How to Charge GST/HST on Online Courses in Canada

1. Identify the course and seller

Treat a pre-recorded course sold to a Canadian buyer as a taxable supply, whether access is streamed or delivered as files. The seller is the person or entity making that sale, rather than automatically an institution. The CRA's digital economy rules describe federal treatment of digital transactions.

Education alone does not create an exemption for an independent seller; exemptions can apply to certain public colleges and vocational bodies. US digital-product guidance addresses another jurisdiction and cannot determine Canadian treatment. Identify the seller of record before choosing a tax account, especially where an instructor also works for an institution.

2. Check the threshold and account

Measure taxable revenue against 30,000 Canadian dollars: registration is generally required after that amount is exceeded in one calendar quarter or across four consecutive calendar quarters. This is the Canadian test; the US and Canada comparison offers broader context but does not replace it.

If registration is required, use Business Registration Online to obtain a Business Number and open a GST/HST program account with an RT suffix. Add an RT account to an existing Business Number. Registration can be voluntary before the threshold, and a Canadian-based creator generally follows the regular process.

Manage the account through CRA My Business Account after registration. A qualifying nonresident vendor may need the simplified GST/HST regime; that route is for qualifying nonresidents, not Canadian-resident creators. Match the account route to residence and the seller of record. A review of your creator business model may help identify the seller, but it does not decide the tax obligations.

3. Apply the buyer's provincial rate

Use the buyer's province to select the place-of-supply rate for a digital course, rather than using the creator's address. Keep evidence of location with the order so the rate chosen can later be reproduced from the transaction record during a review.

Five provinces use the harmonized HST: Ontario at 13%, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Island at 15%, and Nova Scotia at 14% after its April 2025 reduction from 15%. Confirm the current figures on the CRA's rates page before configuring checkout.

Alberta and the territories charge only the 5% federal GST. British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba charge 5% GST and also run their own provincial sales taxes, which can reach some digital products or software, so check each province's current rules for courses. Quebec has its own QST system, covered below. The California digital tax is a separate jurisdictional example, not a guide to these Canadian rates.

For a pre-tax price, multiply the course price by the applicable rate, then add that tax to the amount due. For a tax-inclusive total, divide by one plus the rate to recover the pre-tax price; the balance is tax. Digital product pricing concerns the displayed price, while this arithmetic isolates its tax component.

Quebec's 14.975% combined figure is 5% GST plus 9.975% QST. Revenu Québec, rather than the CRA, administers both taxes for Quebec-based sellers, and a seller located elsewhere who sells to Quebec buyers may have to register for QST with Revenu Québec. Check its rules for out-of-province suppliers. The components have separate reporting and registration obligations. A checkout total should not hide those distinctions; verify the buyer's province and applicable tax components before charging.

4. Make checkout and collection clear

Configure checkout to use the buyer's province and the applicable rate, and retain the location evidence supporting that calculation.

A receipt or invoice should identify the pre-tax amount, tax charged, rate, total payable, and GST/HST registration number. If the displayed price includes tax, the tax component still needs a reproducible calculation.

Do not presume Shopify, Stripe, Teachable, Thinkific, Gumroad, or Amazon collects and remits tax for you. Under the digital economy rules in the Excise Tax Act, in force since July 1, 2021, a distribution platform operator can be treated as the supplier and must then collect GST/HST on certain facilitated sales, mainly those of non-resident sellers who are not registered. A Canadian-resident seller who is registered generally stays responsible for its own sales, and the CRA's digital economy guidance linked above explains the cases. Review the platform agreement and tax settings to establish who collects and remits; online course marketing does not determine that responsibility.

Place refund and cancellation terms beside the tax line. If a buyer was charged the wrong provincial rate and later receives money back, record the adjustment. For a tax-inclusive sale, identify the tax portion instead of treating the full payment as revenue. Keep the account and transaction records clear about which person or entity made the sale.

5. File returns and retain evidence

Registered sellers file a GST/HST return, generally Form GST34, for each reporting period, and pay any balance owing by its deadline. The CRA assigns annual, quarterly, or monthly reporting periods. Submit returns through CRA My Business Account and check the CRA's return filing information for the applicable process.

Monthly and quarterly returns and payments are generally due one month after the reporting period ends. Annual deadlines depend on the registrant and fiscal year, so confirm the date in the CRA account. Claim input tax credits on the return for eligible GST/HST paid on business purchases used to make taxable supplies.

Keep supporting records for six years from the end of the tax year they cover. Retain invoices, receipts, credit notes, refund records, and address information used to select a rate. Capture the buyer's province before the sale completes so the evidence supporting the calculation is recorded at the time of the transaction. A digital product strategy can organize business decisions, but not replace these sale records.

If you fail to register or collect tax when required, the CRA can assess the amount that should have been collected, plus interest. Failure to file or remit can also bring penalties. The seller usually bears that cost, because tax is hard to recover from customers after a sale is complete.

A course provided free of charge is not a taxable supply. If it leads to a separate paid course, apply the tax rules to that sale. Sales to buyers outside Canada are generally zero-rated but still need to be reported; distinguish those transactions from Canadian sales in the account records.

An instructor working inside a registered institution while separately selling a standalone course has two positions to assess. Match the GST/HST account and sales records to the person or entity selling the course, rather than assuming the institution's status covers the separate transaction.