What is the HST rate in Nova Scotia?

Nova Scotia's HST is 14%: the 5% federal GST plus a 9% provincial part. The rate dropped from 15% on 1 April 2025, when the province cut its part from 10% to 9%. A $100 purchase in Nova Scotia now carries $14 of HST.

When did Nova Scotia HST change to 14%?

On 1 April 2025. Nova Scotia's HST had been 15% since 1 October 2016. The province reduced its provincial part by one percentage point, so the combined HST became 14%. It's still 14% as of November 2026.

Does Nova Scotia have a separate PST?

No. Nova Scotia uses the harmonized sales tax, so businesses charge one 14% HST, register once with the Canada Revenue Agency and file one GST/HST return. There's no provincial registration or return, and sellers elsewhere in Canada report Nova Scotia HST on their usual GST/HST return.

What items get the HST point-of-sale rebate in Nova Scotia?

Nova Scotia rebates its 9% provincial part at the till on printed books, children's clothing and footwear, and children's diapers. Customers pay only the 5% federal part on those items, so the seller charges 5% instead of 14%.

Do businesses in other provinces charge Nova Scotia HST?

Yes, if they're registered for GST/HST. Goods delivered to a customer in Nova Scotia carry 14% HST wherever the seller is based in Canada. Unregistered small suppliers with $30,000 or less in sales don't charge GST/HST at all.

What is the Quick Method rate in Nova Scotia?

Since 1 April 2025, a Nova Scotia business using the Quick Method remits 4.7% of its tax-included Nova Scotia sales if it mainly resells goods, or 9.4% if it mainly provides services. Before the rate cut those figures were 5.0% and 10.0%.

Nova Scotia HST: 14% Rate Since April 2025

Nova Scotia’s HST is 14%: 5% federal GST plus a 9% provincial part. It has been 14% since 1 April 2025, when the province cut the rate from 15%, making Nova Scotia the only Atlantic province below 15%. Like every HST province, Nova Scotia has no separate PST: the CRA collects the whole tax through one GST/HST account.

Nova Scotia sales tax	Rate
Federal part (GST)	5%
Nova Scotia provincial part	9% (10% before 1 April 2025)
Nova Scotia HST	14% (15% from 1 Oct 2016 to 31 Mar 2025)

Rate confirmed against the CRA rates page on 1 November 2026. Calculate 14% HST, forwards or backwards, with our GST/HST calculator.

Short answer: Nova Scotia businesses register with the CRA once they pass $30,000, charge 14% to Nova Scotia customers, the destination province’s rate elsewhere in Canada and nothing on US exports. Any GST/HST-registered seller in Canada charges 14% on goods delivered to Nova Scotia. If your store, invoices or price lists still use 15%, you’re overcharging.

Nova Scotia HST quick facts

	Nova Scotia
Rate	14% HST
Components	5% GST + 9% provincial part
Last change	1 April 2025 (15% → 14%)
Administered by	Canada Revenue Agency
Registration	One GST/HST account with the CRA, once over $30,000
Return	GST/HST return, usually annual for small sellers
Point-of-sale rebates	Printed books, children’s clothing and footwear, children’s diapers
Quick Method (NS business, NS sales)	4.7% goods for resale, 9.4% services
Sellers outside Nova Scotia	Charge 14% on goods delivered to Nova Scotia if GST/HST-registered

What the 2025 rate cut changed for sellers

The cut applied to sales where the tax became payable on or after 1 April 2025. Eighteen months on, it’s still worth checking these:

Store tax settings. Shopify, WooCommerce and BigCommerce stores with manual tax rates had to change Nova Scotia from 15% to 14% themselves. Stores on automatic rates should have picked up the change, but it takes a minute to check. Open your Nova Scotia rate now.
Invoice and receipt templates that print “HST 15%”.
Tax-included prices. A $115 tax-included price used to contain $15 HST. At 14%, $115 contains $14.12 HST and $100.88 of price. Either keep the price and pocket the difference, or reprice to $114.
Quick Method rates. Nova Scotia businesses moved from 5.0%/10.0% to 4.7%/9.4% for periods from 1 April 2025.
Businesses outside Nova Scotia, too: an Ontario or Alberta store shipping to Halifax charges 14%, not 15%.

What it means for businesses based in Nova Scotia

Selling to Nova Scotia customers

Charge 14% HST on taxable goods and services once you’re registered. Print your GST/HST number on receipts. Basic groceries, prescription drugs and exports are zero-rated; see zero-rated vs exempt supplies.

Selling to other provinces

GST/HST follows the delivery address. From Halifax you charge 15% to Moncton, 13% to Toronto and 5% to Calgary, all on one CRA return. BC, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Quebec can require their own provincial registrations once you sell enough there: see selling across Canada.

Selling to the US

Goods shipped to US customers are zero-rated exports: no HST, and you still claim the HST on your costs. Keep tracking and customs paperwork as proof. For US duties, tariffs and Canada Post’s prepaid-duty rules, see shipping to the US from Canada.

What it means for sellers outside Nova Scotia

There’s no Nova Scotia registration. If you’re GST/HST-registered anywhere in Canada, you charge 14% HST on goods delivered to Nova Scotia and report it on your normal return. If you’re an unregistered small supplier, you charge nothing.

Nova Scotia point-of-sale rebates

Nova Scotia rebates its 9% provincial part at the till on three groups of items, so you charge only 5%:

Item	HST in Nova Scotia
Printed books (including audio books)	5%
Children’s clothing (up to girls’ size 16, boys’ size 20)	5%
Children’s footwear (insole 24.25 cm or less, roughly up to size 6)	5%
Children’s diapers, inserts, liners and training pants	5%

Adult-sized clothing bought for a child, costumes, sports-only footwear such as skates and cleats, and adult diapers don’t qualify. Unlike Ontario, Nova Scotia doesn’t rebate car seats. If a store doesn’t apply the rebate, the customer can claim the provincial part from the CRA on Form GST189.

Worked example: a Lunenburg home goods shop on the Quick Method

Hearth & Harbour in Lunenburg resells pottery, linens and candles from local makers through Shopify and a small shop. It’s GST/HST-registered, and almost all its sales are to Nova Scotia customers. Last year it made $80,000 of sales including HST (about $70,175 before tax plus $9,825 HST), and paid $4,900 of HST on the goods it bought to resell.

	Regular method	Quick Method (4.7%)
HST collected	$9,824.56	n/a
Calculation	$9,824.56 − $4,900 ITCs on stock	4.7% × $80,000 − 1% × $30,000 credit
HST remitted	$4,924.56	$3,460.00

Because the cost of the goods it resells is well over 40% of its sales, Hearth & Harbour qualifies for the goods-for-resale rate, and the Quick Method saves it about $1,465 a year. It keeps the difference as income (which is taxable for income tax). Before April 2025 the same calculation used 5.0%.

A single online order shows the point-of-sale rebate: a $60 linen throw and a $30 children’s board book to a Dartmouth customer carry $8.40 HST on the throw (14%) and $1.50 on the book (5%).

Filing Nova Scotia HST

Nova Scotia HST goes on your GST/HST return, filed electronically with the CRA. Most small sellers file annually: three months after year-end, or 15 June for sole proprietors with a December year-end (payment due 30 April). GST/HST NETFILE is the usual route.

Edge cases

Pre-orders and deposits straddling April 2025: the rate depends on when the tax became payable, generally when the invoice was issued or payment received. Anything still unresolved from that period is worth a conversation with an accountant.
Imports: CBSA collects 14% HST on goods imported into Nova Scotia, with the point-of-sale rebate applied automatically to qualifying children’s goods.
Older CRA publications still quote Nova Scotia’s provincial part as 10%. The current figure is 9%.