How to Set Up GST/HST, PST and QST on Shopify in Canada (2026)

Who this guide is for

You run, or are about to open, a Shopify store based in Canada and you need to know which sales taxes to charge, when you have to register, and where the settings are in Shopify. This guide covers GST/HST, the provincial sales taxes in British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and Quebec's QST, then walks through Shopify's tax settings as its help centre documents them.

It builds on two guides we already publish, so it does not repeat them in full. For the CRA registration process itself, read how to register for a GST/HST number. For every province's rate, read GST, HST, PST and QST rates by province.

This is general information based on the Canada Revenue Agency's guidance, provincial tax publications and the Shopify Help Center, checked September 2026. It is not tax advice. What you sell, where you keep inventory and how you advertise can all change the answer, so confirm your registrations with an accountant before you rely on this page.

How we researched this

This is a research-only guide. We did not set up a Shopify store or file tax returns through Shopify. The rules below come from canada.ca, provincial tax bulletins from British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, Revenu Québec, and the Shopify Help Center. Menu names are quoted as Shopify's help centre shows them in September 2026. Shopify changes its admin often, so the labels in your store may differ slightly.

The worked example is our own arithmetic from published rates. The full source list is at the end.

Step 1: Work out whether you have to register

Shopify does not decide whether you owe tax. Its setup guide says you need to determine whether you should charge sales tax, register with the relevant tax agencies, and only then set up your registrations in Shopify.

GST/HST: the $30,000 small supplier test

The CRA says you have to register for a GST/HST account if you make taxable sales in Canada and you are not a small supplier. For most businesses the test works like this:

• Over four consecutive calendar quarters: if your taxable sales go over $30,000 across the last four (or fewer) quarters, but not in any single quarter, you stop being a small supplier at the end of the month after the quarter in which you went over.
• In a single calendar quarter: if you go over $30,000 in one quarter, you stop being a small supplier right away and have to charge GST/HST on the sale that put you over.
• Registration deadline: in both cases, the CRA says you have to register within 29 days of your effective date of registration.

The $30,000 counts worldwide taxable sales, including zero-rated sales, from all your businesses and those of your associates, so sales on other channels count too. Registering earlier is allowed and lets you claim input tax credits, but you then have to charge tax and file returns. Our GST/HST registration guide covers that trade-off and the application steps.

PST and QST: each province has its own rules

A GST/HST number does not register you for PST or QST. Here is what each province says about sellers located elsewhere in Canada, which is the usual situation for a Shopify store shipping across the country.

British Columbia (7% PST). B.C. Bulletin PST 001 describes several scenarios in which a business located outside B.C. but within Canada must register. For goods, you must register if, in the ordinary course of business, you sell taxable goods to B.C. customers, accept orders from customers in B.C., deliver the goods to B.C. (including through a courier), and either:

• solicit people in B.C. for orders, through advertising or other means, which has no minimum sales amount; or
• have more than $10,000 in gross revenue from retail sales and leases of goods, software and telecommunication services to B.C. customers in the previous 12 months, or expect to in the next 12 months.

The bulletin adds that a website accessible from anywhere that does not target B.C. customers is not soliciting in B.C., but targeted internet advertisements are. If you sell vapour products into B.C., you must register regardless of the $10,000 threshold. B.C.'s separate "small seller" exception applies only to businesses located in B.C.

Saskatchewan (6% PST). Saskatchewan Information Bulletin PST-5 says businesses located outside Saskatchewan that make retail sales in the province are required to become licensed to collect PST. A retail sale includes making goods available for purchase in Saskatchewan, accepting orders that originate there, and causing the goods to be delivered there. The bulletin says its small trader guideline does not apply to non-resident vendors, and Shopify's reference page notes there is no minimum sales threshold in Saskatchewan.

Manitoba (7% RST). Manitoba Information Bulletin RST 004 says out-of-province businesses selling taxable goods to Manitoba purchasers for their own use must register and collect RST if they cause the goods to be delivered in Manitoba, solicit orders in Manitoba (by advertising or other means), and accept orders originating in Manitoba. Manitoba does have a small business exception for annual taxable sales under $30,000, but the same bulletin says out-of-province businesses that have not paid Manitoba RST on all taxable goods purchased for resale in Manitoba are not eligible for it. Check with Manitoba Finance before you rely on that exception.

Quebec (9.975% QST). Revenu Québec says a supplier outside Quebec that is registered for GST/HST must register under the "specified" QST system once the value of its taxable supplies made in Quebec to specified Québec consumers is more than $30,000 for a 12-month period. A separate general-system rule applies if you store goods in Quebec or deliver them there other than by mail or courier. Specified-system registration numbers include the letters "NR."

Alberta and the territories. Alberta, Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut have no provincial sales tax, so a GST/HST registrant charges only the 5% GST there.

Step 2: Understand which rate applies to each order

The GST/HST rate depends on where the sale happens for tax purposes, not where your business is. The CRA's place-of-supply rules say that when a supplier mails goods or sends them by courier, the place of supply is the province the goods are sent to. The CRA's own example: a store in Alberta that ships goods to a buyer in Ontario charges HST at the Ontario rate.

For a Shopify store, the rate follows the customer's shipping address. The CRA's rate table, checked September 2026:

Feature	GST/HST	Provincial tax
Alberta, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Yukon	5% GST	None
British Columbia	5% GST	7% PST
Manitoba	5% GST	7% RST
Saskatchewan	5% GST	6% PST
Quebec	5% GST	9.975% QST
Ontario	13% HST	Included in HST
Nova Scotia	14% HST	Included in HST
New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island	15% HST	Included in HST

Two points from Shopify's Canadian taxes reference are worth knowing. First, if you are registered for GST, you are registered for HST too, so you charge the full HST in HST provinces. Second, in B.C., Manitoba, Quebec and Saskatchewan, the invoice shows two tax lines, one for GST and one for the provincial tax, and the provincial amount is remitted separately to that province.

Step 3: Set up your registrations in Shopify

Shopify offers three ways to handle Canadian tax: Shopify Tax, Manual Tax, and Basic Tax. Shopify's help centre says Basic Tax is available in Canada only if your store was set up to collect tax there before May 13, 2026, so a new store chooses between Shopify Tax and Manual Tax. Manual Tax does not calculate rates from your registrations automatically, according to Shopify's comparison of tax services.

Add your GST/HST and provincial registrations

Shopify's "Setting up Canadian taxes" page documents these steps:

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Settings > Taxes and duties.
2. In the Tax regions section, click Canada.
3. In the Sales tax section, click Collect sales tax.
4. Select a region in which you are registered.
5. In the Tax number box, enter your tax number. If you have applied but do not have the number yet, Shopify says to leave it blank and update it later.
6. Click Collect sales tax.
7. To add more regions and account numbers, click Collect sales tax again.

Shopify's help centre also says:

• One GST/HST registration covers the country. Adding any GST/HST region applies GST to all of Canada and HST to the participating provinces, because GST/HST is one tax account.
• Provinces are separate entries. Add a separate registration for B.C., Manitoba, Saskatchewan or Quebec only if you are registered there.
• Number format. Shopify's troubleshooting section says to enter your GST/HST number in the format 123456789RT0001.
• Register first. Shopify's note reads: "If you charge GST/HST, then you must register for a GST/HST account."

Turn on Shopify Tax

If your store has Basic Tax and you want to switch, Shopify documents this path: Settings > Taxes and duties, click Canada in Tax regions, click Manage in the Tax service section, select Shopify Tax, then Save selection. Shopify warns that in Canada, changing your tax service can be permanent: if Basic Tax is not available to your store, you cannot switch back after saving a different service.

Shopify Tax adds three things for Canadian stores, per its help centre:

• Rates from product categories. It uses each product's category to apply exempt or zero-rated treatment, such as for groceries. Shopify says it is your responsibility to check that categories are correct.
• Tax liability insights. Under Settings > Taxes and duties > Canada, the Tax liability insights section flags when your Shopify sales suggest you may need to register. It counts Shopify sales only, and Shopify calls an insight "a prompt to check, not a decision."
• The Canada sales tax report. Available when you use Shopify Tax and your store currency is CAD (see Step 6).

What Shopify Tax costs in Canada

We covered this in our Shopify fees guide and re-checked it for this page.

Feature	Basic, Grow, Advanced	Plus
Free until	CAD $100,000 in global sales	CAD $100,000 in global sales
Fee after that, per Canadian order Shopify Tax calculates	0.25%	0.15%
Maximum per order	CAD $0.99	CAD $0.99
Yearly cap per region	CAD $5,000, stores created before May 13, 2026 only	CAD $5,000, stores created before May 13, 2026 only

• Threshold type. For stores created on or after May 13, 2026, the CAD $100,000 threshold is a lifetime total. Older stores have an annual threshold.
• Start date. Shopify's Canadian Shopify Tax page says the Canadian transaction fees apply as of August 15, 2026.
• Which orders are charged. Orders from regions where you have activated tax collection, including orders with no tax because of product exemptions. On a $100 order the fee is $0.25 on Basic, Grow or Advanced.

See Shopify's current plans (affiliate link, opens NorthVetted redirect)

Step 4: Handle shipping, tax-inclusive prices and exempt products

Tax on shipping

Shopify's shipping tax guide lists Canada among the regions where shipping is taxed where applicable, regardless of the Charge tax on shipping rates setting. Shopify's Canadian reference adds these provincial details:

• HST provinces: HST applies to shipping charges on orders you ship within Canada.
• British Columbia: delivery charges are generally taxable if the goods are taxable. On a mixed order, only the share of shipping for taxable goods is taxed.
• Manitoba and Saskatchewan: if you are registered, shipping is subject to the provincial tax when delivery originates outside the province.
• Quebec: Shopify's reference says delivery charges are taxed for sales that originate in and are shipped to Quebec.

When an order mixes exempt and taxable products, Shopify taxes shipping in proportion. Its example: if 1 of 4 items is exempt, shipping is taxed at 75% of the full rate.

Tax-inclusive pricing

To show prices with tax already included, Shopify's steps are: Settings > Taxes and duties, select Include sales tax in product price and shipping rate, then Save. Shopify works out the tax inside the price with the formula Tax = (Tax Rate × Price) ÷ (1 + Tax Rate). At 13% HST, a $113.00 price holds $13.00 of tax.

Shopify says the option does not change your tax reporting, and that a tax-exempt customer still pays the full listed price. Its page does not spell out how one tax-included price behaves across provinces with different rates, so if you use it, place test orders to several provinces to see what Shopify charges and what you keep.

Exempt and zero-rated products

The CRA's list of zero-rated supplies (taxed at 0%) includes items an online store might sell:

• Basic groceries such as milk, bread and vegetables
• Prescription drugs
• Certain medical devices such as hearing aids
• Feminine hygiene products
• Most exports

Shopify's reference explains the invoicing difference: for zero-rated items, GST or HST of 0% must be shown, while for exempt items no tax line appears.

Children's clothing is a good example of how federal and provincial rules differ. It is not on the CRA's zero-rated list, so the 5% GST still applies. But:

• Ontario: the CRA's info sheet GI-063 says Ontario gives a point-of-sale rebate of the 8% provincial part of the HST on qualifying children's clothing, footwear, diapers, and car seats and booster seats. The retailer collects only the 5% federal part.
• British Columbia: Bulletin PST 201 says children's-sized clothing and footwear are exempt from PST.

Qualifying goods have size and design conditions, so check each bulletin before you change any rates.

In Shopify, you handle these in one of three ways:

• One product with no tax at all: go to Products, open the product, click the menu in the Price section, deselect Charge tax on this product, and save.
• A group of products with a different rate: first create a collection under Products > Collections > Add collection and add the products by hand. Shopify says overrides cannot use collections that add products automatically through conditions. Then go to Settings > Taxes and duties, click Canada, and in the Tax rates and exemptions section click Add override under Product overrides (or Shipping overrides). Select the collection and the region, and enter the rate to charge.
• Shopify Tax product categories: if you use Shopify Tax, correct categories may handle exemptions automatically, and Shopify says an override takes precedence over a category.

Shopify's override rules for Canada are specific:

• An override on the Canada region changes only the GST.
• An override on Ontario or another HST province changes that province's HST rate.
• An override on British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan or Quebec changes only the PST, RST or QST.

Shopify also warns that the percentage you enter is the amount to collect, not the amount exempted.

Step 5: Test before you sell

Shopify's Canadian guide suggests testing with a draft order before you take live orders:

1. Go to Orders > Drafts.
2. Click Create order.
3. Add a product and a customer with a Canadian shipping address in a province where you are registered.
4. Review the Tax section.

Shopify says draft orders do not affect your order count or tax reports. Test one address in each province you ship to, plus a product with an override, and compare each result with the rates above.

Worked example: an Ontario store shipping across Canada

An Ontario-based store registered for GST/HST sells a $100.00 product with free shipping. Here is what each customer pays, depending on the store's provincial registrations. Figures are our own arithmetic from the CRA's rate table.

Ontario customer (13% HST): $100.00 × 13% = $13.00 HST. Total $113.00.

Alberta customer (5% GST): $100.00 × 5% = $5.00 GST. Total $105.00.

British Columbia customer:

• If the store is registered for B.C. PST: $5.00 GST + ($100.00 × 7% = $7.00 PST) = $12.00 tax. Total $112.00.
• If the store is not registered for B.C. PST: $5.00 GST only. Total $105.00.

Quebec customer:

• If the store is registered for QST: $5.00 GST + ($100.00 × 9.975% = $9.975, rounded to $9.98 QST) = $14.98 tax. Total $114.98.
• If the store is not registered for QST: $5.00 GST only. Total $105.00.

Three things to notice:

• The QST is calculated on the price before GST. Revenu Québec's calculation page describes calculating 5% GST on the sale price, then QST on the sale price. It is not calculated on $105. Revenu Québec also says only fractions of half a cent or more round up, which is why $9.975 becomes $9.98.
• Not being registered is not the same as not owing. If B.C.'s or Quebec's rules require you to register and you have not, you still have an obligation. B.C.'s registration page says failing to register "does not remove your obligation to collect and remit PST."
• Add shipping and the numbers change. With a $12.00 shipping charge on the Ontario order, HST is 13% of $112.00, or $14.56, for a total of $126.56. The same order to Alberta carries 5% GST on $112.00, or $5.60, for a total of $117.60.

The sales tax calculator runs these numbers for any province.

Step 6: File and remit (Shopify does not do this for you)

Shopify's Canadian taxes page says it "helps to simplify the procedures for charging sales taxes, but doesn't remit or file your taxes for you." Shopify's automated filing service with Shopify Tax files US sales tax returns for enrolled stores, not Canadian returns.

You file:

• A GST/HST return with the CRA for each reporting period, or with Revenu Québec if your business is in Quebec. The CRA says monthly and quarterly filers file and pay 1 month after the end of the period, and most annual filers 3 months after their fiscal year-end. You must file even if you had no sales. This is called a nil return. The CRA can charge penalties and interest on returns or payments received after the due date. Our GST/HST registration guide covers filing frequency and the quick method.
• A PST, RST or QST return with each province where you are registered, on that province's schedule.

Shopify's reports can support your filing. Shopify's finance reports page says to go to Analytics > Reports and filter by the Finances category. Three reports are relevant:

• Canada sales tax report. Available if you use Shopify Tax in Canada with CAD as your store currency. Its province summary groups GST and HST under Canada, "because GST and HST are reported federally to the Canada Revenue Agency," and groups PST, QST and RST under each province. It shows up to 1,000 rows on screen, and each CSV export holds up to one month of data.
• Taxes report. Summarizes the sales taxes applied to your sales by tax name, rate and region.
• Total sales by order report. Exports gross sales, net sales, taxes, returns and shipping as a CSV for your accountant.

Shopify's liability page makes a point worth remembering about the tax you collect: "Tax that you collect isn't revenue. You're holding it on behalf of the tax authority."

Your own store is not a marketplace

Since July 1, 2021, the CRA's digital-economy rules have made some platforms responsible for GST/HST. A registered distribution platform operator must collect and remit GST/HST on qualifying goods that non-registered vendors sell through its platform. B.C. and Saskatchewan have their own marketplace facilitator rules for PST.

Those rules are about marketplaces where many sellers list products. On your own Shopify store, you are the seller, and Shopify's help centre says tax is your responsibility. If you also sell through a third-party marketplace, check that marketplace's tax pages for what it collects on your behalf.

If you're selling to the US

• Canadian tax. The CRA lists most exports as zero-rated, so goods you ship to US customers generally carry 0% GST/HST.
• US sales tax. This depends on nexus. Shopify's US tax guide says economic nexus rules "apply to all merchants with customers in the United States," including non-US merchants, and that each state sets its own sales threshold. Below a state's threshold, and with no physical presence there, you generally do not collect that state's sales tax.
• Tracking thresholds. Shopify Tax's US liability insights mark a state as "Monitoring" once your sales there reach 80% of its threshold. Thresholds vary by state, so confirm with the state tax authority or a cross-border accountant, register for a state permit, and then add the sales tax ID in Shopify.

Common mistakes

Charging Ontario HST (or your own province's rate) on every order. The rate follows the shipping address. An Ontario store charges 5% GST to an Alberta buyer and 15% HST to a New Brunswick buyer.

Treating a GST/HST number as a PST or QST number. They are separate registrations. Shopify only adds provincial tax once you add that province under Canada in your tax settings.

Assuming Shopify files for you. It calculates and reports. You file and remit to the CRA and each province.

Counting only Shopify sales toward thresholds. The CRA's $30,000 test counts all your taxable sales and those of your associates. Shopify's insights count Shopify sales only.

Building overrides on automated collections. Shopify only applies tax overrides to products you add to a collection by hand.

Forgetting to recheck categories and overrides after switching to Shopify Tax. An override beats a product category, so an old override can undo Shopify Tax's category-based rate.

Sources

• CRA: When to register for and start charging the GST/HST (checked September 2026)
• CRA: GST/HST and place-of-supply rules (checked September 2026)
• CRA: GST/HST calculator and rates (checked September 2026)
• CRA: Type of supply (taxable, zero-rated or exempt) (checked September 2026)
• CRA: GI-063, Point-of-Sale Rebate on Children's Goods (checked September 2026)
• CRA: GST/HST for digital-economy businesses (checked September 2026)
• CRA: Find out if you need to register (digital economy) (checked September 2026)
• CRA: Reporting requirements and deadlines for GST/HST returns (checked September 2026)
• B.C.: Register to collect PST (checked September 2026)
• B.C. Bulletin PST 001, Registering to Collect PST (revised August 2023, checked September 2026)
• B.C. Bulletin PST 201, Children's Clothing and Footwear (revised January 2024, checked September 2026)
• Saskatchewan Information Bulletin PST-5, Registration and Reporting Requirements (revised July 2025, checked September 2026)
• Saskatchewan: Apply for a PST number (checked September 2026)
• Manitoba Finance: Retail Sales Tax (checked September 2026)
• Manitoba Information Bulletin RST 004, Information for Vendors (revised June 2024, checked September 2026)
• Revenu Québec: QST registration for suppliers outside Québec (checked September 2026)
• Revenu Québec: Registration under the specified system, suppliers outside Québec registered under the general GST/HST system (checked September 2026)
• Revenu Québec: Calculating the taxes (checked September 2026)
• Shopify Help Center: Taxes (checked September 2026)
• Shopify Help Center: Canadian taxes (checked September 2026)
• Shopify Help Center: Setting up Canadian taxes (checked September 2026)
• Shopify Help Center: Canadian taxes reference (checked September 2026)
• Shopify Help Center: Manage your Canadian taxes (checked September 2026)
• Shopify Help Center: Review your Canada tax liabilities (checked September 2026)
• Shopify Help Center: Setting Canadian tax exemptions (checked September 2026)
• Shopify Help Center: Basic Tax service in Canada (checked September 2026)
• Shopify Help Center: Migrate to Shopify Tax in Canada (checked September 2026)
• Shopify Help Center: Shopify Tax features in Canada (checked September 2026)
• Shopify Help Center: Shopify Tax pricing (checked September 2026)
• Shopify Help Center: Choose a tax service (checked September 2026)
• Shopify Help Center: Automated filing with Shopify Tax (checked September 2026)
• Shopify Help Center: Tax overrides and exemptions (checked September 2026)
• Shopify Help Center: Shipping tax (checked September 2026)
• Shopify Help Center: Include taxes in product prices (checked September 2026)
• Shopify Help Center: Tax reports (checked September 2026)
• Shopify Help Center: Finances reports (checked September 2026)
• Shopify Help Center: Navigating US tax regulations (checked September 2026)
• Shopify Help Center: Review your US tax liability insights (checked September 2026)