Now that the GST/HST break is ending, you might be wondering what it means for your bill when shopping at grocery stores in Canada.
Well, some groceries will still be tax-free even when the tax freeze is over.
The federal government considers "basic groceries" to be zero-rated which means there is no GST/HST on those items.
So, while quite a few grocery products will be more expensive when the tax freeze ends, a lot of groceries are already tax-free so you won't have to pay more.
Here are the grocery products you won't pay tax on even when the GST/HST break ends on Saturday, February 15, 2025.
Food
These are the most common tax-free basic grocery products:
- fresh, frozen, canned and vacuum-sealed fruits and vegetables
- breakfast cereals
- most milk products
- fresh meat, poultry and fish
- eggs
- coffee beans
Bread products like bagels, English muffins, croissants, scones, tea biscuits, and bread rolls that don't have sweetened fillings or coatings are tax-free. That includes:
- tortilla and taco shells
- savoury and meat pies
- doughs of all kinds, including puff pastry and cookie dough
- pie shells, vol-au-vent, and phyllo leaves
- English muffins without a sweetened filling or coating
- soft pretzels
- crackers (excluding graham crackers), including:
- soda crackers
- salted crackers
- table water crackers
- cream crackers
- rice crackers
- crispbread
- snacking crackers (including vegetable, bacon or cheese flavoured)
- wheat thins
- toasts
- breadsticks
- rusks
- unsweetened rice cakes
Mixed, cut vegetables that are packaged and promoted as a "stir-fry" or "chop suey mix" and mixed vegetable sprouts aren't considered salads so the items are tax-free.
Also, a package that contains the ingredients for a salad — like lettuce, croutons and dressing in separate containers — and isn't pre-mixed is tax-free.
Frozen sandwiches and frozen uncooked pizzas don't have GST/HST applied.
Condiments like ketchup, mustard and relish are also tax-free.
These baking ingredients are tax-free:
- bulk industrial chocolate
- chocolate chips
- baker's chocolate
- liquid chocolate icing
- edible cake decorations packaged and sold as cake decorations
- fondue chocolate
- chocolate spread
- angelica and cocktail cherries
Pudding, flavoured gelatine, mousse, flavoured whipped dessert products or any other products similar to pudding are tax-free when prepared and pre-packaged for babies.
Meal replacements and nutritional supplements are tax-free if not sold from a vending machine.
Also, energy bars and protein bars that qualify as meal replacements or nutritional supplements are tax-free if not sold from vending machines.
You have to pay GST/HST on most snacks, except for these tax-free items:
- unpopped popcorn kernels, including microwave popcorn kernels (salted or otherwise)
- mixtures of nuts in their natural state (not seasoned, roasted or shelled)
Cooking wines (including de-alcoholized cooking wines) that are sold as condiments and normally purchased in grocery stores are tax-free.
Drinks
These are the drinks that you can get tax-free even when the GST/HST break ends:
- plain bottled water sold in manufacturers' packages of two or more single-serving bottles, or in a bottle that exceeds a single-serving
- meal replacements, nutritional supplements and formulated liquid diet products except when sold from a vending machine
- syrups, crystals, powders and flavourings for making beverages (excluding fruit flavours)
- beverages (other than unflavoured milk) that are prepared and pre-packaged specifically for babies
