What GST/HST to Charge Out-of-Province Clients (2026)
You charge the GST/HST rate of your client’s province, not your own — Canada’s place-of-supply rules decide the rate. A plain-English guide with a worked example, the 2026 rate table by province, and how it works for services, goods, and remote/digital work.
VRITTI Team
Written + fact-checked by the VRITTI editorial team
Published
The short answer
When you invoice a client in another province, you charge the GST/HST rate of your client's province — not your own. Canada uses place-of-supply rules to decide the rate: for a service, the place of supply generally follows the recipient's business address, and for goods it follows the province of delivery. So a consultant in British Columbia billing an Ontario client charges 13% HST (Ontario's rate), even though British Columbia has no HST of its own.
That one rule trips up more freelancers than almost anything else in GST/HST, because the intuitive answer — "I'll charge my rate" — is the wrong one. Let's make it concrete, then give you the full 2026 rate table so you never have to guess.
Why it's your client's province, not yours
The GST/HST is a federal tax with a provincial layer bolted on. In five provinces the federal and provincial parts are merged into a single Harmonized Sales Tax (HST); everywhere else you charge the 5% federal GST on its own (and some provinces run a separate PST or QST that is a different system entirely). Because the provincial layer varies, the CRA needs a rule for which province's layer applies when a sale crosses a border. That rule is the place-of-supply rule, and for the vast majority of freelance and consulting work it lands on the customer's location:
- Services — the place of supply is generally the province of the recipient's address that you obtain in the ordinary course of business. In practice, that's your client's business address. Their address sets the rate.
- Tangible goods — the place of supply is where the goods are delivered or made available to the buyer. Ship to Nova Scotia, charge the Nova Scotia rate.
Notice what this means: your own address is irrelevant to the rate. An Alberta freelancer (Alberta has no provincial sales tax at all) still charges 15% HST to a client in New Brunswick, because the supply is made where the client is. The tax you collect isn't yours either way — it's the CRA's money passing through you — so getting the rate right is about collecting the correct amount to remit, not about your own province's rules.
A worked example (estimate, not advice)
Say you're a consultant based in British Columbia. British Columbia is a GST-only province — 5% GST (plus a separate 7% PST that has nothing to do with this). You take on a project for a client whose business is in Ontario, and you invoice $2,000 for the work.
| If you charged YOUR rate (wrong) | The correct rate (client's province) | |
|---|---|---|
| Rate applied | 5% GST (British Columbia) | 13% HST (Ontario) |
| Tax on a $2,000 invoice | $100 | $260 |
| Invoice total | $2,100 | $2,260 |
The gap is $160. If you charge the wrong (lower) BC rate, you've still made a supply in Ontario — so at filing time you owe the CRA the full 13%, and the $160 you never collected comes out of your own pocket. Charging the correct Ontario rate from the start means the money you remit is money your client already paid you. These figures are a simple illustration to show the mechanics, not tax advice for your specific situation.
Want it done for you? Our free GST/HST rate-by-province tool takes your client's province and what you sell and hands back the exact rate, the place-of-supply rule, and a copy-paste invoice line.
The 2026 rate table, by your client's province
This is the rate to put on the invoice, based on your client's province:
| Your client's province / territory | Rate you charge | Separate PST/QST? |
|---|---|---|
| Ontario | 13% HST | — |
| Nova Scotia | 14% HST | — |
| New Brunswick | 15% HST | — |
| Prince Edward Island | 15% HST | — |
| Newfoundland & Labrador | 15% HST | — |
| British Columbia | 5% GST | + 7% PST |
| Alberta | 5% GST | — |
| Manitoba | 5% GST | + 7% PST |
| Saskatchewan | 5% GST | + 6% PST |
| Quebec | 5% GST | + 9.975% QST |
| Northwest Territories | 5% GST | — |
| Yukon | 5% GST | — |
| Nunavut | 5% GST | — |
The one rate that changed recently: Nova Scotia's HST dropped from 15% to 14% on April 1, 2025, when the province cut its share by one point (the federal part stayed at 5%, the provincial part went from 10% to 9%). If you have a Nova Scotia client and any old templates lying around, that's the number to update. Everything else in the table above is stable for 2026.
A note on the "separate PST/QST" column: those are different taxes with their own provincial registration and rules, not part of the GST/HST you're collecting here. For most out-of-province service work you won't be charging another province's PST — but if you sell goods into British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, or Quebec, check whether you have PST/QST obligations there separately.
Remote work, digital services, and clients abroad
Working remotely doesn't change the rule — the rate still follows your client's province through the business address you have on file. A developer in Halifax building a website for a company headquartered in Ontario charges 13% HST; the same developer working for a Newfoundland & Labrador client charges 15%. The service being delivered over the internet doesn't move the place of supply; the recipient's address does.
For clients outside Canada, most sales are treated as exports and are zero-rated — you charge 0% GST/HST, but you still report the sale, and zero-rating lets you keep claiming input tax credits on your expenses. There are exceptions (for example, certain services physically performed in Canada), and cross-border digital rules have their own wrinkles, so if a chunk of your income is international it's worth a short conversation with a Canadian accountant.
First, are you even required to charge it?
All of the above only applies once you're registered for GST/HST. If you're still a small supplier — under the $30,000 revenue line over four consecutive quarters — you generally don't charge GST/HST on any invoice, in-province or out. The moment you register, you start applying the place-of-supply rate to every client. If you're not sure which side of that line you're on, our free GST/HST registration checker walks you through it, and the $30,000 threshold guide covers when to register (and when voluntary registration is worth it).
Once you're charging it, the next question is what you actually remit — which is where the regular method versus the Quick Method comes in. The Quick Method lets a lot of low-expense service businesses keep part of what they collect; our free GST/HST Quick Method calculator puts the two side by side so you can see which one leaves more in your pocket. For the wider picture — set-aside percentages, CPP, deadlines, deductions — the self-employed taxes in Canada guide is the pillar that ties it all together.
The trap to avoid: collecting the wrong amount all year
The reason out-of-province GST/HST causes stress isn't the rule itself — it's discovering, months later, that you charged your own province's rate to a dozen clients and now owe the difference. The tax you collect was never income; it's the CRA's share, held in trust, on its way to Ottawa. Get the rate right per client, keep that money apart from day one, and filing becomes a transfer you already funded rather than a bill you have to find cash for.
VRITTI is a Canadian self-employed money app that applies the correct GST/HST rate to each client based on their province, then sets the tax you collect aside in its own compartment — so the amount you owe is already sitting there, not spent. VRITTI is coming soon for Canadian freelancers and sole proprietors; if a calmer relationship with the CRA's share sounds worth it, you can join the waitlist — no pressure, no download yet, just an early spot when it opens. In the meantime, our tax set-aside calculator helps you park the right amount as you go.
The one-paragraph version
For a client in another province, charge the GST/HST rate of their province, not yours — place-of-supply rules point to the recipient's business address for services and the delivery location for goods. In 2026 that means 13% for Ontario, 14% for Nova Scotia (down from 15% since April 1, 2025), 15% for New Brunswick / PEI / Newfoundland & Labrador, and 5% GST everywhere else. It only applies once you're registered, and clients outside Canada are generally zero-rated. Get the rate right per client, set the money aside as you go, and the out-of-province question stops being a surprise.
This article explains CRA rules in plain language and offers estimates to frame a decision — it is not tax advice for your specific situation. Rates and place-of-supply rules were verified against the Canada Revenue Agency pages below on 30 July 2026.
Sources
- CRA — Charge and collect the GST/HST: Which rate to charge — the current GST/HST rate for each province and territory (Ontario 13%; Nova Scotia 14%; New Brunswick, PEI, and Newfoundland & Labrador 15%; 5% GST elsewhere).
- CRA — GST/HST and place-of-supply rules — how to determine which province's rate applies (recipient's address for services; delivery location for goods).
- CRA — GST/HST Memorandum 3-3-6, Place of Supply in a Province — General Rules for Services — the general rule that services follow the recipient's business address obtained in the ordinary course of business.
- CRA — Notice 342, Nova Scotia HST Rate Decrease — confirms Nova Scotia's HST dropped from 15% to 14% effective April 1, 2025 (provincial part 10% → 9%).
- CRA — When to register for and start charging the GST/HST — the $30,000 small-supplier threshold and voluntary registration.
Frequently asked questions
Do I charge GST or HST for an out-of-province client?
You charge whichever applies in your client’s province — not your own. Canada uses place-of-supply rules: for a service, the place of supply is generally the recipient’s address (the business address you obtain in the normal course of business), so you charge the rate for the province where your client is. If your client is in an HST province (Ontario, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, or Newfoundland & Labrador) you charge that province’s combined HST; if they’re in a GST-only province or territory you charge 5% GST. So a consultant in British Columbia billing an Ontario client charges 13% HST, even though BC itself has no HST.
What GST/HST rate do I charge a client in another province?
The rate for your client’s province. As of 2026: Ontario is 13% HST; Nova Scotia is 14% HST (it dropped from 15% on April 1, 2025); New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland & Labrador are 15% HST. Everywhere else — Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Quebec, the Northwest Territories, Yukon, and Nunavut — you charge 5% GST. Any provincial PST or QST is a separate system with its own registration and generally isn’t part of what you collect on an interprovincial service sale.
What are the place-of-supply rules for GST/HST in Canada?
Place-of-supply rules determine which province’s rate applies to a sale. The general rule for a service is that the place of supply is the province of the recipient’s address that you obtain in the ordinary course of business (usually their business address). For tangible goods, the place of supply is where the goods are delivered or made available to the customer. There are specific rules for some situations — services tied to real property or to specific locations, and services performed across several provinces — but for most freelancers and consultants the recipient’s business address is what sets the rate.
Which sales tax do I charge for interprovincial services?
For services sold to a client in another province, you charge the GST or HST of the client’s province, based on the business address you have on file for them. You do not charge your own province’s rate, and you do not charge a separate PST/QST for an out-of-province service under the GST/HST system (PST/QST have their own separate provincial registration rules). If you’re registered and your Manitoba client hires you for consulting, you charge 5% GST; if your Ontario client hires you, you charge 13% HST — same service, different rate, decided by where the client is.
Do I charge GST/HST for remote or digital services to another province?
Yes — being remote doesn’t change the rule. The rate still follows your client’s province through the recipient’s address you obtain in the normal course of business, so a designer working remotely for a New Brunswick client charges 15% HST. For clients outside Canada, sales are generally treated as exports and zero-rated (you charge 0% but still report them). Digital and cross-border rules have exceptions, so confirm anything unusual with a Canadian accountant.
Do I have to charge anything before I’m registered for GST/HST?
No. You only charge GST/HST once you’re registered, which is generally required after your revenue crosses $30,000 over four consecutive quarters (you can also register voluntarily before then). Before you’re registered you don’t charge GST/HST on any invoice — in-province or out. If you’re unsure where you stand, a free registration checker can walk you through it in under a minute.
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