Selling on your own site or a marketplace: who collects GST and PST?
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On your own store you charge the tax. On a marketplace, BC makes the platform collect PST, but GST depends on whether you are registered.
Short answer: on your own website, whether it runs on Shopify, WooCommerce or anything else, and whether Stripe or another processor takes the payment, you are the seller. Once you are registered, you charge, report and remit GST and PST yourself. On an online marketplace that acts as a marketplace facilitator, BC requires the platform to collect PST on the sales it facilitates, so its sellers generally do not. GST works differently: the platform collects it only for sellers who are not registered for GST. A registered seller charges GST on its own marketplace sales and reports it.
Who collects what, by channel
| Channel | GST: you are not registered | GST: you are registered | BC PST |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your own site (Shopify, WooCommerce, Stripe checkout) | No GST is charged | You charge, report and remit it | You charge and remit it once registered |
| A marketplace that is a facilitator | The platform collects it on qualifying goods | You charge and report it, even if the platform calculates it | The platform collects and remits it, on goods located in Canada |
| In person, at markets or pop-ups | No GST is charged | You charge, report and remit it | You charge and remit it once registered |
Qualifying goods, for the GST rule, are goods delivered or made available to the buyer in Canada, such as goods held in a Canadian fulfilment warehouse or shipped from a place in Canada. Goods mailed from outside Canada are not covered.
Your own store: Shopify and Stripe do not file for you
Shopify, Squarespace and WooCommerce are the software your store runs on, and Stripe, PayPal and Shopify Payments move the money. They can calculate GST and PST at checkout once you turn tax on and enter your numbers, but the tax is yours. You register, you file the returns and you remit what you collected. If the tax settings are wrong, the platform keeps charging the wrong amount until someone changes them.
A payout from Shopify or Stripe is sales less fees and refunds, with the tax you charged inside it. The books have to take each payout apart so the sales, the fees and the GST and PST each land in their own account.
Marketplaces and BC PST
Under the province’s rules for online marketplace facilitators, set out in Bulletin PST 142, the platform that facilitates the sale must register and collect PST on retail sales of goods located in Canada to buyers in BC. Marketplace sellers are generally not required to collect PST on those sales. A facilitator does not have to register if the sales it facilitated in the last 12 months, and the sales it expects in the next 12, are CAD 10,000 or less. Since 1 July 2023 a facilitator does not collect PST on goods located outside Canada at the time of sale.
This covers only the sales made through the facilitator. Sales on your own site, at markets or by invoice are still yours, and whether you must register for PST on them turns on the small-seller test.
Marketplaces and GST
The CRA says a platform operator must collect GST/HST on qualifying goods sold through its platform by vendors who are not registered. A vendor registered under the normal GST/HST rules must charge and collect the tax on its own sales of qualifying goods, including sales made through a platform.
So the day you register for GST, your marketplace sales change hands for GST purposes. The platform may still calculate the tax and pay it out to you with your sales, but it is now yours to report on your return. Check the platform’s tax report each month, and match it to what you file.
Selling to other provinces and abroad
A registered seller charges GST/HST at the rate of the place of supply, which for goods is generally where they are delivered. A parcel to Ontario carries Ontario’s HST, not 5% GST. Other provinces with their own sales tax can require their own registration from a seller outside the province, so check before selling heavily into them. Goods shipped to customers outside Canada fall under the CRA’s export rules.
What the books need to show
- Each channel as its own sales account, so marketplace sales and own-site sales can be checked separately
- Platform fees recorded as expenses, not netted against sales
- The PST a facilitator collected kept out of your PST return, so it is not remitted twice
- Once you are GST-registered, the GST on marketplace sales recorded as tax you owe, matched to the platform’s report
- The platform’s monthly tax and payout reports kept with the books
Questions people ask
Does Shopify collect and remit GST or PST for me?
No. Shopify calculates tax on your own store once you set it up, but you are the seller: you register, file and remit. Stripe and other payment processors are the same. They move the money, not the tax obligation.
Do Amazon and Etsy collect BC PST for me?
BC requires an online marketplace facilitator to collect PST on the retail sales it facilitates to buyers in BC, so sellers generally do not collect it on those sales. Check your platform’s tax report to confirm what it collected on your account.
If I am registered for GST, does the marketplace still collect GST for me?
The CRA says a registered vendor must charge and collect GST/HST on its own sales of qualifying goods, including sales through a platform. The platform collects for vendors who are not registered.
Do I charge GST to customers in other provinces?
If you are registered, you charge the rate where the goods are delivered: Ontario’s HST on a parcel to Ontario, for example. Other provincial sales taxes can need their own registration.
Do I have to charge PST on my own website if I also sell on a marketplace?
The facilitator’s collection covers only its sales. On your own site, PST is yours to charge once you are registered, and you must register unless you meet the small-seller test.
Starting an online store in BC: what to register →
PST when your business sells goods →
GST registration and input tax credits →
Want this handled for you
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