Did You Pay Tax Twice On Your Vehicle Purchase? You Can Get Your Money Back!

My husband and I recently bought a used vehicle through a dealership while living in Ontario.  We were charged 13% HST on the purchase price.  Shortly after buying the vehicle, we moved to Manitoba, a non HST province (called a nonparticipating province by the Canada Revenue Agency)  When we went to register and insure our vehicle in Manitoba, we were informed that we would have to pay PST on the vehicle again!  We were completely dumbfounded as this would mean that we would pay 20% tax on our vehicle!  Yikes!

Fortunately, I found out that there is a way for us to get back the provincial portion of the HST that we paid in Ontario.  I contacted the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and they informed me that all I had to do was complete a form called the GST 495 and submit proof that we paid the tax twice.   Note that CRA wants the original copies of anything you send in, and they will eventually send it all back to you.

There are some instances where you would not qualify to get your taxes back, so make sure you are eligible before sending in the forms.

Here are the requirements that must be met:

1.  You are a Canadian resident.

2.  You bought the vehicle in a participating province and paid HST on it.

3.  You bought the vehicle for use primarily outside of the participating province.

4.  You removed the vehicle from the participating province to another province no later than 30 days after it was delivered to you.

5.  You paid the applicable provincial sales tax in the nonparticipating province.

The documents that you require are:

1.  Proof of payment of applicable provincial taxes

2. Receipt/invoice for vehicle purchase – must be the original copy

The Deadline

Also, note that there is a deadline for filling out the form.  You must apply for the rebate within one year after the day that you remove the vehicle from the participating province.  It’s best to try to get your money back sooner rather than later.

If you bought a used vehicle from a private seller, the rules are different and you will have to use a different avenue in order to reclaim your provincial sales tax.  In that instance, you would contact the provincial government rather than the federal government.

If you have further questions about how this works, phone CRA at 1-800-959-5525 or check out the CRA website.