Obtaining visitor tax refund from Canada
 

In reparing for my trip to Nova Scotia this month, I came across Revenue Canada's form GST176, Application for Visitor Tax Refund,
for international visitors to request refund of taxes they paid on lodging and goods purchased while in Canada.

The form does not mention the method of refund, so I am guessing that it would be a check in Canadian dollars--am I correct?

If that is the case, I guess I would prefer to use the Global Refund tax-back service (it has worked ok for me in Europe), as an unfavoravble exchange rate on my small refund (guessing $60-100 at most) would cost me less than my bank's fee for depositing a check in foreign currency.

Can anyone tell me of recent experience with a Canadian GST refund? thanks

The tax refund cheque (check) is issued in the claimant's home country's currency.

I'm not eligible for the refund, since I live in Canada, but I understand it takes about 6 weeks for the cheque to arrive in the mail.

Beware the refund claim forms that you'll find in the racks of brochures that advertise hotels, tours, etc. Those claim forms belong to private companies that submit the claim on your behalf and then skim an administration fee off the refund before remitting it to you.

If you use a form issued by the Canadian government, such as the one that I'm guessing you found on the Internet, there will be no processing fee and, as I said before, the refund will be issued in your home currency.

I've done this and had no problems. The hardest part was wading into the bowels of the Trudeau airport in Montreal to get my receipts stamped.

As Judy said, use the official, government form and not those you see everywhere that are run by companies who skim money off the top.

I got my check in US$ in about four weeks. It worked perfectly.

Thanks, Judy and Mike. As long as the cheque is in US dollars, there's no need to pay for the services of Global Refund, so I'll take care of it directly with the Canadian government.

Some things we learned from a recent guest's submission at Pearson International Airport last month

1. When submitting receipts be aware that each receipt must be over 50 dollars CDN (there can be several cheaper items on it, but the total must be more than 50).

2. There must be a business number (GST number?) on the receipt showing that the issuer is entitled to charge taxes, or it will not be accepted even if over 50 dollars.

3. Some items are also not claimable (not sure about all alcohol e.g. bottles of wine for example).

The actual process was not bad, but these three points excluded a fair number of the receipts she had collected!

NKH, thanks for your tips too. I'm really only thinking of hotel bills, six nights at $125 or so, but will be sure to look for the tax-ID number on each receipt.

I could be wrong, but I don't think that hotel bills qualify as you "consumed" the service inside Canada. I think that the refund is only for items that you are taking out of the country.

Nope, sockboy, "short term accommodation" is a category that's refundable for the Canadian GST, unlike in Europe where VAT refunds are available only for goods taken out of the country.

Well that is interesting, and good to know! Makes me think that it would be worthwile to claim for just about anyone then - I always thought it was a big waste of time!

Could you pls provide the url to get the Canadian gov't form online. Thanks

This will get you the GST refund form in pdf file

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pbg/gf/gst176/README.html

hi kayd

hotel bills were actually specifically asked for by the lady dealing with us - I think that you should have no problem with ID numbers for them if it is actually a hotel you are staying at (not bed and breakfast).

Have a great trip!

kayd, thanks for the url for the form! nkh, if we're staying at a B&B is it possible for the B&B to give us something so we can get the refund or does the refund work only for hotels?

If a business charges GST, then they have a GST #. If a B&B doen't charge you GST, then obviously you wouldn't get a rebate for it! If they do, just make sure that their GST# is on the receipt somewhere.

Got it--thanks, Sockboy

Hi, Ref Hotels tax returns. We are going shortly to Toronto and was wondering how to get the hotel tax return. Anybody has experience in this? Does the hotel provides customers with a form?

To get the visitors tax refund for your hotel, you just need your hotel receipt. We took the receipt(and any other receipt totalling over $50) to a desk at the airport to get stamped. We also picked up the form at the airport, but you want to make sure that you pick up the government refund form---there are others that take part of your refund for their service. There was not a redemption center at the airport. I mailed the form when I got home. There is a link on this thread for the form--I imagine it also has information for those who are not travelling by air. There must be other places to get your receipts stamped. In order to get the tax refund, the receipts must be stamped.

From:

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pub/tg/rc4031/rc4031-e.html

"Canadian customs officials will not determine which of your goods are eligible for the visitor tax refund. Do not give them your short-term accommodation or tour package receipts since they do not have to be stamped."

I don't think the accommodation receipts need to be stamped to get the refund, only receipts for goods.

Ah...don't you just love paper and bureaucracy??

FYI: I live in NYC, and it took atleast THREE MONTHS to receive my global refund (showed up on my credit card statement).

Sorry for the error---you are right, lodging receipts do not have to be stamped.

We always cross via car at the Highgate/Phillipsburg crossing (Vermont). We stop at the duty free store at the border and do it right there. Very painless.

Get the official form and instructions at the website mentioned above. Everything you need to know is clearly explained. You should not rely on what you hear and read elsewhere. Note that most lodgings will give you an extra copy of your receipt for the tax refund and that purchase receipts must be STAMPED before leaving Canada if you plan to mail them.

We always drive so have the refund processed at the duty-free (since you have to join the same line to get your receipts stamped anyway). No matter how long the line, it moves quickly. You must have anything over $C200 with you to be inspected sometimes (they will wait while you retrieve it from your car). They have forms if you need one.

We take the refund in Canadian dollars and save it for our next trip so as not to lose anything exchange rate wise.

With the helpful advice I received after I posted my question two months ago, I was easily able to submit the proper forms to Revenue Canadia, and yesterday received a check for $147 US dollars (from a claim for about $180 Canadian). Just as Judy predicted -- in six weeks I received a check in my home currency. Thanks, Judy, and I'm now searching all your advice about Alberta because we hope to go there next year.

Since we left Canada by ferry, the requirement for getting merchandise receipts stamped did not apply to us, so that was one hassle we avoided (but will be prepared for next year when we fly home from Calgary).

The shop where we made our only large purchase (!150 CAN, plus

Sorry for the errant keystroke that sent the above before I finished . . .

Two points where I thought we might have problems, though:

The shop where we made our only large purchase ($150 CAN, so $22 GST!) did not have its tax ID number on the receipt, so I phoned them from home to get it and just wrote it on the receipt.

Though the Revenue Canada brochure says that the original ferry boarding card must be included with the refund application, we had given ours to the ferry agent as we boarded. On the advice of the ferry's purser, we sent instead both the ferry ticket (that had no date or identifying information on it) and our AMEX receipt, which did have some details.

Both the receipt with handwritten tax ID number and the substitutes for the boarding pass were accepted without question. Thanks, Canada, you make us want to return often!

Thanks for the refund reminder, I'll get it in the mail today.

I've just found this thread, nearly a year after the last post, and I had no idea about any sort of visitor refund. My husband is visiting Canada in 2 weeks for 5 weeks duration and staying at B&Bs in Toronto. Can someone please advise what the refund is? Is it a tax or GST refund? And how is the amount determined? Thanks.

I read a posting somewhere that said if a hotel reservation was made (paid for?) from the US instead of when you get to Canada, the GST wasn't added. Did I get that right? When I talked to the Delta Chelsea hotel in Toronto, they didn't know anything about it.

We just returned from Montreal on Friday. Hotel receipts in excess of $200 qualify, for short-term (less than 30 days') stays.

Other eligible receipts must be over 50 Canadian (we had one for 49.99 & it was rejected!).

Taxes there are exhorbitant. We paid $30 in taxes on a $150 meal (that's 20%). Restaurant food is ineligible for tax rebate.

Aussiegal-- my post above gave the link to the Revenue Canada website with the refund request form, which spells out the details.
Generally, if you have paid a tax that is eligible for refund, it will be itemized on your receipt. Smaller B&Bs do not collect the tax, but larger ones do. Just save all receipts.
However, as you say the trip will be for 5 weeks, you may not be eligible for the
"short-term" rule. But do read the instructions carefuly; there might be something there for you.

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pbg/gf/gst176/README.htm