The Canadian government has introduced a two-month GST holiday bill, effective December 14, 2024, to February 15, 2025, which temporarily eliminates GST/HST on specific goods. This initiative aims to ease financial pressure on Canadians while providing an opportunity for businesses to engage consumers with tax-free deals. Here’s a breakdown of the bill and strategies for businesses to thrive during this period.
What is the GST Holiday Bill?
The GST holiday suspends GST/HST on qualifying items at the point of sale. This means consumers won’t pay these taxes on eligible goods bought during the specified period. Items included must be paid for and delivered (or imported) during the GST-free window.
What Items are Included?
The tax holiday covers a range of essential and non-essential goods such as:
-
Children's products: Clothing, footwear, diapers, car seats, and toys.
-
Food and beverages: Ready-to-eat meals, prepared salads, pastries, ice cream, and non-alcoholic beverages.
-
Print materials: Printed books, print newspapers, and similar items.
-
Seasonal items: Christmas trees
-
Electronics: Video game consoles, physical game media, and related accessories.
For the full list of exemptions, visit canada.ca.
How Can Your Business Support This Tax Holiday?
-
Update POS systems: Ensure your point-of-sale system reflects the tax exemption for qualifying items. Contact your POS provider for necessary updates or manual workarounds.
-
Train your staff: Educate your team on the GST holiday rules, including identifying exempt products and assisting customers.
-
Promotional opportunities: Highlight tax-free products in marketing campaigns and on social to attract cost-conscious shoppers.
-
Inventory management: Stock up on high-demand items like children’s toys or seasonal goods to meet increased demand during this period.
-
Accurate record keeping: Maintain clear records of exempt and taxable transactions for reporting and compliance purposes.
Some Moneris solutions allow you to modify your tax rates and settings when accepting payment. Below are the stepsto help you update tax settings within your Moneris products and solutions.
Note: Perform these steps outside of your regular business hours.
How to Change Tax Settings on Moneris Total Commerce and Moneris Online
Step 1 | Create a tax group
Make sure to give the tax group a name that makes it easy for you to identify. Customers do not see the group name on receipts or at the point of sale.
To create a tax group:
-
Logon to the Wix dashboard on a PC or laptop.
-
On the main menu, scroll down and click Settings.
-
On the Settings page, click Tax.
-
On the Tax page, scroll down to Tax groups.
-
Click+Add Custom Group.
-
In the Add a new group popup, enter a name in the Group name field.
Note: Ignore the Avalara Tax Code drop-down menu.
-
Click Add.
Step 2 | | Go the Province tax settings
Update the tax rate on the tax group that has been created.
-
On the Tax page, scroll up to the Tax locations section and click on your province/territory.
-
Locate the tax group you created and enter your tax rate minus the tax being removed.
Note: For Ontario, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and PEI, set the rate to 0%. For other provinces/territories, set the rate minus the 5% federal GST.
-
Click Save.
Step 3 | Add items to the group
Now that your tax groups are set up, you can assign items to your groups.
To assign items to your tax group:
-
On the Tax page, scroll down to the Tax groups section and locate the new tax group you created.
-
Hover your mouse cursor over the name of the new tax group, then click the Add Products button that appears.
-
In the Products in tax group popup, search for or select a product or product category in the list.
-
Place checkmarks next to the product(s) that you wish to add to the tax group.
-
Click the Save button at the bottom of the popup.
When a customer purchases the qualifying goods, they will not be charged the federal tax rate.
How to Change Tax Settings on Moneris Go Retail
-
On the main menu, click Settings, then Store.
-
On the Store settings page, scroll down to Tax settings.
When you create your products, you can select the appropriate tax status (Fully taxed, PST-exempt, QST-exempt, GST-exempt, or tax-free) for each product. Go Retail will apply the correct amount of tax based on your province of business.
-
If you have already created a product, and that product is exempt from one or more taxes, you can assign a tax status to the product here.
a. Click the appropriate tab (PST-Exempt, GST-Exempt, or Tax-free).
b. Click Add products.
c. When the product panel appears, select the products or categories, then click Save.
d. The panel closes and the products you selected will appear under the selected tab.
When you sell these products, Go Retail will not charge the exempted tax or taxes. For example, if a product is exempt from PST, Go Retail will charge only GST. If a product is tax-free, Go Retail will not charge any taxes.
How to Change Tax Settings on PAYD Pro Plus
There are two methods to remove taxes from products; in the PAYD Administration portal, or on the fly at the point of sale.
1. Exempting products in PAYD Administration
Follow the instructions below to exempt products from the federal tax.
-
Logon to PAYD Administration.
-
On the main menu, click Inventory, then click Product list.
-
In the Product search results screen, search for, or select a product.
-
Click on the product you wish to edit.
-
In the product’s profile, locate the Tax Exemptions section.
-
Click the tax to be exempted, then click the Save button.
-
Click the Close button.
-
Repeat steps 3-7 for other qualifying products as needed.
2. Exempting products at the point of sale
Follow the instructions below to exempt products from the federal tax during a transaction.
Using the PAYD Pro Plus mobile app:
-
Add products to the sale in the sale screen.
-
Tap the product you wish to exempt from taxes. The product details appear in the right pane.
-
Under the Unit price section, tap Taxes.
-
Tap the tax to be exempted, then tap Update.
-
Repeat steps 2-4 for other products that you wish to exempt.
-
Complete the transaction and process payment.
-
Add products to the sale in the sale screen.
-
Click on a product’s name. The Product Details popup appears.
-
Click on the Taxes tab.
-
Tap the tax to be exempted, then tap Save.
-
Repeat steps 2-4 for other products that you wish to exempt.
-
Complete the transaction and process payment.
By leveraging these strategies, your business can capitalize on the GST holiday to boost sales, enhance customer experience, and ensure compliance. For more information on how to adjust settings within your solution, please visit our help center for all necessary instructions.
Article filed under:
insights and trendsShare
