Do barbers charge tax on haircuts in Canada?

Is there GST on every haircut in Canada?

Yes, once the barber is registered. A haircut is a taxable supply in every province and territory, and the registration line is federal: under the CRA’s small supplier rule a barber charges no GST or HST until taxable revenue passes $30,000 in a single calendar quarter or over four consecutive calendar quarters, and registration is due within 29 days of the effective date. For a shop the $30,000 is the worldwide taxable revenue of you and any associated business: cuts, product and chair rent you collect, not voluntary tips. Which sale is the first taxable one is in the small supplier threshold entry.

Registering early is allowed: a voluntary registrant charges tax from the effective date and can claim input tax credits on chair rent, product bought for resale, clippers and software. The GST/HST calculator shows what GST or HST adds to a menu price in your province.

Which provinces charge HST on haircuts?

Five provinces charge HST on a haircut: Ontario, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador. Each folds its sales tax into a single harmonized sales tax with the 5% GST, so a haircut and a bottle of pomade are taxed at the same full rate. The CRA’s GST/HST rate table, last changed on April 1, 2025, lists:

• Ontario: 13% HST.
• Nova Scotia: 14% HST.
• New Brunswick: 15% HST.
• Prince Edward Island: 15% HST.
• Newfoundland and Labrador: 15% HST.

Nova Scotia is the one that moved. The province cut its share of the HST to 9% on April 1, 2025, taking the combined rate from 15% to 14%, according to Nova Scotia Finance and Treasury Board. A Halifax price list or POS still set to 15% has been over-collecting since that date.

HST is one tax on one return, so an HST-province shop has a single tax line on every receipt. The Ontario HST guide covers the 13% side in detail, and the Atlantic Canada HST guide covers Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, PEI and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Which provinces exempt haircuts from PST?

British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba each run a provincial sales tax beside the GST, and all three exempt personal services such as haircuts. A barber in those provinces charges 5% GST on the cut and no provincial tax, then adds the provincial tax to retail product.

• British Columbia: Bulletin PST 138 says you do not charge PST on personal services and names hair styling as one, but PST applies to any goods you sell. Product carries 5% GST plus 7% PST.
• Saskatchewan: Bulletin PST-36 lists hair cutting, trimming or styling among personal services not subject to PST, and says PST must be collected on personal care products sold at retail. Product carries 5% GST plus 6% PST.
• Manitoba: Bulletin No. 062 took RST off personal services effective December 1, 2021, naming haircuts, shaving and beard and moustache trimming. Shampoo and other product sold to clients still carries RST, so product is 5% GST plus 7% RST.

The split puts two kinds of line on most receipts. In Saskatoon, a $40 cut and a $25 pomade ring up as $40 + $2.00 GST and $25 + $1.25 GST + $1.50 PST, for $69.75; Saskatchewan calculates PST on the price before GST. A POS that applies one combined rate to the whole ticket either taxes the haircut it should not or under-taxes the pomade.

Each province registers its own tax, separately from the CRA. In BC a business that sells taxable goods must register unless it is a small seller: $10,000 or less in retail sales over the past 12 months and the next 12, and no established business premises or regular sales from commercial premises, which a storefront shop fails. Saskatchewan’s Bulletin PST-5 requires every business operating or making retail sales in the province to hold a PST number, haircut-only shops included; the small-trader exception covers only home-based sellers. Manitoba’s Bulletin RST 004, revised June 2024, lets a business with annual taxable sales under $30,000 skip RST registration, unless it buys stock from out-of-province suppliers that do not charge Manitoba RST, and gives one month to register once sales pass it; Bulletin No. 062 still prints an older $10,000 figure, and RST 004 is the current one.

The province-by-province detail is in the BC PST guide, the Saskatchewan PST guide and the Manitoba RST guide.

How does Quebec tax a haircut?

Quebec charges two taxes on a haircut: 5% GST and 9.975% QST, or 14.975% combined. Both apply to services and retail product alike, and each is calculated on the selling price, so a $40 cut carries $2.00 GST and $3.99 QST, for $45.99.

Revenu Québec, not the CRA, administers the GST in Quebec, so a Quebec barber registers for both taxes with Revenu Québec and files both with it. Its general guide to the QST and GST/HST applies the same federal $30,000 small-supplier test to both taxes, and a voluntary registrant must stay registered for at least one year before cancelling. The Quebec GST and QST guide covers the two numbers, the two lines on the receipt and the return.

Are tips on a haircut taxed?

Not when the client chooses them, in any province. The CRA’s rule in GST/HST in special cases is that a tip freely given by a customer is not subject to GST/HST, but a mandatory or suggested amount the business adds to the bill as a service charge is taxed at the province’s rate. Manitoba’s Bulletin No. 062 says the same for RST: a gratuity shown separately on the bill or paid separately is not part of the price.

A terminal prompt that offers 15, 18 or 20% beside a no-tip option is the client’s choice and stays untaxed; an automatic 18% on group bookings that the client cannot remove is part of the price and taxed with it. Quebec has regulated the prompt since May 7, 2025 (Bill 72, Consumer Protection Act s. 225.1): the Office de la protection du consommateur says suggested tip percentages must be calculated on the price before GST and QST, presented uniformly with nothing pre-selected, and shown with an option for the client to enter their own amount. The tips guide covers the payroll side.

Does a chair renter register for GST separately?

Yes. The CRA’s barbers and hairdressers page says a chair renter paying the owner a fixed monthly amount for a chair is normally running their own business and self-employed. Their haircut revenue counts toward their own $30,000, measured the same way as the shop’s: over $30,000 in one calendar quarter or across four consecutive quarters. They register on their own number, and the shop’s registration does not cover them.

The chair rent is taxable too. GST/HST Memorandum 19-4-1 makes a lease or licence of commercial real property a taxable supply, so a registered shop owner adds GST or HST to the rent invoice at the province’s rate and a registered renter claims it back as an input tax credit. A renter in Saskatchewan, or one who sells product in British Columbia or Manitoba, also registers provincially on their own; the chair rental agreement guide covers the paperwork that goes with a renter.

How do I set the right sales tax in BarberFlow?

Tax in BarberFlow is set per location, so a shop with chairs in Toronto and Calgary runs 13% HST at one and 5% GST at the other under one account. Each tax line applies to Services + products, Services only or Products only, which is how the PST and RST splits work: the regional templates cover Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta and Quebec and adapt to Saskatchewan, Manitoba and the territories, and Custom takes the Atlantic HST line. Accounting lists the tax lines on every payment, exportable for any date range for the return.