How do you charge taxes to Canadian buyers?

[2hormy]

Hello everyone.
Just a simple question. How do you charge taxes to Canadian customers?
When I got paid with Paypal all my customers just pay GST only, even if I tell them to pay provincial taxes within the same province, they don't do it.
Is that because Paypal set only 7 % to Canadians? What about the provincial tax? in my case the PST?
2hormy

[recped]

PayPal/eBay don't understand Canadian taxes and it does not seem that any effort is being made to fix the situation.

Ben
"What else could I do? I had no trade so I became a peddler" - Lazarus Greenberg 1915

[itrecovery]

I include all applicable taxes to S&H with explanation.

[jakeeangel]

The way to add taxes in is to use PayPal's invoicing system. It will allow you to input the tax percentage. That's what I've done for customers. I don't know how the buyer could/would do it themself but that's how I do it from a seller's POV.

I think there's only one line so you can have PST & GST separate. You'd have to make a note of that in the payment note part of the invoice. It's not perfect but it's a workable option.

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[whoscloset]

I include it as required insurance prior to sending my invoices via SMP. I then adjust the e-mail to say GST & PST and the amounts. Never had a problem and they can't get out of paying as I don't allow changes to the totals.

Monique

[christopher81]

I always have the GST amount and the PST amount in the mesage section and then I add the total to the Insurance space. That way there is no confusion between Shipping costs and taxes. After all, ebay is an American system. they have not got it when it comes to a federal tax across the board. In the US system they do have the taxes set up across the country, but their tax system is one tier and we are two tier. Just my 2 cents.
Christopher81
Browns Gallery

[recped]

After all, ebay is an American system

that makes sense for ebay.com but for ebay.ca it doesn't. Other international eBay sites can deal with the local tax system whereas eBay Canada is pretty much just a shell game. They have made no effort to accomodate our tax system just as they have ignored 25% of our population (the francophones).

Ben
"What else could I do? I had no trade so I became a peddler" - Lazarus Greenberg 1915

[1dealsavers]

So then we don't have to charge OR pay it no?

[recped]

The question of charging or not charging sales taxes has NOTHING to do with how eBay/PayPal forces us to operate.

Look at the PST/GST thread on the "Selling On eBay" board

http://forums.ebay.ca/thread.jspa?threadID=100027819&tstart=0&mod=1130769476216

Ben
"What else could I do? I had no trade so I became a peddler" - Lazarus Greenberg 1915

[muminlaw]

1dealsavers - if you are registered as a seller with the tax department, you DO have to charge it and you certainly have to turn it in! Also, if you're a powerseller, you should definitely be registered!! No gettin' around the tax-man.

I think you'll find that most of us send out our own invoices, especially to Canadian buyers, rather than going through eBay's checkout or PayPal's invoicing system.
.

[zarzuella]

I'm lucky - there is no PST on books, so I can just use Paypal's system.

[mtfman]

GST can be added by logging into your paypal account. Once in your paypal account, under profile there is a place to add taxes

Pick Canada then the %, this way whenever a Canadian pays they will always be charged GST

MTF

[whoscloset]

MTF, Yes but that doesn't work if you live in a province that has PST as well. Be careful as well that you charge PST only on the item, not the shipping. GST is due on shipping, but PST is not.

[jakeeangel]

That's dangerous to add GST universally to all purchases. Not all items are GST or PST elligible and it could cause problems on goods and purchases that shouldn't be taxed. I think adding it on a per invoice basis is the safest way to go.

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[mtfman]

Curious what new items do not have GST ?

[primary.optic]

mmm Interesting. I have experience selling retail in Canada but not Internationally. So just for clarity; International buyers I don't have to charge GST/PST to? but only Canadian buyers?

[futuretech_liquidations]

The way we do it is we manually add the appropriate tax to all invoices. We have instructions in our payment section that tells the buyer not to pay immediately and to WAIT for an email from us that will contain their detailed invoice.

Despite this we do get a few people that pay immediately and we simply refund their initial paypal payment immediately and tell them to pay the amount indicated in the email we sent them after the auction ended.

99% of our buyer have no problem and just pay the correct amount --- we have had less than a handfull of buyers refusing to pay the tax and we refuse to ship the item until they do and direct them back to the ad listing and the payment section which clearly states that we MUST collect taxes.

Taxes are only collectable if you are registered and have a GST # and PST # - otherwise you are not allowed to collect taxes (it is criminal to do so).

Taxes are only applicable on shipments within Canada.

As for whether shipping is TAXABLE with both taxes the answer is YES IT IS. Alot of sellers falsely think that only GST applies to shipping/handling costs and the fact is both taxes are applicable (At least in Ontario it is) as I am not 100% whether each province has the same rules -- check with you local Ministry of Finance.

[funkywatch_com]

For shipping, GST is applicable to all transactions. PST is also applicable for shipment within your own province (where your address is registered) but not for shipments outside your province, with the exception on provinces where HST is applicable, then you have to charge HST (combined GST/PST rate)

I find that a little too complicated to explain to each buyer, So I just charge GST and PST when applicable. For HST i find it a little much so i just suck it up. The buyer gets an extra bargain...