Ontario HST: 13% Rate and Rules for Businesses
Ontario’s sales tax is the 13% HST (harmonized sales tax). It combines the 5% federal GST with an 8% Ontario provincial part, and businesses collect both as a single tax. There is no separate Ontario PST. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) runs the HST for Ontario, so one registration, one number and one return cover it.
| Ontario sales tax (2026) | Rate |
|---|---|
| Federal part (GST) | 5% |
| Ontario provincial part | 8% |
| Ontario HST | 13% |
Rate confirmed against the CRA’s GST/HST rates page on 1 November 2026. Work out HST on any amount, forwards or backwards, with our GST/HST calculator.
Short answer: if your business is in Ontario and your sales pass $30,000, you register with the CRA, charge 13% HST to Ontario customers, charge the destination province’s rate to customers elsewhere in Canada, and charge nothing on orders shipped to the US. A handful of items, such as children’s clothing and printed books, only carry the 5% federal part.
Ontario HST quick facts
Section titled “Ontario HST quick facts”| Ontario | |
|---|---|
| Rate | 13% HST |
| Components | 5% GST + 8% provincial part |
| Administered by | Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) |
| Registration | One GST/HST account with the CRA, once you pass $30,000 in taxable sales |
| Number format | 9-digit Business Number + RT0001 |
| Return | GST/HST return, filed annually, quarterly or monthly depending on sales |
| Separate provincial tax | None |
| Marketplaces | Etsy, Amazon and eBay collect GST/HST on Canadian orders for sellers who aren’t registered |
| Sellers outside Ontario | Charge 13% HST on goods delivered to Ontario if they’re GST/HST-registered |
Who has to charge Ontario HST
Section titled “Who has to charge Ontario HST”| Your situation | Charge HST? | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Ontario business, taxable sales under $30,000 a year | No | You’re a small supplier. Registering is optional |
| Ontario business, over $30,000 in a quarter or four quarters | Yes | Register for GST/HST and charge 13% on Ontario orders |
| Registered business anywhere in Canada shipping to Ontario | Yes, 13% | Charge HST based on the delivery address |
| Unregistered small supplier in another province | No | Ontario has no separate registration to trigger |
| Selling only through Etsy or Amazon, not registered | No | The marketplace collects GST/HST for you |
The $30,000 test counts every sale you make worldwide, including US orders and zero-rated items. Our small supplier threshold guide walks through the single-quarter and four-quarter rules.
What it means for businesses based in Ontario
Section titled “What it means for businesses based in Ontario”Selling to customers in Ontario
Section titled “Selling to customers in Ontario”Charge 13% HST on almost everything you sell to Ontario customers: clothing, candles, jewellery, cosmetics, home goods, digital downloads and most services. Put your GST/HST number on receipts and invoices: business customers need it on purchases of $100 or more to claim the tax back. Shopify and WooCommerce work this out from the shipping address once you turn on GST/HST collection.
Selling to customers in other provinces
Section titled “Selling to customers in other provinces”GST/HST follows the delivery address, not your location. An Ontario shop charges 5% to a customer in Calgary, 14% to one in Halifax and 15% to one in Moncton, all through the same CRA account. You don’t register in the HST provinces separately.
The provinces with their own sales tax are different. You only charge BC PST, Saskatchewan PST, Manitoba RST or Quebec QST once you’re registered there, and each has its own rules for out-of-province sellers. Selling across Canada covers when that happens, and our sales tax by province table lists every rate.
Selling to customers in the US
Section titled “Selling to customers in the US”Goods you ship to US customers are zero-rated exports: 0% HST, as long as you keep proof that the parcel left Canada. You can still claim back the HST you paid on the costs of those sales. The US side is a different story: duties, tariffs and possibly state sales tax. See shipping to the US from Canada.
What it means for sellers outside Ontario
Section titled “What it means for sellers outside Ontario”Ontario has no provincial registration of its own. If you’re GST/HST-registered anywhere in Canada, you charge 13% on goods delivered to Ontario. If you’re an unregistered small supplier, you charge nothing, wherever your customers are.
For foreign sellers, the federal rules decide: non-residents selling digital products or goods from a Canadian warehouse may have to register under the CRA’s simplified GST/HST regime, and they then charge 13% to Ontario consumers.
Ontario point-of-sale rebates
Section titled “Ontario point-of-sale rebates”Ontario rebates its 8% provincial part at the till on a short list of items, so customers pay only the 5% federal part. As a seller you simply charge 5% on these items instead of 13%:
| Item | HST charged in Ontario |
|---|---|
| Children’s clothing (up to girls’ size 16 and boys’ size 20) | 5% |
| Children’s footwear (insole 24.25 cm or shorter) | 5% |
| Children’s car seats and booster seats | 5% |
| Diapers (cloth and disposable, for babies and children) | 5% |
| Printed books and audio books | 5% |
| Qualifying newspapers | 5% |
| Prepared food and drinks totalling $4 or less, before tax | 5% |
Adult-sized clothing bought for a child, costumes and sports-only gear (skates, cleats, pads) don’t qualify. If a store fails to give the rebate, the customer can claim it from the CRA on Form GST189.
Truly zero-rated goods, such as basic groceries and feminine hygiene products, carry no HST at all. Our zero-rated vs exempt guide explains the difference.
Worked example: a Hamilton linen shop
Section titled “Worked example: a Hamilton linen shop”Lakeshore Linen Co. sells aprons, tea towels and baby clothes from a Shopify store in Hamilton. It passed $30,000 last year and is registered for GST/HST. Three orders arrive on the same day, each with free shipping:
| Order | Items | Tax charged | Customer pays |
|---|---|---|---|
| Customer in Ottawa, ON | $60 linen apron + $40 baby romper | $7.80 HST (13% of $60) + $2.00 HST (5% of $40) = $9.80 | $109.80 |
| Customer in Calgary, AB | Same order | $5.00 GST (5% of $100) | $105.00 |
| Customer in Denver, US | Same order | $0 (zero-rated export) | $100.00 |
The Ottawa order shows the point-of-sale rebate in action: the romper is children’s clothing, so only 5% applies. The Calgary order is pure GST because Alberta has no provincial tax. The Denver order is an export, so Lakeshore charges no HST but still claims back the HST it paid on the fabric and shipping labels.
On its next return Lakeshore reports $14.80 of GST/HST collected on these three orders and subtracts the HST it paid on business costs as input tax credits.
Filing Ontario HST
Section titled “Filing Ontario HST”Ontario HST goes on the same GST/HST return as GST from every other province. Most small sellers file annually: three months after their fiscal year ends, or by 15 June (payment by 30 April) for sole proprietors with a December year-end. All returns must be filed electronically, most often through GST/HST NETFILE or My Business Account.
If your sales are $400,000 or less, the Quick Method can cut your paperwork: an Ontario business remits 4.4% of its tax-included Ontario sales if it mainly resells goods, or 8.8% if it mainly sells services, instead of tracking HST on every purchase.
Edge cases
Section titled “Edge cases”- Digital products: e-books, courses and downloads sold to Ontario consumers carry 13% HST. Printed books get the point-of-sale rebate; e-books don’t.
- Shipping charges: delivery you charge for is part of the sale and takes the same HST as the goods.
- Market stalls and pop-ups: sales at an Ontario craft fair are Ontario sales at 13%, whatever province your business is based in.
- First Nations purchasers: sales delivered to a reserve to a status Indian, band or band-empowered entity can be relieved of HST, with documentation.