eBay

ch_297335 · ‎09-07-2025

I reside in Canada in the province of Ontario.

Sales tax here in Ontario where i reside is 13%.

I recently won an auction for $104.50 USD.

The shipping was $22.02 USD

The tax was $16.44 USD

Final Total at check out was US $142.96 = $205.89 CAD

After paying for the item I realized the sales tax for $16.44 USD was 15.7%

Where did this 15.7% come from?

Currently 1 USD = $1.38 CAD

SALE PRICE: $104.5 USD =$ 144.60 CAD
SALES TAX = $16.44 USD = $22.75 CAD
SHIPPING = $22.02 USD = $30.47 CAD

FINAL TOTAL = US $142.96 = $205.89 CAD

Should the sales tax not be $144.60 CAD x 13% = $163.40 CAD?

If so then the final total with taxes and shipping is $193.87 CAD

But some reason I was charged $205.89 CAD. (an extra 12.02 diffrence from $193.87)

The seller I bought from resides in Colorado Springs, CO, United States if that matters.

Just hoping someone can help break things down and I can understand what is going on.

flipistics · ‎09-07-2025

@ch_297335 Sales tax is on the item price PLUS shipping. It's a percentage, so it doesn't matter whether you calculated it in USD or CAD. So $104.50 + $22.02 = 126.52. 13% of that is ~ $16.45 for a total of ~ $142.97 USD

View solution in original post

flipistics · ‎09-07-2025

@ch_297335 Sales tax is on the item price PLUS shipping. It's a percentage, so it doesn't matter whether you calculated it in USD or CAD. So $104.50 + $22.02 = 126.52. 13% of that is ~ $16.45 for a total of ~ $142.97 USD

femmefan1946 · ‎09-07-2025

The GST is a Goods and SERVICES Tax.

The PST was a tax on Goods.

I gather when Ontario went for a Harmonized Tax, they decided to collect on services.

Shipping is a service.

There can be small variations in the actual charge depending on the exchange rate being used.

marnotom! · ‎09-08-2025

@femmefan1946 wrote:

The GST is a Goods and SERVICES Tax.
The PST was a tax on Goods.

Psst. In our fair province, PST can be applied to services, as well.

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/taxes/sales-taxes/pst

fh991586 · ‎09-08-2025

One thing I find weird is that taxes are charged on the declared value of item when it crosses the border, not the shipping price (which is never included in custom forms)...
But since eBay collected the taxes, it provided a service, hence fully taxable I presume!

reallynicestamps · ‎09-08-2025

@marnotom!

But not on children's shoes, something DD who is 4'11" has been taking advantage of for 20 years.

reallynicestamps · ‎09-08-2025

taxes are charged on the declared value of item when it crosses the border

Yes.

Duty is on the item, sometimes based on its place of manufacture.

fh991586 · ‎09-08-2025

I was really talking about sales taxes, not duty.
Duty is taxable, AFAIK. Or at least tariffs are, as I was painfully made aware...

marnotom! · ‎09-08-2025

@fh991586 wrote:

Duty is taxable, AFAIK. Or at least tariffs are, as I was painfully made aware...

For a casual import, the calculation of taxes would be based on the declared value of the item plus any applicable duties and tariffs.

ch_297335 · ‎09-09-2025

Thank you this appears to be the problem. I did not know that the shipping is also taxed when using EIS as the shipper. I thought the shipping is a fixed price and only the item is taxable.

I have purchased items from other sellers using USPS international and when the item crosses the border at the CBSA its taxed based on the declared value of the item only.

I was very surprised ebay EIS charges taxes on the shipping as well.

marnotom! · ‎09-09-2025

@ch_297335 wrote:

I have purchased items from other sellers using USPS international and when the item crosses the border at the CBSA its taxed based on the declared value of the item only.

I was very surprised ebay EIS charges taxes on the shipping as well.

I have a vague recollection of a discussion on this subject on this board from a while back. I think the conclusion was that because some of the shipping of eIS-forwarded items is purchased on the buyer's behalf from a Canadian shipper, the entire shipping charge is subject to GST/HST.