GST Calculator
Split a Canadian or Australian style goods and services tax into its federal and provincial parts — and see why a business faces a different effective rate from a consumer.
GST Calculator
Results recalculate instantly on every keystroke. Nothing you type is transmitted.
What this result does not account for
- Results are a model, not a quotation — an institution's own figures govern.
- Every input is an assumption; change one and the answer changes with it.
- Rounding is applied only at the display layer, so totals may differ by a cent from a statement that rounds each line.
In short: On a $2,400 purchase with 5% GST and 7% PST, the consumer pays $288 of tax and $2,688 in total. But a registered business recovers the $120 of GST while the $168 of PST usually sticks — so the headline 12% is really 7% to a business and 12% to a consumer.
Formula
The remittance always equals the rate applied to your value added. That identity is the whole design of the tax.
Worked Example
- Apply both rates. $2,400 × 5% = $120 GST and × 7% = $168 PST.
- Total it. $2,400 + $288 = $2,688 for a consumer.
- Split the recoverability. A business reclaims the $120 GST but absorbs the $168 PST.
- File the return. $9,000 collected less $5,500 of credits = $3,500 remitted.
- Check the identity. 5% of the $70,000 value added is also $3,500 — the two must agree.
Analyst's note. The recoverability asymmetry is the point most GST commentary misses. A harmonised 12% HST and a separate 5%+7% split produce an identical $2,688 for a consumer, but they are entirely different taxes for a business: under HST the whole 12% is recoverable, while under the split only the 5% federal portion is. That makes provincial sales tax a genuine cost of doing business rather than a pass-through, and it changes purchasing decisions, location decisions and pricing. The remittance identity is the other thing worth internalising — you always remit the rate times your value added, which is why the tax is neutral to business margins on the federal portion.
Strengths & Limits Of This Model
Where this engine is strong
- Runs entirely in your browser — no figure you type is transmitted or stored.
- Shows the full working, so every number can be traced and challenged.
- Free, unmetered and free of affiliate incentives.
Where it stops
- Generalised assumptions cannot capture every individual circumstance.
- Jurisdiction-specific rules and mid-year changes may not be reflected.
- A model output is not a substitute for a professional review of your position.
Practical Use Cases
Filing a periodic GST return
Enter annual sales and purchases to see collected tax, input credits and the net remittance. The value-added cross-check confirms the figure independently.
Pricing when only part of the tax is recoverable
Provincial tax that you cannot reclaim is a real cost and belongs in your cost base, not your tax line. Feed it into the Markup Calculator as part of landed cost.
Comparing harmonised and separate tax provinces
A consumer sees the same combined rate, but a business does not. The effective business rate shown here is the figure to use when comparing locations or suppliers across jurisdictions.
Methodology & Editorial Standards
The engine applies federal and provincial rates additively to a pre-tax price, matching Canadian practice in provinces with separate PST and the general structure of Australian and New Zealand GST where only a single federal rate applies — set the provincial field to zero for those. Input tax credits are modelled on the federal portion only, since most provincial sales taxes are not recoverable; Quebec's QST and harmonised HST provinces are exceptions where the provincial portion is recoverable, so the effective business rate shown here would be zero. Quick method and simplified accounting elections, which remit a fixed percentage of gross sales instead, are not modelled and can be better or worse depending on your purchase ratio. Zero-rated and exempt supplies are outside scope. The engine implements the standard published formula for this calculation. Inputs are validated for domain and sign before evaluation, and any undefined case returns an em-dash rather than a spurious value.
Computation runs in IEEE-754 double precision at full internal precision; rounding to two decimal places occurs strictly at the display layer, so no cumulative drift enters the result. All monetary outputs use accounting presentation — grouped thousands, two decimals, negatives in parentheses — so figures can be transcribed directly into a model or working paper. Division-by-zero and out-of-domain inputs return an em-dash rather than a misleading number.
This engine was reconciled against an independent reference implementation and hand-verified for the worked example above before release. Our full five-stage review process is published on the About Us page.
Disclaimer. This calculator is provided for informational and modelling purposes only and does not constitute financial, tax, legal, medical, or engineering advice. Verify all figures with a qualified professional before acting on them.
GST Calculator — 20 Expert FAQs
20 analyst-written answers to the questions practitioners actually ask — optimised for voice and answer-engine retrieval.
What is the difference between GST and PST?
GST is the federal tax and is recoverable by registered businesses. PST is provincial and generally is not. That makes a headline 12% cost a business only 7% and a consumer the full 12%.
What is an input tax credit?
The GST you paid on business purchases, reclaimed against the GST you collected. Here $5,500 of credits reduces $9,000 collected to a $3,500 remittance — exactly 5% of your value added.
Is HST the same as GST plus PST?
For a consumer, yes — the combined rate and total are identical. For a business, no: the entire HST is recoverable whereas separate PST usually is not, which makes HST provinces materially cheaper to operate in.
How do I calculate my remittance?
GST collected on sales less input tax credits on purchases. It always equals the rate times your value added, which is a useful independent check on the arithmetic.
What if my credits exceed my collections?
You are in a refund position and the authority pays you. This is normal for exporters, whose sales are zero-rated, and for businesses in a heavy investment phase.
When must I register for GST?
Generally once taxable supplies exceed the small supplier threshold — $30,000 in Canada and $75,000 in Australia. Voluntary registration below that lets you reclaim input tax but obliges you to charge the tax.
Should I register voluntarily?
If your customers are registered businesses, yes — they reclaim what you charge, and you recover your own input tax. If you sell to consumers, registration reduces your effective revenue unless you raise prices.
What is the quick method?
A simplification remitting a fixed percentage of GST-inclusive sales instead of tracking credits. It helps businesses with few taxable purchases and costs money for those with many — run both before electing.
Is GST charged on exports?
Exports are generally zero-rated, meaning no tax is charged but input credits remain claimable. This is why exporters are usually in a permanent refund position.
Can I claim GST on capital purchases?
Yes, generally in full in the period of purchase, which is why a large equipment purchase can flip a return into a refund. Some jurisdictions require adjustments if use changes later.
What records do I need?
Tax invoices showing the supplier's registration number and the tax charged. Claims without a compliant invoice are routinely denied on audit, regardless of whether the purchase was genuine.
How often do I file?
Annually, quarterly or monthly depending on turnover, with larger businesses filing more frequently. Filing frequency can sometimes be elected, and more frequent filing accelerates refunds.
Do I charge GST on shipping?
Generally yes, when the goods are taxable — shipping is treated as part of the supply. Rules differ for international freight, which is typically zero-rated.
Is GST the same as VAT?
Structurally yes, both are multi-stage credit-invoice taxes on consumption. The naming is regional: GST in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India and Singapore; VAT across Europe and much of the rest of the world.
How does GST affect my pricing?
The recoverable portion should be excluded from your cost base entirely, while the unrecoverable provincial portion belongs in landed cost. Confusing the two either overstates or understates margin.
Is this gst calculator free to use?
Yes. It is free, requires no account, and has no usage limits. ApexConverter is funded by contextual advertising, never by selling user data.
Is my data sent to a server?
No. The engine runs as Vanilla JavaScript inside your browser under our Zero-Server Client-Side Execution model. Your figures are computed locally and are never transmitted, logged, or stored.
How accurate is this calculator?
It applies the standard closed-form formula in IEEE-754 double precision, rounding only at the display layer. The engine is reconciled against an independent reference implementation before release.
Does it work on mobile?
Yes. The interface is mobile-first with numeric keypad hints and is tested down to a 320-pixel viewport with no horizontal scrolling.
Can I use it offline?
Largely, yes. Because computation is client-side, the page continues to calculate without a network connection once it has loaded.