How do we figure out how much GST/HST that eBay has collected on our behalf?

[ecgt]

We operate a registered business and have collected and remitted tax on eBay every quarter for more than a decade. Given the new tax regime that eBay has implemented, we are trying to get things ready for our accountant now that Q3 has ended. Unfortunately, I cannot find anything in the eBay generated financial statements or tax reports that shows how much GST/HST that eBay has collected on our behalf. Does anyone know where I can find this information?

I am already keeping track on our end how much GST/HST we believe that eBay has collected, I just need documentation from eBay showing what their number is so that we can send it to our accountant to make sure that the numbers are accurate. Either I am missing something or eBay is making it ridiculously difficult to find this information. Any ideas?

Thanks!

[recped]

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@ecgt wrote:

We operate a registered business and have collected and remitted tax on eBay every quarter for more than a decade. Given the new tax regime that eBay has implemented, we are trying to get things ready for our accountant now that Q3 has ended. Unfortunately, I cannot find anything in the eBay generated financial statements or tax reports that shows how much GST/HST that eBay has collected on our behalf. Does anyone know where I can find this information?

I am already keeping track on our end how much GST/HST we believe that eBay has collected, I just need documentation from eBay showing what their number is so that we can send it to our accountant to make sure that the numbers are accurate. Either I am missing something or eBay is making it ridiculously difficult to find this information. Any ideas?

Thanks!

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You can get the total of GST/HST/PST that eBay collected on your behalf by running a Transaction Report.

https://www.ebay.ca/sh/fin/report

Not sure why you would need this for your accountant,  sounds like they don't fully understand how it works because the tax collected by eBay does not need to be reported to the CRA and because the funds are never given to you they are not part of your financial statements.

I just filed my recent GST return and had no need whatsover to have this information.

[ecgt]

Thanks for your reply @recped

We need this information to calculate input tax credits. We will give your solution a shot.

[recped]

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@ecgt wrote:

Thanks for your reply @recped

We need this information to calculate input tax credits. We will give your solution a shot.

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ITC - GST/HST collected by YOU = Amount owed or refund

You did not collect GST/HST on eBay sales after July 1st so unless you collected GST/HST via other sales channels the amount collected on your filing is ZERO.

Normally (in the past) as a GST registered seller with only a modest amount of ITCs I have almost always owed CRA, going forward since virtually all of my Canadian sales are via eBay I will almost always be receiving refunds.

I have another business with a different GST number, that account has never collected a penny in GST, always has ITCs and therefore always gets a refund, more than 20 years of quarterly refunds and never questioned by CRA. If CRA were to question your filings simply telling them eBay is collecting should suffice, next would be to offer up the agent agreement signed with eBay.

[wheelersndealers2020]

That makes sense. Did you still enter you quarterly sales as we always did before or is ebay now reporting that to the CRA as well. Leaving us with only filling out the ITC line.

[recped]

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@wheelersndealers2020 wrote:

That makes sense. Did you still enter you quarterly sales as we always did before or is ebay now reporting that to the CRA as well. Leaving us with only filling out the ITC line.

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Yes of course I report gross sales. eBay DOES NOT report ANY individual seller information to CRA. I file online with NetFile, you would not be able to complete the filing without entering something in the Gross Sales field. I'd bet that if you left it off a paper filing it would get rejected and your would get a letter from CRA telling you that.

[bag-of-holding]

Incorrect. Input tax credit is what you earn every time you pay GST-HST on an expenditure for your business. You claim all these input tax credits, or ITCs, on your GST-HST return for a rebate. ITCs are subtracted from the GST-HST you are required to remit to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).

So when you spend money on eBay and they charge "Import Fees", we need to know what part of that is HST. Unfortunately, they do not break that down. I understand they have a special deal with CRA and do not get bothered much on their remittances, if they do any... However the small guys like us do...

[marnotom!]

I don't believe recped was defining ITC, @bag-of-holding.  I read what he wrote as a mathematical equation:

ITC minus GST/HST collected by you equals amount owed or refunded.

[ilikehockeyjerseys]

Did you sign a GST506 form last year when eBay announced they would begin collecting sales tax? 

If not, e-mail CanadaGST/PST@ebay.com with your account info and attach a filled out GST506 form using Adobe Fill And Sign on your phone - https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/cra-arc/formspubs/pbg/gst506/gst506-22e.pdf 

Keep in mind, eBay originally sent out the Quebec version of the form. If your records indicate that you signed the Quebec version, it would be a very good idea to fill out the version linked above and have it counter signed by eBay for your records. People have reported issues with the CRA because they signed the Quebec form as a non-Quebec resident.

Once that is out of the way, most people seem to indicate that eBay sales should be reported with your zero-rated sales. I don't know whether this is entirely correct. You should speak to an accountant if you're not sure.

(The above is not accounting or legal advice, I am just a guy, not an accountant or lawyer. Contact one if you need actual advice.)