When you return to Canada, you may qualify for a
personal exemption. Personal exemptions allow you to bring goods of a certain
value into the country without paying duties. The term duties can include excise
taxes, goods and services tax (GST), or harmonized sales tax (HST). It does not
include provincial or territorial sales tax. However, we have working
relationships with some provinces and territories that allow us to collect
provincial and territorial taxes, levies, and fees for them. The federal
government has entered into agreements with certain provinces to collect HST
effective April 1, 1997, at a rate of 15 per cent. If you reside in a
participating province, and the value of the non-commercial goods you import
exceeds your personal exemption, you will have to pay HST instead of GST
regardless of where you enter Canada.
Except for restricted items, you can bring back any amount of goods, as long as
you are willing to pay the duties and any provincial or territorial assessments
that apply. This rule applies even if you do not qualify for any kind of
personal exemption. To find out if the goods you are bringing back are worth
more than your personal exemption, convert foreign-currency values to Canadian
dollars at the appropriate rate of exchange. Note: All amounts quoted are in
Canadian dollars.