HomeThis calculator helps find the amount of tax that applies to sales in Ontario. Ontario charges a 13% Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) which is made up of an 8% Provincial Sales Tax (PST) and 5% Federal Goods and Services Tax (GST).
This calculator also allows you to start with the total amount payable after all applicable sales taxes are applied and find the starting base amount.
Sales tax in Ontario
How much is sales tax in Ontario?
The total sales tax in Ontario is 13% harmonized sales tax (HST) — which is a combination of 8% provincial sales tax (PST) and 5% federal goods and services tax (GST). Out of the ten provinces and three territories, Ontario is the fifth most expenstive provinces for sales tax behind New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Price Edward Island and Quebec.
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Sales tax in Ontario formula
+ 8% (PST) Provincial sales tax
+ 5% (GST) Goods and services tax
= 13% (HST) Harmonized sales tax
How to calculate sales tax in Ontario
Since most purchases in Ontario have 13% HST applied to them, you can calculate sales tax by multiplying the total sale price of an item by 13% — the harminized sales tax amount. Let's take a look at an example of calculating sales tax in Ontario.
Example: How much sales tax would be charged on the purchase of a $240 item?-
HST sales tax example
$240 Purchase price
X 13.00% HST rate
= $31.20 Sales tax
What is sales tax in Ontario?
Sales tax in Ontario is the harmonized sales tax (HST) which replaced the 5% federal goods and services tax (GST) and 8% retail sales tax (RST) on most goods and services in Ontario effective July 1, 2010. While this means that the sales tax in Ontario is 13%, Ontario offers a rebate on the 8% provincial sales tax portion of HST on specific items.
Ontario revenue from sales tax
In the 2022-2023 fiscal year for Ontario revenue from sales tax was $36.1 billion of the total $136.5 billion revenue from taxation — sales tax accounted for 26.45% of taxation revenue.
For the 2023-2024 fiscal year Ontario revenue from sales tax increased to $39.9 billion of the total $141.9 billion taxation revenue — this means that sales tax accounted for 28.12% of taxation revenue.
Revenue from sales tax is Ontario's primary source of taxation revenue only behind revenue from personal income tax.
| Revenue | Actual 2022-2023 ($ Billions) | Actual 2023-2024 ($ Billions) |
|---|---|---|
| Personal Income Tax | $44.2 | $50.8 |
| Sales Tax | $36.1 | $39.9 |
| Corporations Tax | $27.8 | $23.1 |
| Ontario Health Premium | $4.4 | $5.0 |
| Education Property Tax | $6.0 | $5.8 |
| All Other Taxes | $18.0 | $17.3 |
| Total Taxation Revenue | $136.5 | $141.9 |
