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Canada GST/HST Calculator

Add Canadian GST or HST to a price, or break the tax out of a total. Loads the 5% federal GST — enter your province’s single HST rate, or GST plus PST, instead.

Runs in your browser — files never leave your device

Net
$100
GST/HST
$5
Gross
$105

How it works

Canadian prices are normally displayed before tax, with the tax added at the checkout, so the default direction on this page — adding tax to a pre-tax amount — is the one most shoppers and small businesses need. With the checkbox clear the tool multiplies your amount by the rate and adds the result on top. Tick the checkbox and it works backwards, splitting a tax-inclusive total into its pre-tax value and the tax sitting inside it.

Adding: tax = amount × rate ÷ 100, then total = amount + tax. Extracting: pre-tax = total ÷ (1 + rate ÷ 100), then tax = total − pre-tax. Each of the three outputs is rounded to the cent.

Worked example at the 5% GST this page loads. A $180.00 pre-tax invoice gives tax = 180 × 0.05 = $9.00, for a $189.00 total. The pattern holds on larger amounts: $2,499.00 attracts $124.95 of GST for a $2,623.95 total. Put $180.00 through inclusive mode instead and the tool reports $171.43 pre-tax with $8.57 of GST already inside it.

Which rate you type depends on your province, and that is where Canada differs from a single-rate country. GST is 5% federally. Some provinces fold their provincial component in with the GST and charge one combined HST line — there you enter the single HST rate, not 5%. Others charge the 5% GST plus a separate provincial sales tax alongside it, with Quebec running its own QST; those invoices show two tax lines, and to get one grand total from this calculator you enter the two rates added together.

Getting that wrong costs more than it looks, because entering 5% where a combined rate applies understates the tax on every line of every invoice. Watch the reverse direction too: a $189.00 total does not contain 189 × 5% = $9.45 of GST, it contains $9.00, because the 5% was charged on $180.00 rather than on the total. Registered businesses have a further reason to keep the figures apart — the tax paid on business purchases is generally offset against the tax collected from customers, so the pre-tax and tax amounts need recording separately on every entry, not just totalled on the receipt.

These are estimates — confirm your province’s current combined rate and your filing obligations with the Canada Revenue Agency, your provincial tax authority or your accountant.

Other regions: United States, United Kingdom, Australia.

Frequently asked questions

Should I enter 5%, an HST rate, or GST plus PST?
It depends where the sale takes place. In an HST province the federal and provincial components are charged as one combined line, so you enter that single HST rate and not 5%. Where GST and a provincial sales tax are charged separately, enter 5% to see the GST alone, or the two rates added together to get one grand total.
Why is 5% not the whole story?
Because 5% is only the federal GST. Provinces either merge their own tax into a single HST rate or levy a separate provincial sales tax on top of the GST, so the amount actually collected at a Canadian checkout is usually well above 5%. Using 5% everywhere will understate the tax anywhere except a province with no provincial component.
How do I break the tax out of a tax-inclusive total?
Tick the inclusive checkbox and enter the total — the tool divides by (1 + rate) rather than multiplying. A $189.00 total at 5% resolves to $180.00 pre-tax with $9.00 of GST. Multiplying the total by 5% instead would give $9.45, which is wrong because the tax was charged on the pre-tax figure.
Does Quebec work differently?
Quebec charges the 5% federal GST alongside its own QST, administered provincially, so a Quebec invoice normally shows two separate tax lines. You can run each rate through this calculator individually to reproduce those lines, or add them together for a single all-in total. Confirm the current QST rate and your reporting obligations with Revenu Québec.
Are Canadian prices shown with tax included?
Usually not — shelf and online prices are typically pre-tax and the tax appears at checkout, much as in the United States. That is the opposite of the UK and Australia, where consumer prices must include the tax. It is why the add direction is the default here, and why the total at the till is always higher than the ticket price.
How does the tool round?
Pre-tax, tax and total are each rounded to the nearest cent from a single amount. A point-of-sale system that rounds tax line by line may land a cent or two away on a long receipt. On a single figure there is no difference.
Is my data uploaded anywhere?
No. The whole calculation happens in your browser and nothing you type is transmitted.