Expenses that qualify for the rebate

You can only apply for a rebate of the GST or HST you paid on expenses that you can deduct on your income tax and benefit return. You must have paid the GST or HST before claiming the rebate.

Non-eligible expenses
Non-eligible expenses include the following:

• expenses on which you did not pay GST or HST, such as:
  • goods and services acquired from non-registrants (for example, small suppliers)
  • most expenses you incurred outside Canada (for example, gasoline, accommodation, meals, and entertainment)
  • certain expenses that you do not pay GST or HST on, such as basic groceries
  • expenses that are not subject to GST or HST including insurance premiums, mortgage interest, residential rents, interest, motor vehicle licence and registration fees, and salaries
• expenses you incurred when your employer was not a GST/HST registrant
• expenses that relate to an allowance you received from your employer that is not reported in Part C of the GST/HST rebate application - for example, an allowance that was not included in your income as a taxable benefit because it was a reasonable allowance
• any personal-use part of an eligible expense
• 50% of the GST/HST paid on eligible expenses for food, beverages, and entertainment (for long haul-truck drivers, 20% of the GST/HST paid on these expenses that were incurred during eligible travel periods)
• an expense or part of an expense for which you were reimbursed or are entitled to be reimbursed by your employer

Capital cost allowance
You can claim a GST/HST rebate based on the amount of capital cost allowance (CCA) you claimed on motor vehicles, aircrafts and musical instruments on which you paid GST or HST. If you claim CCA on more than one property of the same class, you have to separate the part of the CCA for the property that qualifies for the rebate from the CCA for the other properties.

In most cases, you cannot claim a GST/HST rebate based on the CCA claimed on motor vehicles, aircraft and musical instruments that relates to any allowance your employer paid you on those properties. However, you can claim a rebate if it relates to an allowance your employer reports in Part C of the GST370, Employee and Partner GST/HST Rebate Application. You cannot claim a rebate based on the CCA claimed on property for which you received a non-taxable allowance.

If you paid GST when you bought your motor vehicle, aircraft or musical instrument, you can claim a rebate of 5/105 of the CCA you claimed on your income tax and benefit return. If you paid HST, you can claim a rebate of 13/113, or 15/115 of the CCA you claimed on your income tax and benefit return, depending on which HST rate applied to the purchase.

In certain cases, you may have to do an additional calculation if you bought your motor vehicle, aircraft, or musical instrument in one province and brought the property into a participating province. For more information, see Situation 5 – Property and services brought into a participating province.

Forms and publications

• GST370, Employee and Partner GST/HST Rebate Application