Introduction
The Reverse HST Calculator helps you find the tax hidden inside a price. If you have a receipt total that already includes tax, this tool splits it into two parts: the price before tax and the tax amount. You can also work the other way and add tax to a pre-tax price with our standard HST Calculator.
It works for every province and territory in Canada. Pick your province, and the tool uses the right rate — HST in Ontario, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island; GST and PST in places like British Columbia, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan; and GST plus QST in Québec. You can also type your own rate if you need one. If your purchase was GST-only, the Reverse GST Calculator handles that case directly.
Just choose your province and enter an amount. The calculator shows the pre-tax price, the tax taken out, a full breakdown, a chart, and the math steps. For HST provinces, it even splits the tax into the federal part (5% GST) and the provincial part.
This is handy for small business owners claiming input tax credits, freelancers doing bookkeeping, and anyone who wants to check a bill. Results are rounded to the cent, so your answer may differ from a receipt by about one penny.
How to use our Reverse HST Calculator
Enter your province and a dollar amount, and the calculator shows the price before tax, the tax amount, and the total price including tax, plus a full breakdown and step-by-step math.
Province / Territory: Pick the province where you made the purchase. Each choice sets the right sales tax rate, like HST in Ontario, GST plus PST in British Columbia, or GST plus QST in Québec.
Override Rate (%): Leave this blank most of the time. Type a rate here only if your item used a different rate, such as a reduced or zero rate. Your entry replaces the province rate. To check what a given percentage works out to on its own, try the Percentage Calculator.
Price Including Tax: Type the total from your receipt to work backwards. The calculator removes the HST, GST, PST, or QST and shows the pre-tax price.
Price Excluding Tax: Type a pre-tax price here instead to add tax on top. The last field you type in is the one that drives the math. This is the same idea as our Sales Tax Calculator, just built for Canadian rates.
Calculate and Reset: Results update as you type, but you can press Calculate to refresh them. Press Reset to clear every field and start again.
What Is Reverse HST?
Reverse HST means working backward from a price that already has tax in it. Instead of adding tax to a price, you pull the tax back out. This tells you two things: how much the item really cost before tax, and how much tax you paid.
People do this all the time in Canada. A receipt may only show one big total. If you need the pre-tax price for a business expense, an invoice, or a tax return, you have to reverse the tax out of that total. The same back-calculation applies to U.S. state sales tax through the Reverse Sales Tax Calculator, or to value-added tax abroad with the Remove VAT Calculator.
The Formula
To remove tax from a total, you divide — you do not just subtract the percent.
- Price before tax = Total ÷ (1 + tax rate ÷ 100)
- Tax paid = Total − Price before tax
Example in Ontario, where HST is 13%. A $130.00 total ÷ 1.13 = $115.04 before tax. The tax is $130.00 − $115.04 = $14.96.
A common mistake is taking 13% off the total. That gives $113.10, which is wrong. Tax is charged on the smaller pre-tax price, not on the final total. If you want to see the tax as a share of the total instead, the Tax Percentage Calculator shows that ratio.
Canadian Sales Tax Rates by Province
Canada has three main sales tax setups. HST is one blended tax. Some provinces charge the federal GST plus their own PST. Quebec charges GST plus QST. For the federal portion on its own, see the GST Calculator.
| Province or Territory | Tax Type | Total Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Alberta | GST only | 5% |
| British Columbia | GST 5% + PST 7% | 12% |
| Manitoba | GST 5% + PST 7% | 12% |
| New Brunswick | HST | 15% |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | HST | 15% |
| Northwest Territories | GST only | 5% |
| Nova Scotia | HST | 14% |
| Nunavut | GST only | 5% |
| Ontario | HST | 13% |
| Prince Edward Island | HST | 15% |
| Quebec | GST 5% + QST 9.975% | 14.975% |
| Saskatchewan | GST 5% + PST 6% | 11% |
| Yukon | GST only | 5% |
Why the Federal and Provincial Split Matters
HST is really two taxes rolled into one. The first 5% goes to the federal government. The rest is the provincial part. In Ontario's 13% HST, 5% is federal and 8% is provincial. Some rebates and point-of-sale exemptions only apply to one part, so it helps to know the split. Buying property is a separate matter again — that tax is handled by the Land Transfer Tax Calculator, and the financing side by the Canadian Mortgage Calculator.
Who Needs This
- Small business owners claiming input tax credits on their GST/HST return. Track profitability alongside it with the Margin Calculator.
- Freelancers and contractors who quote one all-in price and need to report the tax part. The Self Employment Tax Calculator covers the income side.
- Employees filling out expense reports that ask for pre-tax totals.
- Shoppers checking that a store charged the right amount, especially after applying a deal from the Discount Calculator.
- Importers comparing landed costs, where the Customs Duty Calculator also comes into play.
Things to Watch For
Not everything is taxed the same way. Basic groceries, most prescription drugs, and many medical devices are zero-rated, so no tax is added. Some provinces also take the provincial part off certain items, like children's clothing or books in Ontario. If your receipt used a different rate, you can enter that rate yourself instead of using the province default.
Your answer may be off by one cent from a receipt. That is normal. Cash registers round at different points in the math, so a penny gap does not mean anything is wrong.
If you are recording a purchase made in another currency, convert first with the USD to CAD Calculator before reversing the tax, and use the Reverse Tax Calculator for any general tax-inclusive amount that is not Canadian sales tax.