. |
| Northwest Territories (NT) | GST Only | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | |
| Nova Scotia (NS) | HST | 0 | 0 | 15 | 15 | |
| Nunavut (NU) | GST Only | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | |
| Ontario (ON) | HST | 0 | 0 | 13 | 13 | |
| Prince Edward Island (PE) | HST | 0 | 0 | 15 | 15 | The HST was increased one point to 15% on 1 October 2016. |
| Quebec (QC) | GST + QST | 5 | 9.975 | 0 | 14.975 | |
| Saskatchewan (SK) | GST + PST | 5 | 6 | 0 | 11 | The 6% rate is effective for goods and services effective March 23, 2017. PST Payable on Saskatchewan Construction Contracts Starting April 1, 2017 |
| Yukon (YT) | GST Only | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Code | Description | Rate | Tax Group | Start Date | End Date |
| Ex | Tax Exempt | 0.00% | Unchecked | ||
| GST | GST Only | 5.00% | Unchecked |
| Code | Description | Rate | Tax Group | Start Date | End Date |
| Ex | Tax Exempt | 0.00% | Unchecked | ||
| GST | GST Only | 5.00% | Unchecked | ||
| PST07 | PST Only - 7% | 7.00% | Unchecked | ||
| GST_PST07 | Group Tax Code for GST and PST07 | 12.00% | Checked |
| Code | Description | Rate | Tax Group | Start Date | End Date |
| Ex | Tax Exempt | 0.00% | Unchecked | ||
| GST | GST Only | 5.00% | Unchecked | ||
| PST08 | PST Only - 8% | 8.00% | Unchecked | ||
| GST_PST08 | Group Tax Code for GST and PST08 | 13.00% | Checked |
| Code | Description | Rate | Tax Group | Start Date | End Date |
| Ex | Tax Exempt | 0.00% | Unchecked | ||
| HST | HST | 15.00% | Unchecked |
Entering expenses and their tax code references will depend on how PST will be tracked on projects. If PST is treated as a cost to the project then the PST portion should be a separate line item on the transaction and not subject to tax (i.e. tax code Ex) as shown in the example below. The group tax option will not work for the BC province since there is no way to allocate only the PST portion as costs while segregating out the GST portion of the tax.
Supplier Bill example that includes PST as part of the material cost but not subject to GST.
| Item # | Description | Qty | Units | Unit Cost | Total Cost | Job Cost Code | Resource | Tax Code |
| 1 | Materials | 1 | LS | $100.00 | $100.00 | 03000 | M | G |
| 2 | PST on Materials | 1 | LS | $7.00 | $7.00 | 03000 | M | E |
| Subtotal = | $107.00 | |||||||
| Tax = | $5.00 | |||||||
| Total = | $112.00 | |||||||
Some companies elect to create a specific cost code for PST while others will reference the same cost code used by the other expense line items.
Detail report templates for Contract Admin and Procurement features can be modified to show GST and PST tax amounts separated out as opposed to being rolled up into one value. For more details on adding these special bookmarks, please click here.