Most of the products we use will see no change in price under HST.

About 80 per cent of consumer spending won’t see any more tax than today. You pay PST and GST on the majority of products and services you use every day, and the Province is giving rebates on many common purchases.

Rule of thumb: if you don’t pay GST on it now, you won’t pay HST on it later.

But HST will apply to some new products and services. For example, snack foods, restaurant meals, haircuts, massage therapy, taxis and over-the-counter medications are a few of the new products and services for which HST will now apply.

Instant Rebates at the Register

For some products, you will get an instant rebate at the till for the provincial portion of the HST. This means you will only pay the five per cent federal portion of the HST when you make your purchase on goods like residential energy, motor fuels, books and children’s sized clothing.

A Little Confused?

To take the guess work out of it, we’ve developed a PDF document "What’s Taxable and What’s Not” list of
the most common goods and services.

It’s broken down in categories such as Home Services, Accommodation and Travel, Professional and Personal Services, Memberships, Health and Beauty and Food and Beverages. In each category we’ve shown whether you pay GST or PST now and if there will be a change in the amount of tax you pay with HST.

	Click on this PDF document to read about what is taxed and what is not.