Last night, the Canadian federal government’s legislation for temporary GST/HST sales tax relief from December 14, 2024 until February 15, 2025 received royal assent. While Bill C-78 legislation is now the law, there haven’t been new guidelines published yet. As such, it is important for retailers to follow the details published so far to determine how to comply with the changes during the relief period.
Prepared foods, including vegetable trays, pre-made meals and salads, and sandwiches;
Restaurant meals, whether dine-in, takeout, or delivery;
Snacks, including chips, candy, and granola bars;
Beer, wine, and cider;
Pre-mixed alcoholic beverages below 7 per cent ABV;
Children’s clothing and footwear, car seats, and diapers;
Children’s toys, such as board games, dolls, and video game consoles;
Books, print newspapers, and puzzles for all ages; and,
Christmas trees and similar decorative trees.
For the complete list of eligible products, refer to this backgrounder published by the government for the most recent list of Qualified Goods.
What does the tax relief program mean for your business?
The GST/HST Tax Relief Program temporarily exempts specific product and service categories from GST/HST sales taxes. Canadian merchants are required to update their tax settings in ACE to reflect these exemptions during the program’s duration.
FAQs
How can you prepare for the tax relief period?
We’ve created a detailed step-by-step guide to help you in the online Web Portal exclusively available for ACE support plan members. The 3 key things that need to be done include:
Identifying the exempt categories applicable to your business
Adjusting your ACE tax settings to comply with the program
Ensure proper tax reporting during and after the program period, particularly, during December and February which are both partially exempt based on the start and end date of the program. If possible, we recommend checking more closely and keeping track of any returns processed during and after the tax relief period. You will want to make sure that the sales taxes applied or exempt on the original sales transaction are also reflected in the return transaction.
Accessing our tax relief instructions
To access our how-to article:
Active support members can log into their account on our Exclusive Web Portal using their email and password. The platform we use is called Document360.
If you are an active support plan member and have not yet signed up for access to the Exclusive Web Portal, you may do so by registering with the online form on the ACE POS Support Portal page for approval. As there are a lot of inquiries right now, please note that approval may take up to 1 business day.
If you have forgotten your web portal password, you can reset your password from the login page below. You will receive an email from Document360 to reset your own password.
We’ve made the instructions straightforward and easy to follow, but our support team is ready to assist all active support plan members if you have any questions about the changes needed. To keep phone lines available for till emergencies, we encourage support members to email support@acepos-solutions.com for assistance with tax relief-related changes.
Don’t Delay—Update your ACE settings before Dec 14, 2024
These tax changes go into effect on December 14, 2024, and apply until February 15, 2025. Preparing in advance ensures smooth operations and tax compliance.
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