Definitions under the digital-economy measures

Accommodation platform means a digital platform through which a person facilitates the supply of short-term accommodation situated in Canada by another person that is not registered under the normal GST/HST registration regime.

Accommodation platform operator, in respect of a supply of short-term accommodation made through an accommodation platform, means a person (other than the supplier or an excluded operator in respect of the supply) that meets any of the following conditions:

• The person controls or sets the essential elements of the transaction between the supplier and the recipient
• If the above condition does not apply to any person, the person is involved, directly or through arrangements with third parties, in collecting, receiving or charging the consideration for the supply and transmitting all or part of the consideration to the supplier
• The person is a prescribed person (no person is currently prescribed)

Canadian accommodation related supply means a taxable supply of a service that meets both of the following conditions:

• It is made to a person in connection with a supply of short-term accommodation situated in Canada made to the person
• The consideration for the service represents a booking fee, administration fee or other similar charge

Digital platform includes a website, an electronic portal, gateway, store or distribution platform or any other similar electronic interface but does not include either of the following:

• An electronic interface that solely processes payments
• A prescribed platform or interface (no platform or interface is currently prescribed)

Distribution platform operator, in respect of a supply of property or a service made through a specified distribution platform, means a person (other than the supplier or an excluded operator in respect of the supply) that meets any of the following conditions:

• The person controls or sets the essential elements of the transaction between the supplier and the recipient
• If the above condition does not apply to any person, the person is involved, directly or through arrangements with third parties, in collecting, receiving or charging the consideration for the supply and transmitting all or part of the consideration to the supplier
• The person is a prescribed person (no person is currently prescribed)

Electronic filing means using electronic media in a manner specified by the Minister.

Excluded operator, in respect of a supply of property or a service, means any of the following:

• A person that meets all of the following conditions:
  • The person does not set, directly or indirectly, any of the terms and conditions under which the supply is made
  • The person is not involved, directly or indirectly, in authorizing the charge to the recipient of the supply in respect of the payment of the consideration for the supply
  • The person is not involved, directly or indirectly, in the ordering or delivery of the property or in the ordering or rendering of the service
• A person that solely provides for the listing or advertising of the property or service or for the redirecting or transferring to a digital platform on which the property or service is offered
• A person that is solely a payment processor
• A person that is a prescribed person (no person is currently prescribed)

False statement includes a statement that is misleading because of an omission from the statement.

The following are indicators to establish the recipient's usual place of residence:

• The home address of the recipient
• The business address of the recipient
• The billing address of the recipient
• The Internet Protocol address of the device used by the recipient or similar data obtained through a geolocation method
• Payment-related information of the recipient or other information used by the payment system
• The information from a subscriber identity module, or other similar module, used by the recipient
• The place at which a landline communication service is supplied to the recipient
• Any other relevant information that the Minister may specify

The following are indicators of location about the recipient:

• A Canadian indicator about the recipient is an indicator obtained in connection with the supply that reasonably supports the conclusion that the usual place of residence of the recipient is situated in Canada
• A foreign indicator about the recipient is an indicator obtained in connection with the supply that reasonably supports the conclusion that the usual place of residence of the recipient is situated outside Canada
• A participating province indicator about the recipient is an indicator obtained in connection with the supply that reasonably supports the conclusion that the usual place of residence of the recipient is situated in a participating province
• A non-participating province indicator about the recipient is an indicator obtained in connection with the supply that reasonably supports the conclusion that the usual place of residence of the recipient is situated in a non-participating province

The data in this table is accurate as of the publication date of this webpage (third quarter of 2025). For updated statistics, go to the Statistics Canada webpage on population estimates.

Qualifying foreign currency means the U.S. dollar, the euro or another foreign currency that the Minister may specify (currently there is no other foreign currency that has been specified by the Minister).

Qualifying tangible personal property supply means a supply made by way of sale of tangible personal property that is, under the agreement for the supply, to be delivered or made available to the recipient in Canada, other than:

• An exempt or zero-rated supply
• A supply of tangible personal property sent by mail or courier to the recipient at an address in Canada from an address outside Canada by the supplier or by another person acting on behalf of the supplier, if the supplier maintains evidence satisfactory to the Minister that the property was so sent
• A prescribed supply (no supply is currently prescribed)

Recipient of a supply of property or a service means:

• If consideration for the supply is payable under an agreement for the supply, the person who is liable under the agreement to pay that consideration
• If the previous bullet does not apply and consideration is payable for the supply, the person who is liable to pay that consideration
• If no consideration is payable for the supply:
  • In the case of a supply of property by way of sale, the person to whom the property is delivered or made available
  • In the case of a supply of property otherwise than by way of sale, the person to whom possession or use of the property is given or made available
  • In the case of a supply of a service, the person to whom the service is rendered

Any reference to a person to whom a supply is made shall be read as a reference to the recipient of the supply.

Short-term accommodation means the rental of an accommodation unit in Canada as a place of lodging for an individual who will occupy it continuously for a period of less than one month and that costs more than $20 per night. For example, overnight or weeklong accommodation in any of the following would usually be considered short-term accommodation:

• Hotels and motels
• Resorts and lodges
• Bed-and-breakfast establishments

Specified Canadian recipient means a recipient of a supply that meets both of the following conditions:

• The recipient has not provided to the supplier, or to a distribution-platform operator in respect of the supply, evidence satisfactory to the Minister that the recipient is registered under the normal GST/HST registration regime

• The usual place of residence of the recipient is situated in Canada

Specified distribution platform means a digital platform through which a person facilitates the making of specified supplies by another person that is a specified non-resident supplier or the making of qualifying tangible personal property supplies by another person that is not registered under the normal GST/HST registration regime.

Specified non-resident supplier means a non-resident person that does not make supplies in the course of a business carried on in Canada and that is not registered under the normal GST/HST registration regime.

Specified recipient of a supply of property means a person that is the recipient of the supply and that is not registered under the normal GST/HST registration regime, other than a non-resident person that is not a consumer of the property.

Specified supply means a taxable supply of intangible personal property or a service, other than:

• A supply of intangible personal property that meets any of the following conditions:
  • It may not be used in Canada
  • It relates to real property situated outside Canada
  • It relates to tangible personal property ordinarily situated outside Canada
• A supply of a service that meets any of the following conditions:
  • It may only be consumed or used outside Canada
  • It is in relation to real property situated outside Canada
  • It is rendered in connection with criminal, civil or administrative litigation (other than a service rendered before the commencement of such litigation) that is under the jurisdiction of a court or other tribunal established under the laws of a country other than Canada, or in the nature of an appeal from a decision of a court or other tribunal established under the laws of a country other than Canada
• A supply of a service that meets both of the following conditions:
  • It is made to a person in connection with a supply of short-term accommodation made to the person
  • The consideration for the supply represents a booking fee, administration fee or other similar charge
• A prescribed supply (no supply is currently prescribed)

Tax rates for the participating provinces are currently:

• 13% in Ontario
• 14% in Nova Scotia
• 15% in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island

Source: GST/HST calculator (and rates)

Threshold amount of a particular person for a period is the total of all amounts each of which is an amount that is, or that could reasonably be expected to be, the value of the consideration for a supply that is, or that could reasonably be expected to be any of the following:

• A specified supply made during that period by the particular person to a specified Canadian recipient (other than a zero-rated supply or a supply that is deemed to have been made by a distribution platform operator that is registered under either the simplified GST/HST registration regime or the normal GST/HST registration regime)
• A Canadian accommodation related supply made during that period by the particular person to another person that is not registered under the normal GST/HST registration regime
• If the particular person is a distribution platform operator in respect of a specified supply (other than a zero-rated supply) made during that period through a specified distribution platform by a specified non-resident supplier to a specified Canadian recipient, a specified supply (other than a zero-rated supply) that is made during that period through the specified distribution platform by a specified non-resident supplier to a specified Canadian recipient and in respect of which any person is a distribution platform operator
• If the particular person is an accommodation platform operator in respect of an accommodation supply—being a taxable supply of short-term accommodation situated in Canada made by any person that is not registered under the normal GST/HST registration regime to a recipient that is not registered under that regime—that is made during that period through an accommodation platform, an accommodation supply that is made during that period through the accommodation platform and in respect of which any person is an accommodation platform operator

The usual place of residence of the recipient will be considered to be situated in Canada if a person, as the supplier or a distribution platform operator in respect of the supply, meets one of the following conditions:

• In the ordinary course of their operations, the person has obtained two or more Canadian indicators in respect of the recipient and has not obtained more than one foreign indicator in respect of the recipient
• In the ordinary course of their operations, the person has obtained two or more Canadian indicators in respect of the recipient and two or more foreign indicators in respect of the recipient but the Canadian indicators are, in the circumstances, reasonably considered to be more reliable in determining a place of residence
• If the two circumstances above do not apply, the person has determined that the usual place of residence of the recipient is situated in Canada based on any method that the Minister may allow

Rule 1

If the usual place of residence of the recipient is situated in Canada and if a person, as the supplier or the distribution platform operator in respect of the supply, has obtained in the ordinary course of their operations at least one address that is a home or business address of the recipient in a participating province, and has not obtained in the ordinary course of their operations the same number or a greater number of addresses that are a home or business address of the recipient in a non-participating province, the usual place of residence of the recipient is situated in the following participating province:

• If those addresses of the recipient that are in a participating province are all in the same participating province, that participating province
• If those addresses of the recipient that are in a participating province are in two or more participating provinces and if the tax rates for those participating provinces are the same, the participating province among those participating provinces that has the largest population

Rule 2

A second rule applies if the usual place of residence of the recipient is situated in Canada but is not determined under the previous rule to be in a participating province and if both of the following statements are true:

• A person, as the supplier or the distribution platform operator in respect of the supply, has obtained in the ordinary course of their operations one or more participating province indicators in respect of the recipient
• A person, as the supplier or the distribution platform operator in respect of the supply, has not obtained in the ordinary course of their operations the same number or a greater number of non-participating province indicators in respect of the recipient that could reasonably be considered to be as reliable in determining a place of residence as those participating province indicators

In this situation, the usual place of residence of the recipient is situated in the following participating province:

• If those participating province indicators are in respect of the same participating province, that participating province
• If those participating province indicators are in respect of two or more participating provinces and the participating province indicators in respect of one of those participating provinces are, in the circumstances, reasonably considered to be more reliable in determining a place of residence, that participating province
• If the usual place of residence of the recipient is not determined in the previous two circumstances and if a person, as the supplier or the distribution platform operator in respect of the supply, has determined that the usual place of residence of the recipient is situated in one of the participating provinces based on any method that the Minister may allow, that participating province
• If the usual place of residence of the recipient is not determined in any of the previous circumstances and if those participating province indicators are in respect of two or more participating provinces, the participating province among those participating provinces for which the tax rate is the lowest or, if the tax rates for those participating provinces are the same, the participating province among those participating provinces that has the largest population

Rule 3

If the usual place of residence of the recipient is situated in Canada but is not determined under the previous two rules to be in a participating province and a person, as the supplier or the distribution platform operator in respect of the supply, has determined that the usual place of residence of the recipient is situated in a participating province based on any method that the Minister may allow, the usual place of residence of the recipient is situated in that participating province.

If applicable, refer to Population of participating provinces and Tax rates for the purpose of applying Rules 1 and 2.