Shipping out of Province: Should You Charge Them HST?

I’m still getting lots of mail about GST and HST, mainly about whether businesses should be charging GST (the Goods and Services Tax), HST (Harmonized Sales Tax), PST (Provincial Sales Tax) or what when they ship goods and/or services out of province.

For instance, K.S. writes:

I am a little confused on the HST rules. We are a business based in Quebec. If a supplier from Ontario ships us merchandise to our plant in Quebec, should they invoice us HST and QST on top of HST?

The taxes you charge depend on where you’re shipping to. As I explain in Online Business and HST, if you are selling goods or services out of province, you charge the GST/HST rate based on where the goods are being shipped to.

Therefore, if you ship to B.C., charge 12%, to Ontario, Newfoundland and Labrador, or New Brunswick, charge 13%, to Nova Scotia 15% and if you sell to Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Quebec or Prince Edward Island, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut or the Yukon, only charge 5% (the GST rate).

So K.S.’s supplier should only be charging her 5%, the GST rate.

As to how to charge taxes, this pair of sample invoices include an explanation of what has to go on your invoice:

• How to Invoice with GST and PST
• How to Invoice with HST

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