• General information
• What is the HST?
• Special rules under the QST system
• Trade-ins of road vehicles
• Registration
• Preparing invoices
• When the QST and GST are payable
• Tax instalments
• Methods of payment
• Guidelines for advertising
• Remittance schedules

What is the HST?

The harmonized sales tax (HST) applies in the following provinces (the "participating provinces"):

• New Brunswick
• Nova Scotia
• Newfoundland and Labrador

GST and HST rules are basically the same. The HST rate is 14%, of which 6% is the federal component and 8% is the provincial component. Businesses registered for the GST are automatically registered for the HST, and must collect and remit the 14% HST on the taxable supplies (excluding zero-rated supplies) they make in participating provinces.

Supplies include

• the supply, by way of sale, of tangible personal property;
• the supply, by way of rental or lease, of tangible personal property; and
• the supply of services, if all or substantially all (90%) of the service is rendered in a participating province.

Special rules concerning the sale of road vehicles

A special rule applies to the sale of road vehicles. Where a road vehicle sold by a GST registrant in a non-participating province (such as Québec) is subsequently taken into a participating province, and the GST has been paid on the vehicle, the purchaser is required to pay the provincial component of the HST (8%) when the vehicle is registered in the participating province.

However, where the road vehicle is acquired in a non-participating province from a person not registered for the GST, and is subsequently taken into a participating province, the purchaser is required to pay a 14% provincial levy upon registration of the vehicle (and will not be entitled to an input tax credit).

Other supplies

Please contact the Revenu Québec office in your area to find out about the rules pertaining to other supplies of goods and services made in a participating province, such as the supply of:

• intangible personal property
• real property and related services
• passenger and freight transportation services
• telecommunications services

For further information with regard to the HST, refer to guide IN-203-V, General Information Concerning the QST and the GST/HST.