Amazon FBA Canada: GST/HST for Non-Resident Sellers
Selling on Amazon FBA Canada from the US or abroad? When Amazon collects GST/HST, when you must register, importing stock, and if registering pays.
TL;DR: a US or overseas seller can sell on Amazon.ca three ways. With Remote Fulfillment or by shipping orders from home, the Canadian buyer pays GST at the border and you never register. With FBA stock in Canada, you become an importer, and Amazon collects the GST/HST on your sales unless you register. Registering is required in some cases, and often pays anyway, because it’s the only way to get back the 5% GST you pay at the border on your stock.
| Remote Fulfillment (US sellers) | Ship orders from abroad (FBM) | FBA stock in Canada | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stock held in Canada? | No, it ships from your US FBA stock | No | Yes, in Amazon’s Canadian fulfilment centres |
| Who imports into Canada | The customer, order by order | The customer, order by order | You, or a company acting for you |
| Who charges GST/HST on the sale | Nobody. GST is paid at the border | Nobody. GST is paid at the border | Amazon if you’re unregistered, you if registered |
| GST/HST registration | Not needed | Not needed | Sometimes required, often worth it |
| Delivery speed | A few days, cross-border | Slowest | Prime, next day or two |
Canadian-based Amazon sellers have a separate guide: selling on Amazon Canada: who pays the GST/HST.
Option 1: Remote Fulfillment with FBA
Remote Fulfillment lets a US-based Professional seller list on Amazon.ca and ship orders from existing US FBA stock. Amazon handles the cross-border shipment, and Amazon says the customer is the importer of record, paying any duties and taxes.
For GST/HST that’s the simplest setup there is. Goods sent into Canada from outside aren’t covered by the marketplace rules, so neither you nor Amazon charges GST/HST on the sale. Under CUSMA, a courier shipment from the US comes in free of GST up to CA$40 and free of duty up to CA$150. Above that, the buyer pays at the border.
The catch: delivery is slower than local Prime, you pay Remote Fulfillment fees on top of the referral fee, and not every product is eligible. Many brands start here to test demand, then move stock into Canada once Amazon.ca sales are steady.
Option 2: Ship orders from abroad (FBM)
Shipping each order yourself from the US or elsewhere works the same way for tax: the buyer pays GST (and duty) at the border, and you don’t register. From outside the US and Mexico the GST-free limit is only CA$20, so most buyers pay something on delivery. That hurts reviews, which is why few brands stay on this model.
Option 3: FBA stock in Canada
Sending stock to Amazon’s Canadian fulfilment centres gets you Prime delivery, and it changes three things.
You become an importer
Amazon won’t be the importer of record for FBA shipments into Canada, and it refuses inbound shipments that list it as one or arrive with duties unpaid. So you, or a company acting for you, import the goods. A non-resident business can import in its own name as a non-resident importer. It needs:
- A CRA Business Number with an import-export (RM) account. Non-residents apply with Form RC1, often at the same time as a GST/HST account.
- A CBSA CARM account. Since 21 October 2024, the CARM Client Portal is the system of record for import duties and taxes. You register your business there and give your customs broker access.
- Financial security if you want goods released before you pay, either your own bond or your broker’s.
- A customs broker to file entries and pay the duty and GST.
Some brands use a freight forwarder that delivers duty paid (DDP) instead. It’s simpler to start, but check whose name is on the import: if it isn’t yours, you can’t claim the import GST later even after you register.
You pay 5% GST at the border
Every shipment pays 5% GST on its value for duty plus any duty. Most consumer goods made in the US under CUSMA rules come in duty-free, but GST still applies. Canada has also applied surtaxes to some US-made goods since 2025, so check your products’ current status with your broker before you ship.
Whether you can get that GST back depends on whether you register.
Amazon collects the GST/HST on your sales, unless you register
Since 1 July 2021, Canada’s digital economy rules make Amazon charge, collect and remit GST/HST on Amazon.ca sales of goods located in Canada by sellers who aren’t registered under the normal GST/HST system, resident or not. Your FBA stock counts. Amazon charges the buyer the rate for their province (5% GST, or 13% to 15% HST), keeps it out of your payout and remits it.
If you register and add your number in Seller Central, Amazon still adds the tax at checkout but pays it to you, and you file GST/HST returns. A simplified GST/HST registration doesn’t count: it’s built for foreign digital services, and Amazon keeps collecting.
Provincial tax is mostly Amazon’s job either way. Amazon collects Saskatchewan PST and Manitoba RST on every order, and BC PST and Quebec QST unless you give it numbers for those provinces.
Do you have to register for GST/HST?
Amazon collecting the tax doesn’t decide this. Two tests do.
1. Are you carrying on business in Canada? If you are, and your worldwide taxable sales (Amazon.com included) are over $30,000, you must register under the normal system. The CRA looks at the whole picture: where contracts are made, where your staff and decisions are, Canadian bank accounts and offices, and where your stock is. Stock in a Canadian fulfilment centre is one factor, not an automatic trigger. The CRA’s own examples include unregistered non-resident sellers with stock in a Canadian warehouse, where the platform simply collects the tax.
2. Do you sell from Canadian stock outside Amazon? A non-resident that isn’t carrying on business in Canada must still register if its sales of goods from Canadian stock to Canadian consumers, outside a marketplace that collects for it, pass $30,000 in 12 months. The usual way this happens: your Shopify store’s Canadian orders shipped by Multi-Channel Fulfillment from your Canadian FBA stock. Amazon only collects on Amazon.ca orders, not MCF orders.
If neither applies, you don’t have to register. But you might still want to.
Should you register anyway?
Your customers pay the same GST/HST either way. What changes is who sends it to the CRA and whether you get your Canadian tax back:
| Not registered | Registered (normal system) | |
|---|---|---|
| GST/HST on Amazon.ca sales | Amazon remits it | Amazon passes it to you, you remit it |
| 5% import GST on your stock | A cost you can’t recover | Claimed back as an input tax credit |
| HST on Canadian freight, prep, broker fees | A cost | Claimed back |
| GST/HST returns | None | Usually annual for sales up to $1.5 million |
| Security deposit | None | Often required, see below |
Worked example: a Denver outdoor brand
Pinecrest Outdoors LLC, a Denver brand, sells $400,000 a year on Amazon.com and moves into Amazon.ca with FBA. In its first year it imports $60,000 of stock into Canada and pays $3,000 of import GST. It spends another $5,000 on Canadian inbound freight, prep and broker fees, with $650 of HST on top. It sells $180,000 on Amazon.ca.
- Unregistered: Amazon collects and remits roughly $20,000 of GST/HST from buyers. Pinecrest’s $3,650 of Canadian tax is a straight cost.
- Registered: Amazon passes that $20,000 to Pinecrest, which remits it less its $3,650 of input tax credits. Its Canadian tax cost drops to zero, so it keeps $3,650 a year more.
Against that, Pinecrest now files a return, pays an accountant, and has no permanent establishment in Canada, so it posts a security deposit. Its estimated net tax is about $16,000 a year, so the CRA asks for 50%: roughly $8,000, held while it stays registered.
At this size registering pays. A brand importing $10,000 of stock a year saves $500 of GST, which may not cover the filing.
The security deposit
A non-resident registering under the normal system without a permanent establishment in Canada generally posts security with the CRA: 50% of its estimated net tax for the first 12 months, at least $5,000 and at most $1 million. It’s not needed if your taxable sales in Canada will be $100,000 a year or less and your net tax will be between $3,000 owing and $3,000 refundable.
Setting it up, step by step
- Decide your model. Test with Remote Fulfillment, or go straight to FBA stock in Canada.
- For FBA in Canada, set up importing. Business Number with an RM account, CARM registration, a customs broker, and security for release.
- Decide on GST/HST. Check the two tests above. If you register, file Form RC1 for the GST/HST account and arrange any security deposit.
- Update Seller Central. Add your number under Settings → Tax Settings, in both the tax calculation settings and the VAT/GST information page, using the full format such as
123456789RT0001. Check your product tax codes. - Keep your import paperwork. The customs entries showing GST paid in your name support your input tax credits.
- File GST/HST returns electronically, including nil returns. See how to file a GST/HST return.
How GoodVat helps
GoodVat tracks your sales across Amazon.ca, Amazon.com and your own store against Canada’s thresholds and every US state’s. Our Canadian accountant partners handle the GST/HST registration, security deposit and returns, at a per-country price we quote upfront. The software is free up to 50 transactions a month, then $20 to $100 a month.
FAQ
Do non-resident sellers need a GST/HST number for Amazon FBA Canada?
Not automatically. If you’re not registered, Amazon charges, collects and remits the GST/HST on your Amazon.ca sales from Canadian fulfilment centres. You must register under the normal GST/HST system if you carry on business in Canada and your worldwide sales pass $30,000, or if your sales of goods from Canadian stock outside Amazon pass $30,000 in 12 months. Many sellers register voluntarily to recover import GST.
Does Amazon collect GST/HST for US sellers on Amazon.ca?
Yes, for sellers who haven’t given Amazon a regular GST/HST number. Since 1 July 2021, Amazon collects and remits GST/HST on Amazon.ca orders shipped from inside Canada, including FBA stock, for unregistered sellers, resident or not. Orders shipped into Canada from abroad aren’t covered: the buyer pays GST at the border.
Who is the importer of record for Amazon FBA Canada?
You, or a company acting for you. Amazon won’t act as importer of record for FBA shipments into Canada. A non-resident business can import in its own name as a non-resident importer, with a CRA Business Number, an import-export (RM) account and a CBSA CARM account, usually through a customs broker. With Remote Fulfillment, the Canadian customer imports each order instead.
Can I get back the GST I pay when importing FBA stock into Canada?
Only if you’re registered for GST/HST under the normal system. The 5% GST paid at the border is then an input tax credit on your return. If you’re not registered, it’s a cost you can’t recover, because Amazon is collecting the tax on your sales instead of you.
Do I need a security deposit to register for GST/HST as a non-resident?
Usually, if you have no permanent establishment in Canada. The CRA asks for 50% of your estimated net tax for the first 12 months, between $5,000 and $1 million. You don’t need one if your taxable sales in Canada will be $100,000 a year or less and your net tax will be between $3,000 owing and $3,000 refundable.
Is Remote Fulfillment with FBA an alternative to registering?
Yes, for US-based sellers. With Remote Fulfillment, Amazon ships Amazon.ca orders from your US FBA stock and the customer is the importer, paying any duty and GST. You don’t import, hold Canadian stock or register for GST/HST. The trade-offs are slower delivery, Remote Fulfillment fees and products that aren’t eligible.