Saskatchewan is one of the provinces in Canada that charges a separate Provincial Sales Tax (PST) and federal Goods and Services Tax (GST). In Saskatchewan, the PST is set at 6% and the GST is 5%. Most goods and services are charged with both taxes.
Unlike other provinces, there are almost no exemptions to Saskatchewan’s PST. In Saskatchewan, non-residents can purchase vehicles without paying PST. Registered First Nations are exempt from the PST for goods and services purchased on First Nations lands. See Saskatchewan Tax Programs for First Nations Citizens for more details.
In 2020, Saskatchewan rolled out a new rebate for New Homes. Up to 42% of the PST paid for new homes closed from April 1st, 2020 to March 31st, 2023 can be rebated.
There are a number of conditions for the New Home Rebate:
There are two types of exemptions for GST: direct exemptions and zero-rated goods and services. The difference is related to how businesses handle costs related to the exemptions, but as a consumer, you would not have to pay GST on items from either category.
Goods and services that are zero-rated from GST include:
Goods and services that are directly exempt from GST include:
Sales taxes make up a significant portion of Saskatchewan’s budget. Revenues from sales taxes such as the PST are expected to total $2.720 billion, or 28.2% of all of Saskatchewan’s taxation revenue, during the 2023 fiscal year. This is slightly greater than revenue from Saskatchewan’s corporate income tax and property tax combined.
The federal portion of the sales taxes contributes to the Canadian government’s budget. The Goods and Services Tax (GST) is estimated to have brought about $54.4 billion in tax revenue during the 2023 fiscal year. This accounts for 11.9% of the total revenue at the federal level.