Currently, the threshold to be required by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to collect sales tax on your Canadian sales is when you are making sales of 30,000 CAD worldwide within four consecutive semesters, which do not necessarily need to align with the calendar year.
This means that you could need to start collecting tax in the middle of a given year; it will not necessarily apply as of January 1st of a given year.
It is however not necessary to wait until you are making sales of 30,000 CAD and in some cases when selling through an online platform, the online platform will collect taxes on your sales even if you do not reach the 30,000 CAD limit. Voluntary registration is possible in most cases for non-resident sellers.
Following is the list of agencies with different sales tax requirements and a summary of some of their rules.
| Gov Agency | Sales Tax Code | Rate | Threshold | Required |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CRA - Canada Revenue Agency | GST/HST | 5% - 15% | 30k WW Sales Within 4 consecutive semesters or a 12-month period | On every *Taxable items/supply sold, usually to a Canadian within Canada |
| MRQ - Ministère du Revenu du Québec | QST | %9.975% | 30k Sales in the province of Quebec within 4 consecutive semesters or a 12-month period | On Every Taxable sale supply to a Quebec resident, even if shipped from outside Quebec |
| Gov of British Columbia | BC PST/RST | %7% | From your first retail sale to a BC Consumer | On Every Taxable retail sale made to BC |
| Gov of Saskatchewan | SK PST/RST | %6% | From your first retail sale to an SK Consumer | On Every Taxable retail sale made to SK |
| Gov of Manitoba | MB PST/RST | %7% | From your first retail sale to an MB Consumer | On Every retail sale made to MB |
