Sales tax for salons in every province, explained by the people who coded it
By George Ogunbande, Founder & CEO, FlatPurse Inc.
We built Flow's tax engine to cover all 13 provinces and territories. Writing the code forced us to learn every rule a growing salon runs into. Here's the plain-English version.
Four taxes, three systems
| System | Where | Rate | How it works for a salon |
|---|---|---|---|
| GST only | Alberta, Yukon, NWT, Nunavut | 5% | Federal GST on taxable services |
| HST | Ontario | 13% | One combined rate |
| HST | Nova Scotia | 14% | One combined rate |
| HST | New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, PEI | 15% | One combined rate |
| GST + PST/RST | BC (7%), Saskatchewan (6%), Manitoba (7%) | 5% + provincial | Provincial tax always applies to retail products, but only to some services; Manitoba exempts hair, skin, spa and massage services |
| GST + QST | Quebec | 5% + 9.975% | Each calculated on the pre-tax price |
The traps we coded around
- Retail and services on one ticket. In PST provinces, products and services can be taxed differently.
- Deposits. Flow doesn't tax the deposit; tax is calculated on the final bill when the service is delivered.
- Tax-inclusive prices. If your menu prices include tax, Flow backs the tax out so the receipt still adds up to the price you quoted.
- Massage and health services. Whether they're taxable depends on the service and the province, so Flow lets you mark any service exempt.
- Small supplier threshold. Under 30,000 dollars of taxable revenue in four consecutive quarters, registration is optional; turn tax off in Flow until you register.
Every province and territory
| Province or territory | Rate on services | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Alberta | GST 5% | 5% GST, no provincial sales tax. |
| British Columbia | GST 5% | 5% GST. 7% PST applies to retail products; most personal services aren't subject to PST. |
| Manitoba | GST 5% | 5% GST. 7% RST applies to retail products; it no longer applies to hair, skin, spa or massage services. Tanning is still taxable. |
| New Brunswick | HST 15% | 15% HST. |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | HST 15% | 15% HST. |
| Nova Scotia | HST 14% | 14% HST. |
| Northwest Territories | GST 5% | 5% GST, no territorial sales tax. |
| Nunavut | GST 5% | 5% GST, no territorial sales tax. |
| Ontario | HST 13% | 13% HST. |
| Prince Edward Island | HST 15% | 15% HST. |
| Quebec | GST 5% + QST 9.975% | 5% GST plus 9.975% QST, each calculated on the pre-tax price. |
| Saskatchewan | GST 5% | 5% GST. 6% PST applies to retail products; whether it applies to your services depends on the service. Check Saskatchewan's PST bulletins. |
| Yukon | GST 5% | 5% GST, no territorial sales tax. |
Rates per TaxTips.ca, 2026 sales tax rates and Manitoba RST Bulletin 062. General information, not tax advice. Confirm with your accountant.
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