Csaba Peterdi/Shutterstock As a busy, and costly, holiday season approaches in Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government has introduced temporary cuts to GST and HST. The two-month cut applies to essential items, prepared foods and snacks, restaurant meals (dine-in, takeout, or delivery), children’s clothing and footwear, diapers, toys, Christmas trees, and several other items. If you’re curious about exactly which items are covered, we have a rundown of all of them here. Food and beverages Alcoholic beverages (excluding spirits but including wine, beer, ciders, and spirit coolers up to 7% ABV) Carbonated beverages, non-carbonated fruit juice or fruit-flavoured beverages or products that, when added to water, produce one of these beverages Candies; confectionery classed as candy or goods sold as candies (candy floss, chewing gum, and chocolate); fruits, seeds, nuts or popcorn coated or treated with candy, chocolate, honey, molasses, sugar, syrup, or artificial sweeteners. Chips, crisps, puffs, curls, or sticks (potato chips, corn chips, cheese puffs, potato sticks, bacon crisps, and cheese curls), popcorn, brittle pretzels, and salted nuts or seeds Granola products and snack mixtures that contain cereals, nuts, seeds, dried fruit, or other edible products Ice lollies, juice bars, ice waters, ice cream, ice milk, sherbet, frozen yogurt or frozen pudding, including non-dairy substitutes Fruit bars, rolls or drops or similar fruit-based snack foods Cakes, muffins, pies, pastries, tarts, cookies, doughnuts, brownies, croissants with sweetened filling or coating (note that many bread products, such as bagels, English muffins, croissants, and bread rolls, are already zero-rated) Pudding, including flavoured gelatine, mousse, flavoured whipped dessert product, or any other products similar to pudding Prepared salads, sandwiches, platters of cheese, cold cuts, fruit or vegetables, and other arrangements of prepared food Food or beverages heated for consumption Beverages dispensed at the place where they are sold Food or beverages sold in conjunction with catering services Food or beverages sold at an establishment where all or substantially all of the food or beverages sold are currently excluded from zero-rating (a restaurant, coffee shop, takeout outlet, pub, mobile canteen, lunch counter, or concession stand) Bottled water or unbottled water that is dispensed at a permanent establishment of the supplier. Games and puzzles Jigsaw puzzles, for all ages Video game consoles, controllers or physical game media (a video game cartridge or disc) Children’s toys a product that is designed for use by children under 14 years of age in learning or play and that is: a board game or card game (a strategy board game, playing cards, or a matching/memory card game); a toy that imitates another item (a doll house, a toy car or truck, a toy farm set, or an action figure); a doll, plush toy or soft toy (a teddy bear) a construction toy (building blocks, such as Lego, STEM assembly kits, or plasticine) Children’s clothing, footwear, car seats Children’s clothing: meaning garments (other than garments of a class that are used exclusively in sports or recreational activities, costumes, children’s diapers, or children’s footwear) that are: Designed for babies, including baby bibs, bunting blankets and receiving blankets; Children’s garments up to girls size 16 or boys size 20, according to the national standard applicable to the garments, and if no national standard applies to the children’s garments, girls or boys sizes extra small, small, medium, or large; or, Hosiery or stretchy socks, hats, ties, scarves, belts, suspenders, or mittens and gloves in sizes and styles designed for children or babies. Children’s footwear: meaning footwear (other than stockings, socks or similar footwear or footwear of a class that is used exclusively in sports or recreational activities) that is designed for babies or children and has an insole length of 24.25 centimetres or less. Children’s diapers: meaning a product designed for babies or children, and that is a diaper, a diaper insert or liner, a training pant, or a rubber pant designed for use in conjunction with any of those items. Children’s car seats: meaning a restraint system or booster seat that conforms to the Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard Other items on the list Christmas trees or similar decorative trees: natural or artificial Print newspapers: meaning print newspapers containing news, editorials, feature stories, or other information of interest to the general public that are published at regular intervals. They would not include electronic or digital publications. They would also exclude most fliers, inserts, magazines, periodicals, or shoppers Printed books: including a printed book or an update of such a book, an audio recording where 90% or more of it is a spoken reading of a printed book or a bound or unbound printed version of scripture of any religion However, there are restrictions on things like magazines, agendas, blueprints and other items, and you can find those details here.
