Canadian Postal Code Tax Lookup
Enter a Canadian postal code to instantly find the correct HST or GST+PST rate. Works for all provinces and territories.
📬 Postal Code Prefix Guide
Canadian Sales Tax by Postal Code
Getting the right tax rate on Canadian invoices and receipts is a compliance requirement. Charging the wrong rate — even accidentally — can result in CRA penalties. For businesses selling across provincial lines, knowing each province's exact rate is a daily operational need.
Canadian postal codes follow a predictable pattern: the first letter identifies the province. "M" codes are Ontario, "V" codes are BC, "T" codes are Alberta, "H" codes are Quebec, and so on. This makes postal code-based tax lookup fast and reliable for most retail and shipping scenarios.
For e-commerce businesses, note that digital products and services have specific GST/HST rules that differ from physical goods. If you sell software, subscriptions, or digital downloads to Canadian customers, consult the CRA's guidelines on GST/HST for e-commerce.
Frequently Asked Questions
Your customer's province (destination-based). A business in Alberta shipping to an Ontario customer charges Ontario's 13% HST.
Alberta — which charges only 5% GST with no provincial sales tax, making it the lowest-tax province in Canada for purchases.
Canada has three different sales tax systems
Which one applies depends entirely on the province, and the difference is not just the rate — it changes who you remit to and what paperwork you file.
The federal and provincial portions are merged into a single tax administered by the CRA. You charge one rate, file one return, and claim input tax credits on the whole amount. Simplest system to work with.
5% federal GST plus a provincial sales tax administered separately by the province. Two registrations, two returns. Critically, PST is generally not recoverable the way GST is — for a business it is a real cost, not a pass-through.
5% GST plus 9.975% QST, administered by Revenu Québec rather than the CRA. Both are applied to the pre-tax price, so the combined rate is 14.975% — not the 15.4738% you would get by compounding one on the other. Quebec stopped compounding QST on GST in 2013.
Alberta, Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut levy no provincial sales tax at all, so only the 5% federal GST applies.
The place-of-supply rule — the question everyone gets wrong
For goods shipped to a customer, you generally charge the tax rate of the province the goods are delivered to — not the province your business sits in. An Alberta company shipping to Ontario charges 13% HST, even though Alberta itself has no provincial tax.
That is why a postal code lookup is the practical tool here: your customer's postal code determines the rate on the invoice. Services follow different and more complicated rules — often the customer's usual address — and digital products, freight and real property each have their own tests. When a supply crosses provinces and the amount is material, confirm the specific rule rather than assuming the shipping address always governs.
What is not taxed, and when you must register
Zero-rated supplies are taxed at 0% — basic groceries, prescription drugs, most medical devices and agricultural products. You charge nothing but can still claim input tax credits on your costs. Exempt supplies are different and worse for a business: most residential rent, most health and dental care, educational courses and financial services. You charge no tax and cannot claim input tax credits on related expenses.
On registration: you must register for GST/HST once your worldwide taxable revenue exceeds $30,000 over four consecutive calendar quarters. Below that you are a small supplier and registration is optional — though many small businesses register voluntarily anyway, because doing so lets them recover the GST/HST they pay on their own purchases. Quebec has a parallel QST registration requirement.
Postal Code Tax Lookup — Frequently Asked Questions
For goods shipped, generally your customer's province. An Alberta seller shipping to Ontario charges 13% HST. Services follow different rules.
GST 5% and QST 9.975% are both applied to the pre-tax price. Quebec stopped compounding QST on top of GST in 2013.
Alberta, Yukon, NWT and Nunavut — only the 5% federal GST applies.
Once taxable revenue passes $30,000 across four consecutive quarters. Below that registration is optional, but voluntary registration lets you recover tax on your own purchases.
Both charge no tax — but zero-rated (groceries, prescriptions) still lets you claim input tax credits, while exempt (residential rent, most health care, financial services) does not.