Now that Ontario is shut down many Ontario businesses that use to sell solely to Ontario consumers are selling Canada-wide.
Spoke with the CRA (HST technical line) they mentioned tax is charged at the place of supply.
e.g. Ontario business sells to a British Columbia consumer then tax for British Columbia is charged. (7% PST and 5% GST).
I noticed Manitoba, Quebec, Saskatchewan all have two taxes (Federal and Provincial)
In Ontario, the return I’m accustomed to completing the GST/HST return.
However, if collecting PST and GST from a BC consumer the GST can be remitted on the GST/HST return but where does that leave the PST portion?
I called the tax department in BC and was told that it is not necessary to get a PST number and file a PST return if sales are below $10,000.00.
Does this mean if a sale is made to a BC consumer from an Ontario business with less than $10,000.00 in sales in BC only GST is charged and remitted?
If there is anticipation that sales in BC will exceed $10,000.00 then a PST number will be requested and PST will be collected and remitted moving forward? Will the treatment be similar to all the other provinces with two taxes subject to their own set of rules.
For the provinces that charge HST and GST(only) when sales tax is collected is it all remitted on the GST/HST return?
Does anyone currently have clients who sell Canada-wide from Ontario that can shed some light on this subject of selling to other provinces and the necessary tax compliance?
I think you’ve got that backwards - the place of supply would be Ontario, so Ontario HST would be charged.
However, here in Saskatchewan, if the buyer hasn’t paid PST to the seller, the buyer is supposed to “self assess” and remit the PST to provincial government.
Per your questions:
Not applicable unless the seller is in BC, or has an office or agent in BC.
Similar to GST/HST - in the period that sales exceed the threshhold, a PST number should be obtained, and the seller should start charging PST at the start of the next period.
When my clients here in Saskatchewan pay HST on something, it is claimed on their GST return as if it is all GST.
“I think you’ve got that backwards - the place of supply would be Ontario, so Ontario HST would be charged.”
Actually, not necessarily… It is unlikely that the BC consumer picked up the item in Ontario.
A brief overview can be obtained by reading guide RC4022 (around page 41 or so)
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BC: “You must register to collect and remit PST if you are located outside BC but within Canada and regularly do all of the following: Sell taxable goods to customers in BC” etc, etc, etc
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Proper evaluation of sales contracts and operations should be undertaken by the company’s lawyer and the company’s accountant in respect of each Province sold to.
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“I called the tax department in BC and was told that it is not necessary to get a PST number and file a PST return if sales are below $10,000.00.”
IMHO, extremely unwise to try to get answers to legal questions over the telephone.
That telephone advice may very well not be correct of the seller does not have a business presence in BC.
“I called the tax department in BC and was told that it is not necessary to get a PST number and file a PST return if sales are below $10,000.00.”
That is now becoming even more obsolete/incorrect re out-of-province sellers regarding BC.
From 01 April 2021 there are new requirements for out-of-province sellers selling into bc to have to register and collect/remit the BC PST.
Regarding BC, See page 4 et seq (Bulletin revised 18 Feb 2021) https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/taxes/sales-taxes/pst/register “Additional PST registration requirements for businesses located outside B.C. will be in effect April 1, 2021. For more information, see:” (pst-001-registering-to-collect-pst.pdf)
@Nezzer I always enjoy your comments they are very helpful. Thank you!!! @joe.justjoe1 Thank you for providing that link. I ALWAYS appreciate references to the tax legislation and government documents/websites.
