If u traveled to Canada did u get refunded the HST Fees?

[lisaross]

i understand that u can get the fees back. I am just wondering exactly how this works - do u get the money back on the way out thru customs? do u mail it in and which form did u fill out - i see many different ones online.

Thanks for any info.

 

[momof3ds]

They do not refund the taxes anymore. We just returned from Canada and the woman at the duty free shop said that stopped 5 years ago.

 

[SiennaFrost]

We just got back last week from Niagara Falls. We stayed at the Country Inn & Suites for 5 nights and were charged 3% HST on top of the other taxes. I asked whether it could be removed from our bill and the lady at the desk gladly took the HST charges off. She said the 3% tax will soon be required by law, but for now it is optional. It never hurts to ask

I don't remember being charge HST for any of the other items we purchased, but maybe we were. Hope that helps

 

[pigletto]

We just got back last week from Niagara Falls. We stayed at the Country Inn & Suites for 5 nights and were charged 3% HST on top of the other taxes. I asked whether it could be removed from our bill and the lady at the desk gladly took the HST charges off. She said the 3% tax will soon be required by law, but for now it is optional. It never hurts to ask

I don't remember being charge HST for any of the other items we purchased, but maybe we were. Hope that helps

What they took off wasn't the HST. The HST is 13%. The 3% is a "resort tax" or "Property Fee". It's called different fees depending where you go but it's basically tacked on by the hotels and it is optional if you ask to have it removed. Most restaurants in the tourist areas will put it on the bill too. The HST can not be removed as far as I know, as that is our sales tax. You would have been charged it on most things.

This is from one of the hotel websites (they should all have a blurb about it somewhere)

Taxes & Fees
Hotel stays in Niagara Falls are now subject to 13% tax rate (Ontario Harmonized Sales Tax) and a 3.39% PF (Promotion Fee, which is NOT a tax). Implemented by hotels in the city to help us market Niagara Falls to travelers the PF may also be used to generate better services for visitors while in the city.

 

[lisaross]

i purchased a groupon for the Oh Canada show and i called to make reservations today the lady said bring the Groupon voucher AND 13.67 for HST charges...pretty strange, as we have taxes here to in the states but if u have a coupon for something and its already paid they don't charge u the tax

 

[sduck]

Groupon and LivingSocial always have the resort fee's and extra taxes in the section with exceptions. We stayed at a B&B and had to pay the tax and the resort fee. I read beforehand so I was prepared, but if you read most of them have some sort of additional fee.

Canada has crazy taxes on food/entertainment. We have a lot of the residents over the border shopping near us because of this. You will have 2 taxes on all your meals.

 

[bdoyledimou]

Ontario only has the HST of 13% -- anything else is a revenue bump for the company (such as a resort fee, promotion fee etc )

we used to have the PST (provincial Sales Tax) at 8% and the GST (Goods and Service Tax) at 7% but they combined them into the HST at 13%.

It is a highly unpopular move that was promoted as saving business money which would result in jobs -- yeah -- that didn't happen -- also it looks like a 2% reduction, but the GST was not charged on essential services, gasoline, groceries, children's clothes, books etc but the HST is charged on EVERYTHING which resulted in a massive increase in utilities bills, gasoline, groceries etc -- and the businesses raised prices to cover the cost of conversion and unemployment is at an all time high here.

 

[BubMunkeyBles]

We drove through Canada to Alaska and never paid that tax that I remember.

 

[sduck]

Ontario only has the HST of 13% -- anything else is a revenue bump for the company (such as a resort fee, promotion fee etc )

we used to have the PST (provincial Sales Tax) at 8% and the GST (Goods and Service Tax) at 7% but they combined them into the HST at 13%.

It is a highly unpopular move that was promoted as saving business money which would result in jobs -- yeah -- that didn't happen -- also it looks like a 2% reduction, but the GST was not charged on essential services, gasoline, groceries, children's clothes, books etc but the HST is charged on EVERYTHING which resulted in a massive increase in utilities bills, gasoline, groceries etc -- and the businesses raised prices to cover the cost of conversion and unemployment is at an all time high here.

Thank you for giving the correct information re: the tax. It has been a while since I crossed the border and should have mentioned that. I knew the taxes were still high but did not know they combined them.

 

[pigletto]

Ontario only has the HST of 13% -- anything else is a revenue bump for the company (such as a resort fee, promotion fee etc )

we used to have the PST (provincial Sales Tax) at 8% and the GST (Goods and Service Tax) at 7% but they combined them into the HST at 13%.

It is a highly unpopular move that was promoted as saving business money which would result in jobs -- yeah -- that didn't happen -- also it looks like a 2% reduction, but the GST was not charged on essential services, gasoline, groceries, children's clothes, books etc but the HST is charged on EVERYTHING which resulted in a massive increase in utilities bills, gasoline, groceries etc -- and the businesses raised prices to cover the cost of conversion and unemployment is at an all time high here.

Agree.
The 2% reduction was no reduction at all since we're now charged on many many things that we didn't pay GST on before.

 

[bdoyledimou]

We drove through Canada to Alaska and never paid that tax that I remember.

I would assume you drove through BC -- which also has the HST -- but it is only 12% there -- and since they have a responsible provincial gov't -- they repealed the HST and are moving back to PST and GST April 1, 2013.

You may not have known you were paying it -- but you did cause it is on EVERY purchase from a 5 cent gummy bear to your house and everything in between.

 

[it's kelly]

We were in Canada last weekend and I noticed some places broke the tax down into 8% plus 5% and some places used one tax of 13%.
I didn't ask for anything to be taken off, I didn't know I could ask.

 

[mombrontrent]

Ontario only has the HST of 13% -- anything else is a revenue bump for the company (such as a resort fee, promotion fee etc )

we used to have the PST (provincial Sales Tax) at 8% and the GST (Goods and Service Tax) at 7% but they combined them into the HST at 13%.

It is a highly unpopular move that was promoted as saving business money which would result in jobs -- yeah -- that didn't happen -- also it looks like a 2% reduction, but the GST was not charged on essential services, gasoline, groceries, children's clothes, books etc but the HST is charged on EVERYTHING which resulted in a massive increase in utilities bills, gasoline, groceries etc -- and the businesses raised prices to cover the cost of conversion and unemployment is at an all time high here.

This is simply not true. There is no tax on food, just junk food. Kids clothes, books, diapers, car seats and feminine hygene products are only charges 5% still.