The short version
A Canadian Shopify store generally has to charge GST/HST, at 5% GST or 13% to 15% HST depending on the province, once its taxable sales pass 30,000 CAD in the current quarter or the past four completed quarters (the CRA counts worldwide sales, exports included, plus associated businesses); a store outside Canada that doesn't carry on business in Canada and ships Canadian orders from a warehouse in Canada generally has to as well once its sales to Canadian consumers pass 30,000 CAD in 12 months.
British Columbia, Manitoba, Quebec and Saskatchewan add their own tax on a second line with its own registration, and Shopify charges each tax once you enter that registration in Settings › Taxes and duties › Canada.
Basic Tax stays available only for regions where the store was set up to collect tax before May 13, 2026 and doesn't use Manual Tax; otherwise Shopify Tax is free until global sales reach 100,000 CAD for a store located in Canada (100,000 USD, EUR or GBP elsewhere, by store location), per calendar year for stores created before May 13, 2026 and over the store's lifetime for stores created on or after that date.
Shopify doesn't file or remit your returns, so that stays with you or your accountant.
A Canadian order on Shopify carries one tax line or two, and the province decides which: 5% GST alone in Alberta and the territories, a single HST of 13% to 15% in five provinces, or GST plus a separate provincial tax in British Columbia, Manitoba, Quebec and Saskatchewan. Whether you charge any of it starts with a 30,000 CAD threshold, and Shopify calculates the tax once you add your registrations in your admin, a step its setup page places after you've registered with the tax agencies.
This guide covers Canada only: the registration threshold, the rate in each province, which tax service your store can use, exemptions, and what stays on you. If you also sell into the United States, state sales tax runs on its own rules, covered in our guide to US sales tax on Shopify.
Selling into the European Union means EU VAT instead, with its own registrations in Shopify, set out in our guide to setting up EU VAT on Shopify.
To skip to your own route, the four-question quiz points you to the registrations your store needs, or to the question to settle first. Shopify's own setup pages say it's your responsibility to consult local tax authorities or a tax professional on the rates you charge and on filing correctly, so read this as the map, not as tax advice.
Do You Need to Charge GST/HST on Shopify Sales in Canada?
Key takeaway
Tax liability in Canada affects both Canadian and non-Canadian stores. Two questions decide where you stand: whether Shopify treats your store as Canadian, and whether your taxable sales have crossed the threshold that applies to that kind of store.
Is your store Canadian in Shopify's eyes?
Key takeaway
The classification comes first because the threshold window depends on it. Shopify's liability page sorts stores by three facts:
- Store address in Canada — the store is considered Canadian.
- A physical retail address in Canada — qualifies the store as Canadian, even if the business isn't otherwise located in Canada.
- Third-party warehouses or fulfillment locations — don't qualify a store as Canadian.
The 30,000 CAD threshold, and the window it is measured over
Key takeaway
Shopify states the threshold as a general rule with two conditions for each kind of store, and both have to apply:
When Shopify's liability page expects a GST/HST registration
| Store | Conditions on Shopify's liability page (generally, both apply) | Window for the 30,000 CAD |
|---|---|---|
| Canadian store (address or physical retail address in Canada) | You sell or lease taxable products or services, and your revenue from taxable sales in Canada is more than 30,000 CAD | The past four completed consecutive calendar quarters, or the current calendar quarter |
| Non-Canadian store | You sell taxable products or services to customers in Canada and fulfill those orders from a warehouse located in Canada, and your revenue from taxable sales in Canada is more than 30,000 CAD | The past twelve months |
Conditions as Shopify's Canada tax liability page states them, read October 21, 2026. Shopify frames both as general rules.
The Canada Revenue Agency adds when charging starts. For a business that passes the line within one calendar quarter, the CRA says “you are no longer a small supplier and have to charge GST/HST on the supply that made you exceed $30,000 within the calendar quarter”.
Shopify's liability page counts “taxable sales in Canada”; the CRA's small-supplier test counts your worldwide taxable supplies, including zero-rated ones such as exports, together with those of your associates. Since only a tax authority can determine whether you must register, measure against the CRA's base.
If your sales are lower than the threshold, Shopify's page says you don't need to register for a GST/HST account or collect and remit GST/HST. You can still register voluntarily, and a voluntary GST/HST registration generally has to stay in place for at least one year. As Shopify puts it, registering isn't only switching on tax collection.
That threshold is the GST/HST one; provincial taxes run on their own rules, covered further down.
Selling into Canada from outside the country
Key takeaway
The table above gives Shopify's version: a Canadian warehouse and 30,000 CAD over twelve months.
The CRA's non-resident rules cover Shopify's warehouse case and go further. Under its digital-economy measures, a non-resident vendor that isn't registered under the normal GST/HST regime and doesn't carry on business in Canada generally has to register once its sales to Canadian consumers exceed 30,000 CAD over any 12-month period, for goods located in Canada (such as in a fulfillment warehouse) or shipped from a place in Canada, and for cross-border digital products and services.
Outside those cases, the general rule applies: a non-resident that does not carry on business in Canada does not have to register (with an exception for admissions to events held in Canada), and one carrying on business in Canada registers unless it is a small supplier.
Whether your store carries on business in Canada is the CRA's call, not Shopify's, so confirm it with the CRA or a tax advisor before you switch collection on.
What the liability insights in your admin tell you
Key takeaway
If you use Shopify Tax in Canada, a status is displayed next to your registration indicating whether you're below, approaching, or have exceeded a registration threshold. Three details decide how far you can lean on it:
- It is calculated using net sales, not gross sales.
- It is displayed only for transactions that occur within Shopify, so sales on other channels need your own count.
- On Basic Tax, the Canadian tax liability tracker isn't displayed after you set up collecting GST/HST.
The status is a measurement, not a verdict. In Shopify's words, an insight is a prompt to check, not a decision that's been made about you, and the same page is explicit about who decides:
Only a tax authority can determine whether you're required to register.
What Tax Does Shopify Charge in Each Province?
Key takeaway
Canada has a 5% goods and services tax that applies to most sales, and the province or territory decides what sits on top of it. Shopify's reference page and the CRA's rate table give the same figures, including the one recent change: as of April 1, 2025, the HST rate has decreased to 14% in Nova Scotia.
Sales tax rates Shopify charges in Canada, by province and territory
| Province or territory | What Shopify charges | GST or HST | Separate provincial tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alberta | GST only | 5% GST | None |
| British Columbia | GST + PST | 5% GST | 7% PST |
| Manitoba | GST + RST | 5% GST | 7% RST |
| New Brunswick | HST | 15% HST | No separate line |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | HST | 15% HST | No separate line |
| Northwest Territories | GST only | 5% GST | None |
| Nova Scotia | HST | 14% HST (since April 1, 2025) | No separate line |
| Nunavut | GST only | 5% GST | None |
| Ontario | HST | 13% HST | No separate line |
| Prince Edward Island | HST | 15% HST | No separate line |
| Quebec | GST + QST | 5% GST | 9.975% QST |
| Saskatchewan | GST + PST | 5% GST | 6% PST |
| Yukon | GST only | 5% GST | None |
Rates from Shopify's Canada tax reference, read October 21, 2026, checked against the CRA's GST/HST and PST rate table on October 21, 2026; the two agree.
In the five HST provinces, the HST supersedes the collection of GST: if you're registered for GST, you need to charge the full HST there, not 5%. Shopify mirrors that in setup, where adding any GST/HST region applies GST to all of Canada and HST to the participating provinces.
British Columbia, Manitoba, Quebec and Saskatchewan are the four provinces that charge a separate provincial tax, and in them two tax lines need to be shown on an invoice: one for GST and one for the provincial amount. The provincial taxes go by different names — PST in British Columbia and Saskatchewan, RST (retail sales tax) in Manitoba, QST in Quebec — and in British Columbia, 7% PST applies to retail sales and services.
Zero-rated items are the other case where a line matters even when it carries nothing: for zero-rated items, Shopify's reference page says GST (or HST) of 0% must be assessed.
When does each province expect you to register?
Key takeaway
The 30,000 CAD GST/HST threshold doesn't carry over to the provinces. Shopify's liability and reference pages describe each one separately; where a province's own rules add to them, the table names the source:
Provincial sales tax registration, province by province
| Province | Minimum sales threshold (Shopify's liability page, unless another source is named) | Who registers (Shopify's reference page, unless another source is named) |
|---|---|---|
| British Columbia (PST) | No general minimum, so a potential liability can be identified from your first taxable sale. A 10,000 CAD small-seller threshold can apply if you're a British Columbia resident without an established commercial location in the province. British Columbia's own Bulletin PST 001 (revised October 2026) says a seller located elsewhere in Canada that sells taxable goods to, accepts orders from and delivers goods to B.C. customers without soliciting them registers once its gross revenue from B.C. customers exceeds 10,000 CAD over the previous or next 12 months; one that also solicits B.C. customers, or holds the goods in inventory in B.C., registers with no revenue threshold. The bulletin adds that sellers of vapour products register even below that threshold. | A seller in Canada but outside British Columbia registers for PST if it regularly does all of the things the reference page lists. |
| Manitoba (RST) | No minimum, so a potential liability can be identified from your first taxable sale, if you meet Manitoba's other conditions. By contrast, Manitoba's own Bulletin No. 004 (revised June 2024) says small businesses with annual taxable sales under 30,000 CAD are not required to register; the exception does not cover out-of-province businesses that haven't paid Manitoba RST on all taxable goods and services they bought for resale in Manitoba, businesses whose out-of-province suppliers don't collect Manitoba RST, or tobacco and liquor sellers. | If you sell to residents of Manitoba, you register for and collect RST when all of the conditions on the reference page apply. Manitoba's own bulletin adds that an out-of-province seller holding inventory of taxable goods in Manitoba for sale to Manitoba customers also registers. |
| Saskatchewan (PST) | No minimum, so a potential liability can be identified from your first taxable sale, if what you sell is taxable in Saskatchewan. | If you sell in Saskatchewan, you register to collect PST. |
| Quebec (QST) | Quebec sets its own QST registration rules, which depend on where your business is located and what you sell. Revenu Québec says a supplier outside Québec registered under the general GST/HST system registers under the specified QST system once its taxable supplies to Québec consumers exceed 30,000 CAD over a 12-month period. | Shopify's reference page adds that small suppliers and individuals who aren't residents of Quebec are excluded unless they solicit goods to be delivered to Quebec consumers. |
| Alberta, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Yukon | No provincial sales tax. | You collect GST only in those regions. |
From Shopify's Canada tax liability page (thresholds) and Canada tax reference (who registers), read October 21, 2026, plus British Columbia's Bulletin PST 001 and Manitoba's Bulletin No. 004, read the same day, and Revenu Québec's page on the specified QST system, read from an archived copy dated August 11, 2025, because the live page didn't load. The full condition lists for British Columbia and Manitoba are on the reference page.
Basic Tax or Shopify Tax: What Your Canadian Store Can Use
Key takeaway
If you already charge tax with Basic Tax, the question is whether to stay; if not, you can use Shopify Tax or manual tax settings, and for Shopify Tax the question is its cost.
Who can still use Basic Tax in Canada?
Key takeaway
The cutoff is set per region, and Shopify's page on Basic Tax for Canada states it in one line:
In Canada, Basic Tax is available only if your store was set up to collect tax in Canada before May 13, 2026.
Shopify's tax-service page adds that Basic Tax isn't available if your store currently uses Manual Tax in the region. What that means for a store depends on where it stood:
Basic Tax in Canada, by store situation
| Your store's situation | What happens to its Canadian tax service |
|---|---|
| In Canada, set up with Basic Tax and actively charging tax to customers | Your tax service is not changing automatically, and you can continue to use Basic Tax without interruption. |
| In Canada, set up with Basic Tax but not actively charging tax to customers | Your tax service will be migrated to Shopify Tax automatically. |
| Not set up to collect tax in Canada before May 13, 2026, or using Manual Tax in the region | Basic Tax isn't available for the region. |
From Shopify's Migrate to Shopify Tax in Canada page and its Choose your tax service page, read October 21, 2026.
Weigh a move before you make it: in the United States, Canada, the European Union and the United Kingdom, changing your tax service can be permanent. What a store gives up by staying on Basic Tax is set out in our answer on what you give up with Basic Tax.
What Shopify Tax costs on Canadian orders
Key takeaway
You can use Shopify Tax without fees until your threshold of global sales reaches 100,000 CAD. What counts toward it depends on when the store was created: per Shopify's Shopify Tax pricing page, the threshold is annual for stores created before May 13, 2026, and measured over the store's lifetime for stores created on or after that date.
That figure and the 0.99 CAD cap per order below apply to a store located in Canada; the pricing page lists the same amounts in EUR for a store located in the European Union, in GBP for one in the United Kingdom, and in USD for one in the United States or any other region. Above 25,000,000 USD in sales, the pricing page sends stores to their Customer Success Manager for pricing instead.
Shopify Tax fees on Canadian orders
| Plan | Fee on Canadian orders Shopify Tax calculates, past the threshold | Cap per order (store located in Canada) |
|---|---|---|
| Starter, Basic, Grow, Advanced | 0.25% | 0.99 CAD |
| Plus | 0.15% | 0.99 CAD |
From Shopify's Shopify Tax in Canada page, read October 21, 2026. Shopify Tax transaction fees for Canada apply as of August 15, 2026.
The fee applies only to orders from regions where you've activated tax collection, including orders where no tax is charged due to product exemptions. Whether a yearly ceiling sits on top is a separate question, answered in whether Shopify Tax has a yearly cap.
Which Registrations Does Your Store Need?
The tables above answer by province and by store type. This answers by combination: where your store sits, whether you've crossed 30,000 CAD, whether you sell into the four provinces with their own tax, and which tax service you're on. Four questions; the result names the registrations that apply, or the one question to settle first when your route depends on the CRA's test or on a number you don't track yet.
Which Canadian registrations does your store need?Four questions on location, sales, provinces and tax service — the result is a route, not a verdict
How to Set Up Canadian Tax Collection in Shopify
Key takeaway
Shopify's order of operations is fixed: after you've registered with the tax agencies and have your registration numbers, you can set up your taxes.
Register with the CRA and the provinces first
If you charge GST/HST, you must register for a GST/HST account with the CRA, unless your business is physically located in Quebec: the CRA says the GST/HST is then administered by Revenu Québec, and you register and file your GST/HST returns with Revenu Québec. Provincial taxes go to their own agencies — British Columbia, Manitoba, Revenu Québec and Saskatchewan — and, in the words of Shopify's reference page, you don't need to register with all of these agencies, only those that apply to you. The provincial table above shows which rules might reach your store.
Add your GST/HST and provincial registrations
Key takeaway
Shopify's Canada tax setup page walks through the screens. In short:
- In your Shopify admin, go to Settings › Taxes and duties and open Canada under Tax regions.In Shopify adminOpen in your store
- Settings
- Taxes and duties
Step 1: Canada is a row in the Tax regions table; open it to reach the Canadian settings. - Add your registration with Collect in a new region, under Regions you're collecting in. Shopify's setup page calls the same button Collect sales tax.In Shopify adminOpen in your store
- Settings
- Taxes and duties
- Canada
Step 2 starts at Collect in a new region, below the liability insights block. - Select Canada as the region for your GST/HST registration and enter your GST/HST number. If you have applied for a tax number but don't have one yet, leave this box blank. Shopify's setup page also says to ensure that you've entered a tax number for Canada before charging tax on your products.In Shopify adminOpen in your store
- Settings
- Taxes and duties
- Canada
Step 3 opens this dialog: in the Region list, select Canada for GST/HST or the province for PST, RST or QST. - Repeat for each province where you need to collect provincial tax; Shopify's notes on updating to Canada tax features ask for a separate registration per province.
Adding any GST/HST region applies GST to all of Canada and HST to the participating provinces. You can add, delete or change your registrations or account numbers at any time.
If Canada doesn't appear under Tax regions at all, see why a country is missing from the Tax regions list.
Check the result with a draft order
Before processing live orders, you can verify that your tax settings are calculating correctly by creating a draft order. Expect the cents to work out per line rather than per order: once a store uses the Canada tax features, tax amounts are rounded at the line-item level. Our guide to how tax is worked out on a draft covers what the draft takes into account.
Exempt Customers, Exempt Products and Shipping
Key takeaway
Three things change the tax on an otherwise ordinary order: who is buying, what they buy, and what the shipping line carries.
Tax-exempt customers
Key takeaway
Exemptions are available for those provinces where you are registered for taxes. Shopify's table of Canadian tax exemptions lists nine customer types:
- Canada status card
- Canada diplomat
- Reseller
- Fishery
- Production and machinery
- Contractor
- Subcontractor
- Ontario purchase
- Farmer
Reseller, for example, applies to customers that purchase goods for resale or lease in British Columbia (PST), Manitoba (RST) and Saskatchewan (PST). The setting records your decision; it doesn't check the customer:
Verifying whether your customers are eligible for these exemptions is your responsibility.
It's not possible to verify exemptions from the Shopify admin, so if you're not sure a customer is eligible, request documentation and check with the appropriate tax authority.
Product overrides, and where Shopify Tax stops calculating
Key takeaway
If you need to override your tax rates for specific products and shipping rates, you set the exemption by using a collection. Whether a tax override accepts a collection you already use elsewhere is answered separately.
In provinces with separate GST and provincial sales tax, you need to create separate overrides for each tax type. An override on Quebec's QST rate applies only once you've added your Quebec account, and Shopify's page on managing Canadian taxes sets the same condition for British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and GST/HST.
- Settings
- Taxes and duties
- Canada
On Shopify Tax, product categories do much of this for you: Shopify Tax uses product categories to automatically determine the tax rates for products that are tax exempt or zero-rated, such as groceries. When you set a product category for a product that already has an override, the override takes precedence over the category's tax calculation.
- Products
- Product name
Calculations using Shopify Tax in Canada aren't available in three scenarios:
- Orders shipped to another country — what calculates tax there is covered in which service calculates tax on orders shipped elsewhere.
- Orders created by third-party apps or through the API.
- Orders that contain one or more products with a product or shipping rate tax override.
Is shipping taxable in Canada?
Key takeaway
Shopify's reference page gives each provincial tax its own shipping rule and says HST also applies to shipping on orders you ship within Canada; its management page adds the proportional rule for GST and HST:
When the shipping line is taxed in Canada
| Tax | When the shipping charge is taxed |
|---|---|
| British Columbia PST | Delivery and shipping charges are generally taxable if the goods are also taxable. |
| Manitoba RST | If you're registered to collect RST, shipping charges are subject to RST when delivery originates outside Manitoba. |
| Quebec QST | Delivery charges are taxed for sales that originate in and are shipped to Quebec. |
| Saskatchewan PST | If you're registered to collect PST, shipping charges are subject to PST when delivery originates outside Saskatchewan; within Saskatchewan, you're not required to charge PST on shipping charges shown separately. |
| GST and HST | HST applies to shipping charges on orders you ship within Canada; for orders containing exempt products, shipping tax is calculated proportionally. An exempt product here is one with Charge tax on this variant unchecked. |
From Shopify's Canada tax reference (provincial rules and HST on shipping) and its page on managing Canadian taxes (proportional shipping tax and exempt products), read October 21, 2026.
How Shopify decides on shipping tax in general, and where that setting lives, is covered in whether Shopify charges tax on shipping.
What Shopify Leaves to You: Filing and Remitting
Key takeaway
Shopify draws the line at the top of its Canada tax section:
Shopify helps to simplify the procedures for charging sales taxes, but doesn't remit or file your taxes for you.
Everything after checkout is yours. Shopify's setup page reminds merchants that it's their responsibility to consult local tax authorities or a tax professional to verify that they charge customers the correct tax rates, and to ensure that they file and remit their taxes correctly.
If you use Shopify Tax in Canada and your store currency is set to CAD, you can access the Canada sales tax report, which is the natural starting point for whoever prepares your returns. For how filing works on Shopify more broadly, see whether Shopify files sales tax for you.
Selling beyond Canada is its own registration question: if you sell to customers outside Canada, you might need to register for and collect VAT in those regions. Our Shopify Markets guide covers selling internationally.
Work Through It in This Order
Key takeaway
Steps one to three decide what steps four and five enter, so don't reverse them.
- If the quiz put you below the GST/HST threshold, steps two and four wait, but steps three and five still apply if you sell into British Columbia, Manitoba, Quebec or Saskatchewan.
- If it put you on the CRA's test, step one is a conversation with the CRA or your advisor.
- If it sent you to measure first, stay on step one until you have your net-sales count, including sales outside Shopify.
- Stores that sell only outside those four provinces skip step five.
Canadian Sales Tax Setup ChecklistEight steps from checking the threshold to filing. Tick them off as you go — progress is saved in this browser.
Canadian Sales Tax Setup Checklist
Eight steps from checking the threshold to filing. Tick them off as you go — progress is saved in this browser.
Compare your taxable sales with 30,000 CAD over the window that applies to your store — for a Canadian store, the CRA counts worldwide sales, exports included, plus associated businesses — and if you ship Canadian orders from outside Canada, ask the CRA or a tax advisor how its non-resident rules apply to you.
Before you tick this off
- Confirmed whether Shopify treats the store as Canadian
- Compared taxable sales with 30,000 CAD on the right base and over the right window
- Added the sales outside Shopify that the liability statuses don't count
If you charge GST/HST, you must register for a GST/HST account; keep the number for Shopify, or note that the application is still pending.
Before you tick this off
- Applied for or received a GST/HST number
- If registering voluntarily, noted that it generally means staying registered for at least one year
Check British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Quebec against their own rules, and register only with the agencies that apply to you.
Before you tick this off
- Checked each province you sell into against the provincial table
- Registered for PST, RST or QST wherever a province's rules reach you
In Settings › Taxes and duties › Canada, add the GST/HST registration, which applies GST to all of Canada and HST to the participating provinces.
Before you tick this off
- Entered the GST/HST number, or left the box blank while the application is pending and added the number before charging tax
- Checked which tax service Canada uses before changing anything — a change can be permanent
Add a separate registration with its account number for each province where you need to collect provincial tax.
Before you tick this off
- Added each provincial registration you hold
- Added your Quebec account before relying on any QST override
Override product and shipping rates through collections, with a separate override for each tax type in two-tax provinces, and keep documentation for every exempt customer.
Before you tick this off
- Created overrides by collection, one per tax type where needed
- Applied Canadian exemption types only for provinces where you're registered
- Kept the documentation behind each exemption
Create a draft order before processing live orders and check every tax line; amounts are rounded at the line-item level.
Before you tick this off
- Tested an order into each province where you're registered
- Reviewed the Tax section for the correct rates where a provincial tax applies
Shopify doesn't remit or file your taxes, so hand the figures to whoever files your GST/HST and provincial returns, using the Canada sales tax report if you use Shopify Tax with CAD as the store currency.
Before you tick this off
- Named who files each return
- Noted which report the figures come from
The Bottom Line
Key takeaway
The rates are the easy part: they sit in one table. The part that takes judgment is the order of operations and the provinces — registering with the right agencies before collecting, and remembering that the provincial taxes run on rules of their own.
Frequently Asked Questions
Front-end developer specializing in Shopify since 2017. Experienced in building custom Liquid themes, optimizing storefront performance, and integrating third-party apps. Directs the editorial process behind Ecom Store Pro: sets its topics and the rules every AI-written page must pass before publication.
This page was written by AI. Separate AI agents that did not write it check its figures and claims against official sources and test its links and interactive tools. A human editor sets the site's editorial direction, topics and rules and checks that pages are complete and display correctly, but does not check their facts or edit their text. Details may change — always confirm critical data at shopify.com.
Editorial PolicySome links in this article are affiliate links. If you sign up for a Shopify store through these links, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Read our full advertising policy.