HST in Canada stands for Harmonized Sales Tax, which is a consumption tax paid by local consumers and businesses in five Canadian provinces. The HST is a combination of federal and provincial taxes on goods and services, and it harmonizes (combines) the nation’s federal Goods and Services Tax (GST) with the provincial sales tax. The HST was introduced in 1997 to streamline the recording and collection of federal and provincial sales taxes. The HST rate is 15% in all participating provinces except Ontario, where it is 13% . The HST is collected by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), which then remits the appropriate amounts to the participating provinces.

Foreign purchasers of Canadian products do not have to pay HST provided that the goods or services will be solely used outside of the country. The exact amount of HST differs depending on which of the five provinces your business operates, and each province established its own percentage for PST collection and harmonized it with the GST.

In summary, HST is a consumption tax in Canada that combines federal and provincial taxes on goods and services in five Canadian provinces. It was introduced in 1997 to streamline the recording and collection of federal and provincial sales taxes.