Starting December 14, 2024, the Government of Canada’s proposed GST/HST relief measure takes effect, offering savings on select items just in time for the holiday season. Running until February 15, 2025, this initiative is designed to ease your expenses on essential purchases. Curious about what’s covered? We found the following information on the Government Of Canada website and wanted to share some highlights to help you navigate the savings when you visit our locations—read on to make the most of this limited-time opportunity!

Temporarily no GST/HST will be charged on certain items, as long as the qualifying item is both:

• Paid for in full between December 14, 2024 and February 15, 2025.
• Delivered or made available to the buyer between December 14, 2024 and February 15, 2025

For further information, please visit the Government of Canada online HERE.

Types of items that qualify for the GST/HST holiday tax break:

Children’s clothing and footwear

These items qualify as children’s clothing or footwear:

• Baby clothes, including bibs, bunting blankets, and receiving blankets
• Children’s clothes up to girls’ size 16 and boys’ size 20 (or in sizes XS, S, M, or L if there is no Canada Standard Size listed)
• Babies’ and children’s socks, hats, ties, scarves, belts, suspenders, gloves, and mittens
• Babies’ footwear
• Children’s footwear with an insole length of 24.25 cm or less
• Sports clothing and dancewear such as jerseys, ski jackets, leotards, unitards, bodysuits, and dual-purpose swimwear that can reasonably be worn outside of sports or dance activities

These items would not qualify:

• Specialized clothing and footwear designed exclusively for sports or recreational activities (for example: wetsuits, soccer cleats, bowling shoes, skates, ski boots, tap shoes, pointe shoes)
• Adult clothing and footwear, even if it’s purchased for a child
• Costumes and make-up
• Jewellery

Food and beverages and related services

Most basic grocery items already have no GST/HST charged on them.

These food and beverage related items would also temporarily have no GST/HST charged:

• Restaurant meals, whether dine-in, takeout, or delivery (including meals at cafés, pubs, food trucks, and other food and beverage establishments)
• Prepared foods including sandwiches, salads, vegetable or cheese platters, and pre-made meals
• Snacks including chips, candy, baked goods, fruit-based snacks, and granola bars
• Non-alcoholic drinks, such as coffee, tea, carbonated drinks, juices, and smoothies
• Beer and malt beverages
• Wine, cider and sake (including fortified) that are 22.9% alcohol by volume (ABV) or less
• Spirit coolers and premixed alcoholic beverages that are 7% ABV or less
• Catered meals, including the catering fee for providing, preparing, or serving qualified food and beverages

These items would not qualify:

• Food or beverages sold from a vending machine
• Alcoholic beverages (other than beer, malt beverages, wine, cider, and sake) with more than 7% ABV
• Dietary supplements
• Cannabis products, even if they are food or beverages
• Other items that do not qualify as food or beverages for human consumption (for example, pet food)

Printed newspapers

A qualifying newspaper is a printed newspaper that:

• Contains news, editorials, feature stories, or other information of interest to the general public
• Is published at regular intervals (usually daily, weekly or monthly)

These items would not qualify:

• Electronic and digital publications
• Flyers
• Inserts
• Magazines
• Periodicals
• Shoppers

To find even more information and what else is included, we invite you to visit the Government Of Canada’s online info sheet HERE.