HST Exemptions and Rebates in British Columbia
8 January 2010
36 Comments
The following are exempt from the B.C. provincial portion of sales tax.
- Gasoline, ethanol, diesel and bio-diesel when used in motor vehicles as well as locomotive fuel used for trains, marine diesel used for boats, and aviation fuel and jet fuel used for aircraft.
- Books
- Children’s-sized clothing and footwear
- Children’s car seats and car booster seats
- Diapers
- Feminine hygiene products
Also all goods and services currently exempt from the GST, will be exempt from the HST. These include:
- basic groceries
- prescription drugs
- residential rent
Rebates
The B.C. Government has promised that low income families (under $25,000) and individuals (under $20,000) will receive $230 credit.
Residential energy rebate
- A rebate will be set up to ensure that HST will not increase the cost of heat or power in residential homes.
- New home buyers will not pay more in taxes than they would have under the old embedded PST system. This is applicable for houses under $525,000.
- New houses over $525,000 will receive a maximum of $26,250
- Used homes are not subject to HST
Zero-rated goods and services
- basic groceries such as milk, bread, and vegetables.
- agricultural products such as grain, raw wool, and dried tobacco leaves.
- most farm livestock.
- most fishery products such as fish for human consumption.
- prescription drugs and drug-dispensing fees.
- medical devices such as hearing aids; heart-monitoring devices; hospital beds; breathing apparatus; asthmatic devices; prescription eyeglasses/contact lenses; artificial eyes; artificial teeth such as dentures, crowns and bridges, orthodontic appliances; aids to locomotion such as a chair, commode chair, walker, wheelchair lift or other aid to locomotion for use by an individual with a disability; patient lifters; wheelchair ramp; portable wheelchair ramp; modifying motor vehicles to adapt the vehicle for the transportation of an individual using a wheelchair; prescription orthotic and orthopaedic devices; prosthesis/devices; canes or crutches; articles for blind individuals; guide dogs for blind individuals and hearing ear dogs; supplies and services related to medical and assistive devices.
- exports.
Exempt goods and services:
- imports of zero-rated goods (goods that are specifically taxed at zero per cent in Canada, such as prescription drugs)
- goods imported by a charity or public institution that have been donated to the charity or institution
- used residential housing
- long-term residential accommodation (of one month or more), and residential condominium fees
- some sales of vacant land or farmland
- most health, medical, and dental services performed by licensed physicians or dentists for medical reasons
- child-care services (day-care services for less than 24 hours a day) for children 14 years old and younger
- personal-care services for children, underprivileged individuals, or individuals with disabilities, when provided by a person operating an establishment for these individuals, in either institutional or non-institutional settings
- bridge, road, and ferry tolls (ferry tolls are taxed at zero per cent if the ferry service is to or from a place outside Canada)
- legal aid services
- many educational services, such as courses from a vocational school that lead to a certificate or a diploma to practise a trade or a vocation; or tutoring services for an individual who takes a course approved for credit by a school authority or the education service follows a curriculum designated by a school authority
- music lessons
- most food or beverages sold in an elementary or secondary school cafeteria primarily to students of the school and most meal plans provided in a university or public college
- most services provided by financial institutions such as arrangements for a loan or mortgage
- arranging for and issuing insurance policies by insurance companies, agents, and brokers
- certain goods and services provided by non-profit organizations, governments, and other public service bodies, such as municipal transit services and standard residential services such as water distribution
- most goods and services provided by charities.
Goods and services that are exempt when charities provide them:
- most services
- supplies of used or donated goods
- short-term residential accommodation (less than one month of occupancy)
- meals-on-wheels programs. This exemption is for a supply of food or beverages to seniors, underprivileged individuals, or individuals with a disability, under a program established and operated to provide prepared food to such individuals in their places of residence. Any supply of food or beverages made to a charity for these programs is also exempt from GST/HST
- parking space rentals
- facility rentals (e.g., halls for weddings); and catering services for private functions (e.g., wedding receptions)
- Fees for recreational programs are exempt from GST/HST if the programs are provided primarily to children 14 years of age and under (however, if there is overnight supervision throughout a substantial part of these programs, the fee is taxable).
- Recreational services provided primarily to underprivileged individuals, or individuals with a disability, are also exempt.
Under the GST and HST, there are three different ways that goods and services are treated: they are zero-rated, exempt or taxable.
Zero-rated
- Consumers do not pay HST on zero-rated items (i.e., they pay a zero per cent tax rate)
- Those making zero-rated supplies can claim input tax credits to recover tax paid on inputs used in making those supplies.
- Examples: basic groceries, prescription drugs, medical devices, exports.
Exempt
- Consumers do not pay HST on exempt items (i.e., businesses or people making exempt supplies do not charge HST).
- Those making exempt supplies cannot claim input tax credits to recover tax paid on inputs used in making those supplies.
- Examples: health and dental services, financial services, long-term residential rental accommodation, child-care services, educational services.
Taxable
- Most goods and services are taxable, which means that HST is charged on the supply of those items.
- Businesses making taxable supplies can claim input tax credits credits to recover tax paid on inputs used in making those supplies.
- Examples: cars, clothing, furniture, haircuts.
*This information is from the Government of B.C.’s website, please follow the links below for more information on exemptions and regulations:
http://www.gov.bc.ca/hst/rebates_exemptions.html
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/bsnss/tpcs/gst-tps/bspsbch/itc-cti/menu-eng.html
http://www.gov.bc.ca/hst/rebates_exemptions.html
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/bsnss/tpcs/gst-tps/bspsbch/itc-cti/menu-eng.html
(4 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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Looking at, Campbell and Hansen’s budget. Hydro climbing up to 33%. Food costs have already gone up 27%. Our “new” carbon tax is 4.45. Trucking company’s will raise freight rates to compensate. So, food costs will climb even higher. All goods trucked in, prices will be raised. Natural gas heat, is going up 6%. The HST, is 7% more, on pretty much everything else. The partial rebate, is only a drop in the bucket. Single pensioners, need at least $2,300 per month to survive the budget. However, seniors, have no tax deductions, so any amount they get, would be clawed back for income tax. BC will get double the number, of homeless seniors, than we have now. People on Social Assistance, will also become homeless, they had their $75 housing allowance, taken away from them. Low income families, won’t survive. Single mothers, earning $8.00 per hour, will be homeless. Jobs in central and northern BC, have all been lost. These people are destitute, they have lost absolutely everything they had. Citizens will have to go, to their city hall, and put their names down for a red tent. However, these tents will also need a heating device, for winter weather, that can drop to, 40%f.
All the yak of not paying any more is a bunch of garbage. I am an appliance tech and the cost of a simple service call will raise my basic rate by $2.99 just for the trip charge! NOW that, is a lot of NOTHING!!!
I expect the taxpayer SHALL take their pund of flesh next election.
The next party will not turn back as HST is signed sealed and delivered (1.6 billions buck payoff from Harper)
I am a campground owner on Vancouver Island. It might be great news that ferry fares will be exempt except that ferry fares for RV’s nearly doubled recently after a major price hike last year. That means very few off Island customers booking anymore. I tried to explain it to the bonehead from BC Ferries who phoned up trying to get me to fork out a pile of dough to put brochures on the ferries but all I got was a stunned silence. On the other hand few islanders are going the other way either. Now though they’ll have to shell out an extra $2 a day in HST. What a swell deal.
As for all of the other exemptions: I only took a few days for the government to flip-flop on the HST after the election and I doubt if would take much longer to start gutting the exemption list once the legislation is driven down our throats.
I am a very tiny contractor mini home improvements I bill under 30 000 per annum which is exempt from the current GST My understanding is the hst will be exempt if one bills under a gross of $30 000 per annum can someone email me an answer thank you
Gee , the way this looks , how can the government even afford to implement this ? I mean according to them , it effects nothing , so why do it ?
So I guess our GST cheques are gone and the NEW GREEN FUEL Tax is still in place and we still do not have any info from Gordo’s gang on how much we lost with the Olympics yet.
I hope VanderZalm runs again , because BC cannot handle anymore from the last two government LOOSERS
I import things from the US and pay gst 5%. Soon 12%. Most of my sales are out of BC. To other provinces I only am required to charge GST 5% and to other countries, not even that. Now it appeares I will have to charge HST to all sales, which means on out of country sales I loose 12% and within Canada and out of BC I loose 7%. Even if someone says I can collect this back, who is going to pay my accountant to fill in these forms. Me of course, so I still lose. If I ship to Alberta, why should they have to pay BC sales tax that is part of the HST? There is no way I know of to find out what the actual rules are, but if they are as it appears I guess I will need to close up shop and become a burden on those that stay in business!! Lose lose!!
There is nothing anybody can do about this hst tax…
so the thing to do is encourage people to deal with CASH… no tax.
I guess I will da a lot of my shopping and hoolidaying in Alberta and pay cash.
I am trying to get info from our political representatives (federal & provincial) as to why we are currently paying GST on the BC carbon tax which, as we know, will soon increase. My MP’s office never did provide a response (a 2nd request has now been made by e-mail) & my MLA’s office told me to write a letter! I also put this question to Terasen but was told it was a federal government issue. Since I don’t see anything in the HST exemptions re this, I can only assume we will be paying HST on the ever-increasing carbon tax. As I told my MP, I don’t expect a free ride in this world but I object to paying tax on tax – particularly when I’m at a loss to see how the carbon tax could be classified as either goods or services.
campbell says the hst is going to go throught it is going to hit the daisabled people very hard
one more victory for the (hst exempt) pharmaceutical companies, but we will pay more for our vitamins and supplement which give us better health and less of a burden on our medical system. I would think that keeping ourselves in better health and less of a burden on the medical system we would be entitled to a tax brake. Oh well,need to face the facts, it is not in the best interest of the pharmaceutical companies to have healthy Canadians.
Mark. Don’t worry about disabled people. Everything for them is exempt.
Bob. It’s the pits that you have to charge people more for camping with you but your costs will go down. For example, if you need to repair a building you now get the whole 12% back on your materials, not just 5%.
Gloria. You’ve got to surround yourself with more positive people. The world will not come to an end on July 1. All those mills and mines up north will be able to open again because they’ll be able to pay less in taxes. And if a mother making $8 per hour is not homeless now, I can’t see how a tax that doesn’t affect her will drive her out of her house.
Catherine. You won’t have to pay taxes on the cursed carbon tax. All this information is out there. It’s called Google.
Thank you very much for posting this clear and concise listing of exemption categories and effects of the HST changeover. It’s made everything much clearer than other taxation pages I have seen.
Not making any political statements or complaints, just thanking you for clarifying a confusing and daunting situation.
There is no such thing as ‘revenue neutral’ taxes…if it were truly revenue neutral then there would be no point implementing it!! It should be noted that in Atlantic Canada once their HST tax was railroaded through by the provincial party in power they were promptly voted out of office. The are only TWO reasons that governments impose changes to or new taxes and they are:
1) due to the well known mismangement of funds at every level of government, their only solution to make of deficits is to put more taxes in place.
2) a promise made to an influential corportion or individual to put either a law, or new tax in place in return for certain favors once out of office (or maybe still in office?)
Is it possible for the 653,000 voters to bring a Class Action against Gordon Campbell and each and every named member of the Liberal Party once they are out of office? Certainly something to be considered if an Election Recall does not work!!
All I can say is it is a Premier that cares not for the people that put him in office to simply ignore or discount their requests to stop this tax. It is a Premier that is already given himself a large raise because he views he has done a good job even if the voting publice doesn’t agree and has promises from outside enterprises of an overpaid job to go to once out of office. We really need to change how governments operate and go back to the power of the people. Mr. Campbell has just proven in spades that he is only looking out for himself!
Wow, I cannot believe how misinformed you all are about the HST (except John). Instead of spending all of this energy complaining about it why don’t you read everything you can on it and become an expert. The basics of life are still exempt. And how exactly is Gordon Campbell only looking out for himself in this matter? He lives here too and has absolutely nothing to gain personally by implementing the HST. I believe the HST will simplify the taxation system and is a good move.
Maybe I missed it but will we be paying HST on Condo fees?
HI There,
I am a residential long term renter in BC. My Landlord mentioned yesterday that I may have to start paying HST…but above it says that I am goods and services exempt. Does this mean I have to pay the other portion of the HST now?
We had signed up and paid last September for the Eco-assessment and are in the process of undertaking very expensive upgrades to our house for the sake of our children (and your children). We want to be part of the solution, not part of the serious greenhouse gas pollution problem on the planet. However, even with grants, the solutions: insulation and venting, a new heating system, solar hot water, new windows and doors, etc. are all going to cost thousands and thousands of dollars for us, including installation. If the HST applies now, adding another 7% to the services (??) – more thousands of dollars, we are probably “stalling out” on fixing the problem, or fixing it as well, staying within our budget – after all, this effort is optional. It seems to me the government will lose the taxes from those businesses and employees who would have had our business. Does anyone know if the B.C. and federal governments will exempt all “green” household renovations from HST?—and press forward to “save the planet” for us all? I am a biologist and knowing something about how ecosystems can collapse, I am convinced that Climate Change is the largest threat to survival humanity has ever faced…Once the environment is gone, nothing else matters! Nothing.
can somebody tell me if we have to pay hst on existing car loans
Hi Jenn,
RE: Rent ?
This was stated above:
Also all goods and services currently exempt from the GST, will be exempt from the HST. These include:
■basic groceries
■prescription drugs
■residential rent
I am a small proprietership that was only charging PST, do I now have to charge HST? or am I HST exempt?? Anyone know?
[...] The HST is a combination of the PST and the federal GST. It will be collected and redistributed to the provinces by the federal government. The HST varies in its rate and exemptions between the provinces, it’s set to 13% in Ontario and 12% in British Columbia. See HST exemptions for Ontario – See HST exemptions for BC. [...]
I’m in the service industry. I don’t make massive amounts of money but people are so anti-HST that I’ve had people ask me if they can pay cash to avoid the 12% tax. I feel this is going to be an ongoing theme.
It pretty much puts me between a rock and a hard place. If I say yes, I’m vulnerable… If I say no, the customer can easily go to the next company who is willing to deal in cash.
I want my TRANSITIONAL CHEQUES LIKE Ontario is getting,,,……Ontarions get transition cheques for people earning up to 160 thousand dollars on last years taxes……..Where is BC’S????? only those 20thousand and less get cheques…NOT FAIR NOT FAIR…..BC WANTS THIER TRANSITIONAL CHEQUES NOW
Just for the people who didnt realize that yes if you havent noticed in the grocery concept of being Tax exempt let me put it this way
it is amazing how when i went into a Grocery Store on June 30 and bought 1 package of sandwich meat for $5.39. Then I returned back to the same store on July 1 after the HST was implemented and bought the same meat for $6.04 and that wasnt even 24 hours later and there is a price difference of Exactly 12% so If you havent noticed also here in BC all Gasoline went up a minimal 2 cents everywhere on July 1. So ok here we are now the proof is out there.
They are saying this stuff is all tax exempt so what is it that stops the proprietors from increasing the prices of 12% on everything.
all this is cause it was emplimented and everyone is making a killing except for the legit working man.
Taxes here in BC go up up and up and what about our wages when is our minimal wage gonna finally go up.
This 8.00 an hour Bullshit wage with all these extra taxes best go up.
Oh and yes the HST came out July First but it was amazing how all the Crown corporation all did a massive increase on fairs and services in April.
BC Transit, BC Hydro, BC Gas, Telus and any other crown corporation in BC. You all say the HST is excempt in alot of different things you may want to read the fine print of everything including the tax it does say it can not be charged on certain things bit it does not say the companies and or corporations can not raise the prices for the product if it is exempt.
Yes there again the British Columbian was just bent over the table and screwed hard in the pocket book.
If you are actually trying to understand the HST you are more then likely the one that voted Campbell in.
but to think with the Pst and Gst gone and now the Hst in we are running out of the alphabet for them to use for another tax name.
If yopu think about it it is amazing how this year the GST was suppose to go down another percent this July so we would only be paying 4% GST and now guess what new tax hmm same day it was going down and now it is locked in.
Excuse me but if you really cant see who is making the prophet here take a look at a few of the off show account of the BC politicians and Ont politicians.
Terry from Victoria
HOLY !@## I WILL HONESTLY BE HOMELESS BECAUSE OF THIS! I CANT AFFORD TO BUY !@#$ING FOOD! WHAT THE !#$$ IS WRONG WITH THIS BULL$H!! I CANT DRINK MILK! AND I CANT LIVE OFF BREAD!
DOWN WITH GORDO AND THE BC LIBERALS. People need to stand up and fight. I get tired of people telling me, get used to it…HST is here to stay. Do anything you can to educate people! Pay attention! Wake up! We pay the taxes. We do the voting. Faith must be restored. Accountability is a requirement, not optional!
Colin
Abbotsford, BC
I just got a letter from my leasing company stating that my eco-rebate for the province of BC has been removed my $1500 Credit is dead and now I am left with 42 months of my lease without that benefit.
Allen,
I feel your pain. I got the same shock (minus the letter) when the payment on my yaris jumped from $225 to $240.80.
The government clearly doesn’t actually care about the environment it was some kind of cheap trick to get us all to purchase stuff that they could then go and make money on. I have 2 years left on my lease at this new price.
Everyone,
Work harder, continue to buy “stuff”, continue to go out for the odd meal, tip your servers fairly, and generally stop complaining!!! We are all VERY lucky to be living in such a great country. It’s disgusting how much people take this amazing province for granted. Be part of the solution or move aside so someone more grateful can take your spot in Beautiful BC.
you know what i think. i think that this is just another notch in the belt, and we must live with it. sure everyone complains about it, but you know they’re not going to change it so why bother. We might as well do what Ty said, work harder, but if we stop buying this “stuff” that will solve everything! Just deal with the debt and costs you have, and then once all of it is gone, just live and enjoy life. Patience is the key, a wise man once told me “this too shall pass” and it will in time..
I just came on this site to see what was exempt because my mother 69 yrs old lost my Dad one year ago and is on a very fixed budget. Her car is packing it in lots of mechanical problems. The neighbor sells cars and always has helped my mom out with fixing things etc. He has a car for her that is 9k and a very good deal for her but after reading above she will have to somehow have to come up with $1060 just in the HST then the transfer etc. The neighbor said that she can pay him when she has any extra money monthly but without this money today she will not even be able to drive and she still has to work she is a realtor with only limited sales per year and also not to mention that she has to take care of my phyically and mentally disabled sister, this is a tipping point for her. This tax was put into pay for the OLYPICS don’t kid yourself, this premier only got into office out of default when the NDP eventually ran out candidates. He is out of touch with the people and only cares about himself, his image and legacy. I hope he rots.
If a person has to buy a vehicle to install a wheel chair lift is the vehicle tax exempt for a handicapped person?
We have to buy a Van for transporting and wonder if this is tax exempt.
Apparently, income tax was initially put in place as a TEMPORARY measure to help pay for the 2nd (or first?) world war by our Canadian government. It is now here to stay. THen GST was introduced as a TEMPORARY measure after the terrible ’80’s recession…. (thereabouts). Can’t see that ever going. I signed the anti-HST petition, knowing that it likely won’t change things -the Harper signing bonus helped offset the cost of the 2010 Olympics, as did all the 75% ARTS cuts in BC. HST BITES. My 13 year old daughter wears adult-sized clothing and shoes and pays FULL Hst – whereas her brother did not have to pay the PST until he turned 16. She buys her own clothes with her allowance and babysitting money. Ultimately, it comes down to buying less. HOW is THAT going to stimulate the economy?!!!!!
I agree with a number of comments that the HST is likely here to stay, whether we like it or not(regardless of VanderZalm’s efforts). People are frustrated because many of them do not understand how the HST works. I dislike the HST but primarily for the reason that the Campbell gang were dishonest about before the election and are still dishonest about it now. They continue to lie in the face of evidence to the contrary.
What else have they done which will come to bite us in the future? How many more hidden issues has the media not yet been able to ferret out?
These people cannot be trusted, but all we can do is vote them out at the next election. Unfortunately when we do we’ll end up with the NDP. Will they get rid of the HST? Not likely. Look at the history of the GST in Canada.
When the NDP takes over, will we end up with another fiasco like we had with Glen Clark? The NDP have their own agenda to push and BC will again end up deeper in the hole than we already are.
However, the alternative would be to move to another province that doesn’t have the HST.
I like BC and will even get used to the HST.
I as well hate the HST. We have had to cut back a great deal. How is this helping the economy? We can only afford to eat one meal a day and that’s not always of the most nutritional value. We found out over the weekend that we are not the only ones. If we can not afford proper food
we sure are not going to buy anything else. Campbell lied straight out and gave himself a big raise on top of it. This has affected to many people in a bad way. I wish the N.D.P. had a stronger leader like Barret, they would have our vote in a heart beat, however at this point anyone is better than this arrogant liberal. Anyone who believes anything that falls from his mouth, I have a bridge to sell you! And yes I do understand how the HST works.
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