Does Amazon Collect and Remit GST/HST for Sellers on Amazon Canada? (2026)

Every new Amazon Canada seller asks the same question, usually right after their first $30,000 in sales: does Amazon collect and pay sales tax for me, or is that something I am supposed to be doing?

The short answer is “sometimes Amazon, sometimes you, and the split depends on which province the order ships to and whether you have a GST/HST number on file.” That answer is unsatisfying, so this guide walks through the full picture for 2026: who collects what, when, how the marketplace facilitator rules actually work in Canada, two worked examples, and the three most expensive mistakes we see Amazon sellers make at tax time.

The short answer

The rest of this article unpacks each piece of that answer with examples.

The three kinds of Canadian sales tax

You cannot make sense of who collects what without knowing the three flavours of Canadian sales tax, because Amazon handles each one differently.

• GST (Goods and Services Tax): federal, 5%, applies to most goods and services sold anywhere in Canada.
• HST (Harmonized Sales Tax): a single combined rate (federal GST plus provincial) used by Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador. Rates run from 13% (Ontario) to 15% (the four Atlantic provinces).
• PST or QST (Provincial Sales Tax): a separate provincial tax in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Quebec. Rates run from 6% (Saskatchewan) to 9.975% (Quebec). These are administered by the province, not by the CRA.

The rest of Canada (Alberta, Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut) has GST only at 5%, no provincial sales tax.

Who is responsible for collecting Amazon Canada sales tax?

By default, the CRA says the seller is responsible for collecting and remitting sales tax on every taxable sale. Amazon’s role is layered on top of that default. Canada brought in marketplace facilitator rules for digital platforms in July 2021, with provincial expansions following in BC, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan. Quebec has had its own QST collection rule for marketplaces since 2019.

Under these rules, Amazon is treated as the “deemed supplier” for certain orders and has to collect and remit the tax itself. The exact split depends on two things:

1. The destination province of the order.
2. Whether you have given Amazon your GST/HST number in Seller Central.

What Amazon collects for you, province by province

This is the table sellers actually want to see. It assumes you have a Canadian Business Number and a GST/HST registration on file in Seller Central.

Two things to notice. First, the GST/HST always lands in your disbursements once you are registered, so you are always the one who files and remits that portion to CRA. Second, in the four provinces with separate provincial sales tax (BC, SK, MB, QC), Amazon collects and remits PST or QST directly to the province on marketplace sales when you are not registered with that provincial PST authority. In Amazon reports these amounts appear as Marketplace Collected Tax or Amazon obligated tax withheld. They are not yours to report or remit on a provincial return. If you are separately registered with the province for PST and have provided that registration to Amazon, the handling may shift for some channels; coordinate with us before changing your Seller Central tax settings.

A note on NARF: that is something different

You may also see NARF (North American Remote Fulfillment) on your Amazon dashboard. NARF is a fulfillment program, not a tax mechanism. It lets US-based FBA sellers list and sell their inventory on Amazon.ca and Amazon.com.mx without shipping or storing stock in those countries. For NARF orders, Amazon ships the product from US inventory directly to the Canadian (or Mexican) customer, and Amazon acts as the seller of record on the cross-border leg. Amazon handles all the Canadian sales tax on those orders itself. NARF revenue should not appear in your Amazon.ca seller GST/HST income at all. Treat NARF sales as Amazon’s, not yours.

Two worked examples

What if I am not registered for GST/HST?

You only have to register once your worldwide taxable sales pass $30,000 in any rolling 12-month period. Until then, you are a “small supplier” and Amazon collects all sales tax on your behalf under the marketplace facilitator rules.

That sounds convenient, and at low volume it is, but most growing Amazon sellers cross the $30k threshold quickly. Once you do, registration becomes mandatory and you have 29 days from the date you cross the threshold to apply. After registration, you should enter your GST/HST number in Amazon Seller Central so the tax handling flips correctly. We covered the mechanics of that in our companion post, Do I Need to Put My GST Number in Amazon.ca?

If you sell into Canada from outside the country, the threshold rule still applies but your registration path is different. See GST/HST Registration for Non-Resident Amazon Sellers for the non-resident process, and our new guide on filing the BSF900 for CARM compliance if you also import physical goods.

What if I am registered? How to set up Seller Central correctly

Once you are registered, you have to update Amazon so the tax flow matches your CRA account. The five-minute setup:

1. Log in to Amazon Seller Central.
2. Go to Settings > Tax Settings.
3. Enter your 15-digit GST/HST registration number (the one CRA issued, format 123456789RT0001).
4. Confirm your business legal name and address match what CRA has on file. Mismatches stall the verification.
5. Submit. Amazon verifies the number with CRA. The new tax handling kicks in the day after verification, not retroactively to past orders.

If you also have provincial PST registrations (BC, SK, MB) because you have other sales channels that need them, you can enter those too, but Amazon will keep collecting and remitting PST for you regardless. The PST entry is for your own records.

The three most expensive mistakes

1. Double-paying PST that Amazon already remitted

Sellers see PST or QST line items in their Amazon reports and assume they need to pay them again on their provincial return. If Amazon collected and remitted under marketplace facilitator rules, the PST is already settled. Paying it again sends money to the province with no easy way to claim it back.

2. Including NARF revenue or marketplace-collected tax on your GST/HST return

Two different traps live here. NARF (North American Remote Fulfillment) orders are Amazon’s US-to-Canada sales, not yours, and should never appear on your GST/HST return at all. Separately, the Marketplace Collected Tax or Amazon obligated tax withheld line covers PST or QST that Amazon already remitted to BC, SK, MB, or QC under marketplace facilitator rules. Including either one as supplies or as remittable tax on a return you file means you over-report sales (in the NARF case) or double-pay the province (in the marketplace-collected case).

3. Reporting the wrong sales tax periods

Your GST/HST filing period (monthly, quarterly, or annual) is assigned by CRA based on your revenue. The numbers you report should match Amazon’s settlement periods that closed within your filing period, not orders placed. Mixing up settlement date vs order date causes timing errors that look like under-reporting in one period and over-reporting in the next.

All three of these get caught in our regular e-commerce bookkeeping workflow because Amazon settlement reports flow straight into your books with the right splits already done.

Frequently asked questions

Does Amazon collect GST on my sales in Canada?

Yes. Amazon collects all applicable sales tax on every order shipped to a Canadian address. The GST or HST portion is passed through to you in your disbursement to remit to CRA, provided you have a GST/HST number on file. The PST or QST portion for BC, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Quebec is collected and remitted by Amazon directly to the province.

Do I need a GST number to sell on Amazon Canada?

Not until your worldwide taxable sales pass $30,000 in any rolling 12-month period. Below that threshold you are a “small supplier” and Amazon handles all the sales tax on your behalf. Once you cross the threshold, you must register within 29 days.

What happens to the GST Amazon collects before I am registered?

Amazon remits it directly to CRA on your behalf under the marketplace facilitator rules. You do not file anything for those sales because you are not yet a registrant.

Once I register, does Amazon remit GST retroactively to my registration date?

No. Amazon’s tax handling changes the day after CRA verifies your number, not retroactively. Any orders shipped before the cutover were handled by Amazon under marketplace facilitator rules.

What is NARF on my Amazon report?

NARF stands for North American Remote Fulfillment. It is a fulfillment program that lets US-based FBA sellers sell their inventory on Amazon.ca (and Amazon.com.mx) without shipping or storing stock in Canada. For NARF orders, Amazon ships from US inventory to the Canadian customer and is the seller of record on the cross-border sale, so Amazon handles all the Canadian sales tax itself. NARF revenue should not appear on your Amazon.ca seller GST/HST return because the sale is Amazon’s, not yours.

What is “Marketplace Collected Tax” or “Amazon obligated tax withheld” on my report?

That line is the PST or QST Amazon collected and remitted to BC, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, or Quebec under provincial marketplace facilitator rules, generally when you are not separately registered with that provincial PST authority. It is already remitted by Amazon and is not yours to report or remit on a provincial return.

Do I have to charge GST on shipping charges?

Yes. Shipping is treated as part of the consideration for the supply, so it is taxed at the same rate as the goods being shipped.

What about Quebec QST: do I need to register separately?

For Amazon FBA Canada sellers, no. Amazon collects and remits QST directly to Revenu Quebec under the marketplace facilitator rules. If you sell through other channels into Quebec at meaningful volumes, you may need to register with Revenu Quebec separately.

What to do next

If you sell on Amazon Canada and you are close to the $30,000 threshold or already past it, register for GST/HST and update your Seller Central settings so the tax flow matches. If your books are not separating NARF, marketplace-collected PST, and your own remittable GST cleanly, you are very likely over-reporting or under-reporting, both of which create problems at audit.

We do this end-to-end for Amazon sellers across Canada. Get in touch with a brief note about your monthly Amazon volume, whether you sell in other channels, and whether you have a GST/HST number yet. We respond within one business day with a fixed-fee quote, or you can browse our pricing.

Related reading from our blog:

• Do I Need to Put My GST Number in Amazon.ca with the Marketplace Tax Collection Service?
• GST/HST Registration for Non-Resident Amazon.ca Sellers
• How to Update Amazon.ca Sales Tax Codes for a Canadian Tax Holiday
• How to File the BSF900 for Non-Resident Importers