How Much GST/HST Do I Need to Charge?

GST Can Be Complex

What’s the deal with GST/HST? GST is Goods and Services Tax and HST is Harmonized Sales Tax. Well, the confusion doesn’t end there. A quick Google search for how much you should charge out-of-province clients will soon send you down a rabbit hole of terms like “place of supply” and exceptions out the ying yang. This article is for us, the 99%.

This advice is for service providers

The advice here is for freelancers and small businesses that provide services. With many more people working remotely and providing services far and wide, how much GST/HST to charge is a question we get a lot.

How Much GST/HST You Charge Depends on Where Your Customer is

Ok, to the meat of it: if you are living in BC and providing services to a company based in BC, you should charge 5% GST. If you are living in BC and providing services to a company based in Ontario, you should charge Ontario’s HST rate of 13%. The key factor here is where the service is consumed, not where the work is actually done. So you can apply this to any province, just check out this handy list of rates by province.

Whoa There

Disclaimer time: The above example is for a huge majority of cases, but is not for everyone. If you are new to your business or unsure about whether you should even be charging GST/HST, reach out to us and we would be happy to give you some guidance.