Effective July 1, 2022, for all sales of tangible goods sold within Canada, eBay will be collecting the Canadian sales taxes (GST/HST/QST/ PST) from Canada-based buyers on behalf of Canada-based sellers (irrespective of registration status) and remitting the tax to the appropriate tax authorities.

Are you a seller looking for information about tax on your eBay sales? Read our article on taxes and import charges for sellers.

Items delivered to a Canadian address

Some items are subject to duties and/or GST when imported into Canada from the United States or from other countries. Whether or not duty and tax is applicable is dependent on a variety of factors, including item type, value, and the country where it was manufactured or produced. Sellers have no control over this, and as the rules are quite complex, will often not be able to tell you whether or not duty will apply to the item they are selling. It is the buyer's responsibility to ensure the item can be legally imported into Canada, and, unless arrangements have been made to the contrary in advance, to pay any taxes and duties that might be assessed at the border.

The manner in which duties and taxes are collected varies:

If your item is shipped by mail, you'll need to pay your letter carrier or the post office before your item will be released to you.
If your item is shipped by courier, you'll need to pay the courier company directly, or you might be invoiced by a customs broker.
If your item is shipped by truck, you will be invoiced by a customs broker, or by the trucking company directly.
If your item arrives by courier or truck which has a working relationship with a customs broker, you will typically be invoiced after your item arrives. Otherwise, duties and taxes on your item will be treated as COD by the courier or trucking company.
Accepted payment methods will vary.
Depending on where you live, you may be required to pay sales taxes directly to the government.

For more information about importing goods into Canada, visit the Canada Border Services Agency Website which has extensive sections on importing and exporting.

Items delivered to a United States address

Tax laws vary between states, and sales tax may be required to be collected by the seller, collected by eBay, or paid to a tax authority directly by the buyer. If your delivery address is in one of the US states where either the seller or eBay is required to charge sales tax, the tax will be included in the order total at checkout.

If the item is being sent from outside the US, the recipient may have to pay duty and customs processing fees.

eBay is responsible for the collection of sales taxes on transactions shipped to all jurisdictions imposing a sales tax except Missouri, which eBay will begin collecting the tax on January 1, 2023.

Items delivered internationally

If you're having an order shipped to an address outside of Canada and the United States, local consumer tax and/or customs duty may apply. Online marketplaces such as eBay may be responsible for collecting the tax, or the parcel's recipient may need to pay these to clear customs.

While we've included basic information for some countries here, it's only intended as a guide and is by no means exhaustive. For more information, please check the local tax and customs regulations.

Items delivered to the UK – Value Added Tax (VAT)

Items delivered to EU countries – Value Added Tax (VAT)

Items delivered to Australia or New Zealand – Goods and Services Tax (GST)

Items delivered to Norway – Value Added Tax on E-commerce (VOEC)

Tax on buyer fees

We may charge buyers a fee for some eBay services. If we are required to collect tax on eBay fees in your jurisdiction, we will add the tax as a separate charge at checkout or include the tax in our fees.

Learn more about the Buyer Protection fee - opens in new window or tab which applies to some purchases completed on eBay.co.uk.

Refunded purchases

If you paid tax on your purchase through eBay and you get a refund for your order, you'll also get a refund for the proportionate amount of tax. For example, if you receive a full refund, you'll get the entire tax back. If you receive a 50% partial refund, you'll get 50% of the tax back. Any refunds processed outside eBay's systems are not eligible for a tax refund.

If you paid import taxes or duty as part of clearing your parcel through customs but you then returned the item, please contact the customs authority regarding a refund of the charges.

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