Canadian GST/HST Rules are changing July 1st 2021: Don't Miss Those Credits!

In the fall of 2020, the sales tax rules were proposed to be changed for e-commerce (electronic commerce) supplies starting July 1st 2021.  As Bill C-30 is being finalized, the bigger e-commerce providers see the writing on the wall and are updating their fees to also charge GST/HST. Now, when a foreign business sell to consumers in Canada, they may need to charge GST/HST!

Today, I just received an email from Spotify letting me know that starting July 1st, they will be charging me GST/HST on their services. You may have heard Netflix too is adding GST/HST starting July 1st.  Shopify already had started charging GST/HST on their services a long time ago.

When we entered our expenses for digital services charged by a non-Canadian business in the past, if the fees were in USD, or if they were charged from a US company, it was safe to assume there was no GST/HST being charged.  Even before this new bill, that was beginning to be less and less the case!  

What electronic subscriptions related to business do you have that may now have GST/HST credits for you that didn't before July 1st?  Even if you are being charged in US funds, don't assume there is or is not GST/HST!  Go to your settings and check out the actual invoice, and see if there is GST/HST being charged that you can claim back from CRA on your next HST return!

Here's CRA's FAQ on the new proposed changes
Further reading on this can be found on BDO and CPA Canada