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Since December 2024, Quebec (and every other province for that matter) has enjoyed a temporary GST/HST tax break on a ton of items, giving our wallets a much-needed rest.
And even though Quebec doesn’t have harmonized sales tax (HST), shoppers here have still been saving the 5% GST — which can add up fast, especially on bigger purchases.
But all good things must end. And the tax holiday officially wraps up on February 15, 2025, which means prices (with or without tariffs) are going back up at grocery stores, restaurants, and shops across the country this weekend.
Here’s a look at what will soon cost you 5% more, according to information on the Government of Canada website.
Food
- Prepared foods, including sandwiches, salads, vegetable or cheese platters, and pre-prepared meals
- Snacks, including chips, candy, baked goods, fruit snacks and granola bars
- Energy bars or protein bars, if they meet certain criteria
- A gift basket that contains food and other items if 90% or more of the total value of the basket is for items that would not be subject to GST/HST if supplied separately
Drinks
- Non-alcoholic beverages such as tea, coffee, soda, juice and smoothies
- Eligible alcoholic beverages:
- Beer and malt liquor, for example, bottled or canned beers and pitchers of beer
- Wine, cider and sake containing 22.9% or less alcohol by volume
- Spirits-based coolers and premixed alcoholic beverages containing 7% or less alcohol by volume
- Energy or protein drinks, if they meet certain criteria
Restaurants
- Prepared meals and foods, and all eligible nonalcoholic beverages and alcoholic beverages when provided in restaurants, pubs, bars, food trucks, and other establishments that serve food or beverages
- Delivery service provided directly by the establishment and not through an intermediary distribution platform (eg UberEats, DoorDash, etc.)
- Catering services
Children’s clothing, shoes and accessories
- Baby clothing, including bibs, baby nests and small blankets
- Children’s clothing in sizes “extra small”, “small”, “medium,” or “large”
- Socks, hats, ties, scarves, belts, suspenders, gloves and mittens for babies and children
- Baby shoes
- Children’s shoes with an insole of 24.25 cm or less
- Sportswear and dancewear such as ski sweaters and coats, leotards, swimsuits, bodysuits and swimwear that can be worn for purposes other than athletic or dance activities
- Cotton diapers and disposable diapers
- Diaper inserts and liners
- Potty training pants
- Rubber panties intended for use with any of the above items
- Restraint systems or booster seats that comply with the Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations
Children’s toys (designed for children under 14)
- Board games with physical components and rules, including replacement pieces and additional components such as dice
- Card games, including playing cards and games featuring collectible cards
- Toys, toy sets and toy systems that:
- Have the appearance of a person or thing, whether real or imaginary
- Involve the construction, creation or assembly of structures, objects or models using parts, pieces, or modelling materials
- Involves sorting, stacking, or arranging parts, pieces, or materials
- Dolls, stuffed toys and their respective accessories
Puzzles, video game consoles and controllers
- Puzzles for all ages, new or used
- Game consoles designed for playing video games
- Controllers designed for playing video games on consoles
- Physical video games on discs or cartridges made for compatible consoles
Printed books and newspapers
- Most published printed books (hardcover or paperback)
- Printed book updates
- Guides and atlases that do not primarily contain street maps or road maps
- Subscriptions to magazines and periodicals (where the printed space devoted to advertising does not exceed 5%), if the full subscription is paid during the tax holiday period and only for magazines and periodicals received during the tax holiday period
- Physical sound recordings of printed books, if 90% or more of the recording is an oral reading of a printed book, including abridged versions (e.g., a cassette, compact disc, or reel-to-reel tape of a published book)
- Physical recordings of a performance of a published play
- Bound or unbound printed versions of the scriptures of any religion, such as the Quran, Bible, prayer books, missals, hymnals, and Torah scrolls
- Illustrated versions of religious scriptures (e.g., versions that are illustrated strips)
- Printed books packaged for sale as a single item with a read-only physical medium consisting of either a reproduction of the printed book or material specifically referencing the printed book
- Printed newspapers containing news, editorials, features or other information of interest to the general public and which are published at regular intervals (usually daily, weekly or monthly)
With all that in mind, you may want to get your weekly shopping done before Saturday rolls around.
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