Frequently Asked Questions

When will the GST/HST tax break start?

The GST/HST tax break will start at midnight (00:00) December 14, 2024, to February 15, 2025, at 11:59 PM.

How much in tax will I take off?

We have been advised by both CRA and the Province that the tax break will apply to the full HST (15%) on qualifying items in Nova Scotia.

 

Where does the GST/HST break apply?

• Food or beverages sold at an establishment where all or substantially all of the food or beverages sold are currently excluded from zero-rating (e.g., a restaurant, coffee shop, take-out outlet, pub, mobile canteen, lunch counter, or concession stand);
• Food or beverages heated for consumption;
• Beverages dispensed at the place where they are sold;
• Food or beverages sold in conjunction with catering services;
• Bottled water or unbottled water that is dispensed at a permanent establishment of the supplier.
• Catered meals, including the catering fee for providing, preparing, or serving qualified food and beverages;

Source: Government of Canada

What items are included?

• Restaurant meals, whether dine-in, takeout, or delivery (including meals at cafés, pubs, food trucks, and other food and beverage establishments)
• Gift cards: customers can use gift cards to pay for their meals during the tax break period (if a gift card is purchased during the tax break, but not utilized until after the tax holiday ends, the meals will not be tax exempt)
• Prepared foods including sandwiches, salads, vegetable or cheese platters, and pre-made meals
• Snacks including chips, candy, baked goods, fruit-based snacks, and granola bars
• Non-alcoholic drinks, such as coffee, tea, carbonated drinks, juices, and smoothies
• Beer and malt beverages
• Wine, cider and sake (including fortified) that are 22.9% alcohol by volume (ABV) or less
• Spirit coolers and premixed alcoholic beverages that are 7% ABV or less
• A gift basket that contains food and other items, if 90% or more of the total value of the basket corresponds to items that would have no GST/HST charged on them if they were supplied separately.

The following items do NOT qualify:

• Food sold from a vending machine
• Dietary supplements
• Cannabis products sold in the form of food or beverage
• Other items that do not qualify as food for human consumption (for example, pet food)

Source: Government of Canada

How does the tax break apply to alcohol?

These items qualify:

• Beer and malt beverages
• Wine, cider and sake (including fortified) that are 22.9% alcohol by volume (ABV) or less
• Spirit coolers and premixed alcoholic beverages that are 7% ABV or less
• Cocktails made with qualifying alcohols (for example: a mimosa made of sparkling wine and orange juice, or a michelada made of beer and non-alcoholic ingredients)

These items would NOT qualify:

• Alcoholic spirits and liqueurs
• Alcoholic beverages (other than beer, malt beverages, wine, cider, and sake) with more than 7% ABV
• Cannabis products sold in the form of a beverage
• Cocktails made with NON-qualifying alcohol (for example: a sangria that includes both wine and rum, or a mixed drink such as a vodka and soda)

Source: Government of Canada

How does the tax break apply to alcohol purchased at the NSLC?

Purchases made through the wholesale online portal include tax in the price you see. The HST savings on qualified products will be reflected on your invoice, which will be emailed after purchase.

 

Any qualified products invoiced from December 14, 2024, to February 15, 2025, will not be charged HST. Again, this will be reflected on your invoices.

Should you have any questions, you may contact SEC@mynslc.com

or call 1-800-567-5874.

How does the tax break apply to food delivery?

When an eating establishment bills a customer directly for delivery of a prepared meal, the delivery service qualifies because it generally has the same tax status as the prepared meal.

 

However, when a delivered prepared meal is ordered through a platform, two separate transactions occur:

• The prepared meal is provided by the eating establishment to the customer
• A delivery service is provided by the platform provider to the customer

The prepared meal provided by the eating establishment to the customer qualifies for GST/HST relief during the eligible period.

 

The delivery service provided by the platform provider (ie: UBER Eats, SkipTheDishes, DoorDash, ect.) to the customer does not qualify for GST/HST relief.

Source: Government of Canada

How does the tax break apply to catering?

A catering service generally qualifies for GST/HST relief. The catering service must be for the provision, preparation and serving of food, non-alcoholic beverages or eligible alcoholic beverages to qualify.

Other services that do not qualify for GST/HST relief include (but are not limited to):

• Event admission charges
• Facilities hosting fees
• Fees for musicians, disc jockeys or other entertainers
• Chef services where food is prepared and served by a chef but the ingredients to make the meal are not provided by the chef

Source: Government of Canada

How does the tax break apply to tips?

A mandatory tip or gratuity included as part of the bill amount to pay has the same tax status as the prepared meal. This kind of tip qualifies for GST/HST relief for the eligible period.

 

GST/HST does not apply to a tip or gratuity that is given freely by a customer to an employee of an eating establishment.

Source: Government of Canada

Will wholesale and manufactured food & drink products qualify for the GST/HST relief?

Yes. The items that qualify for GST/HST relief during this period qualify throughout the supply chain, whether they are being supplied from a manufacturer to a wholesaler, or from a wholesaler or a retailer to a consumer.

Source: Government of Canada

Preparing your POS

Point of Sales (POS) systems may vary from one provider to another. We recommend reaching out to your provider if you have questions about how to make the changes for December 14th.

What to do as a business that charges the GST/HST?

• Keep your records and remit and report your regular GST/HST as usual.

Zero-rating supplies of the qualifying goods and services: The proposed measure would make an adjustment to the Excise Tax Act to temporarily zero-rate supplies of the qualifying goods and services. Zero-rated means that no GST/HST is charged when the supply is made because the tax rate is 0%.

 

GST/HST registrants can claim an input tax credit for the GST/HST paid or payable on expenses made to provide zero-rated supplies.

Please refer to the following links for more information by CRA:

How to charge and collect the GST/HST

Claiming input tax credits

How to make the most of the tax break:

• With January and February being a slower time of year for businesses in our industry, this is an opportunity to welcome more visitors to our establishments across the province.
• Utilize social media to showcase fun events, entertainment, and specials you have going on between Dec 14 – Feb 15.
• Opportunity for higher sales on New Year’s Eve and Valentine’s Day.
• Dine Around will be happening for the month of February – open to all food establishments across the province. Great way to get some promotion and recognition (free of costs) and expect higher traffic for the first two weeks as consumers take advantage of the great prices of Dine Around menus and get an additional tax break.

Shareable resources and infographics:

• Consider having a print-out available for your staff listing the qualifying and non-qualifying items. Undoubtedly, there will be questions from customers that staff will be fielding. Please see the following example of a pdf you could print/circulate to staff.

• To support your staff and consumers, we recommend posting some signage on your doors/tables to remind the public that this is new and people are doing the best they can to navigate the HST tax break.

• RANS will be sharing posts and graphics on our various channels to also help bring clarity to consumers on what they can expect when visiting restaurants, bars, cafes, etc.

Please feel free to download and use the graphics below:

 

Instagram/Facebook Infographic

PDF Infographic

Staff PDF Infographic

How to contact the CRA

 

If you have any concerns about CRA reporting for your business we encourage you to contact the CRA hotline:

 

1-800-959-8287 (English)

1-800-959-8296 (French)