will i pay tax in canada for purchases from us through ebay ?

alitp
Community Member

i want to by computer hardware from US sellers (shipped from the USA) to my address in alberta / Canada, its is probaby 500+ USD/CAD whatever...

 

will I have to pay VAT in Canada once i receive the item ?..

 

thanks,

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will i pay tax in canada for purchases from us through ebay ?

Canadian residents pay duty on imports  from the USA valued over $150 and taxes over $40.

So assume you will pay at least 5% GST on any purchase.

That's the short version.

 

There are different standards on imports from different countries. If you import the same hardware from Germany, you would be paying both duty and sales tax on anything valued over $20.  Seriously. Twenty.

 

Then there is 'customs brokerage'.  You are best off if your seller ships by USPS/Canada Post because the  brokerage/service fee will be only $9.95.

Most couriers are even higher, starting at about $25.  And they will not hand over the goods until that is paid.

 

You should also consider sellers who use the Global Shipping Program which is much despised here.

Most of the hatred came before the new NAFTA agreement raised our duty and tax -free allowances. Canadians for complex and now defunct reasons, were astounded to learn that there actually were import fees on US imports and infuriated that they were being charged.

The GSP is a Seller Protection program, in the form of a freight forwarder. It charges import fees* before the seller is even told to ship.

This means that when your item arrives, there are no added fees (because they are already paid). You will be told what those fees are before your complete your payment. Pay attention!

 

 

 

 

 

 

*If you are buying for a business, the GSP will not break down those fees. They specifically do not do B2B transactions, whatever you and your seller may think.

 

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will i pay tax in canada for purchases from us through ebay ?

ve6nap
Community Member

Oh items bought from ebay -

I am charged  5% GST at the time of purchase ...

Then on import into Canada I am charged again 5% GST plus a customs clearing charge and associated fees.

 

A 90.00 purchase with 54.00 shipping endes up at aproximatly  260.00 CAD 

 

By spending several $ , filing in several forms and provideing proof of previous payment. I can recover only the GST portion ( around ($7.50  CAD )- NOT the additional fees and charges ,,,, and with postage costs for filing  total recovery is about 3.00 CAD  

 

This seems to be an eBay  only issue..  

 

I Never have that problem with Amazon  or other on line market sources

Therfore a larger portion of my purchases are now going yo Amazon. 

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will i pay tax in canada for purchases from us through ebay ?

Well, if you purchase from Amazon, you're more likely purchasing from Canada or from an American seller having some of their inventory warehoused in Canada with Amazon and your GST would be charged at point of sale.

 

Why are you able to recover the GST, anyway?

 

 

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