GST Holiday Tax Break December 14, 2024 - February 15, 2025

 

The Government of Canada has announced to provide GST/HST relief on certain items beginning December 14, 2024, and ending February 15, 2025.

Based on the information provided on the Canada.ca website, here is a list of items that are eligible including exemptions:

1. Physical Books:

These items qualify as physical books:

• Most published, printed books (hardcover or softcover)
• Updates of printed books
• Guide books, and atlases that do not mostly contain street or road maps
• Magazines and periodicals (that have no more than 5% of their printed space devoted to advertising) supplied by subscription, if all the consideration is paid during the relief period and only for those magazines or periodicals that are delivered during the relief period
• Physical audio recordings of printed books, if 90% or more of the recording is a spoken reading of a printed book, including abridged versions (for example, a cassette, compact disc, or reel-to-reel tape version of a published book)
• Physical recordings of a performance of a published play
• Bound or unbound printed versions of scripture of any religion, such as the Quran, the Bible, prayer books, missals, hymn books, and Torah scrolls
• Illustrated versions of religious scriptures (for example, comic book versions)
• Printed books that are wrapped or packaged for sale as a single item with a physical read-only medium that is made up of either a reproduction of the printed book or material that makes specific reference to the printed book
  In detail: printed book packages for students

These items would not qualify:

• E-books
• Downloadable audio books and e-audio books
• Magazines and periodicals that are not purchased by subscription or that have more than 5% of their printed space devoted to advertising
• Books designed primarily for writing on, such as address books, diaries, journals, and notebooks
• Colouring books, scrapbooks, sticker books, sketchbooks and albums for photographs, stamps or coins
• Brochures, pamphlets, catalogues and advertising material
• Warranty booklets and owner's manuals
• Agendas and calendars
• Certain directories and collections of street or road maps
• Cut-out and press-out books
• Collections of patterns, stencils, or blueprints
• Programs for events or performances
• Rate books
• Recordings of performances of musical scores
• Recordings of unpublished manuscripts
• CD-ROMs, DVDs, and Blu-ray discs with textual or visual information

 

2. Jigsaw Puzzles:

• Jigsaw puzzles for all ages qualify.

 

3. Children's Toys:

• Children's toys qualify, if they are intended for children under 14 years old for learning or play. Most toys that are marketed as being for an age below 14 (for example, a toy recommended for children ages 8 and up) would qualify.

  Qualifying children's toys include:

  • Games, including:
  • Board games with physical components and rules, including replacement parts and add-on components such as dice
  • Card games, including playing cards and Pokémon cards
  • Toys, toy sets and toy systems that either:
  • Imitate another item, whether real or imaginary
  • Involve building, creating or assembling structures, objects or models by using pieces, parts, materials or modelling compound
  • Involve sorting, stacking or organizing pieces, parts or materials
  • Dolls, plush toys and soft toys and their accessories

  These items would not qualify:

  • Collectibles that are not intended for play or learning, such as hockey cards or collectible dolls
  • Toys and model sets that are marketed for adults (for example, adult Lego or train sets)

 

Please note: If determining the eligibility of a specific item to receive a GST break is unclear, based on the above criteria, CHER may default to the item not qualifying for GST break.

 

For eligible products, GST will be manually removed upon the initial reviewing of your order by our CHER customer service team or at final invoicing.