4 ms·
Ask HN: Canadian developers/consultants and Ontario's crazy RST/PST rules
I'm pretty much new in Ontario. So far I've only invoiced customers in Europe, which is easy, since you don't charge any taxes to software services abroad.
But now I have some local clients (yay!) and I'm trying to figure out whether I should put RST on my invoices.
I write iPhone software for my clients. So I talk to them, they give me a design, I go the my home office, develop code and when I'm done I transfer them the source code and rights for these apps. My clients will then actually sell these to the end-user.
I've been reading http://www.rev.gov.on.ca/english/guides/rst/650.html to figure out whether I should charge my clients RST but the document is terribly complex and doesn't seem to cover my simple case.
I know I should probably talk to an accountant, but really, this stuff should not be so hard. It seems Ontario is the only province with a very complicated RST framework.
Has anyone here gone through the same already?
- tuukkah 17y agoFrom the document you link: "Goods for Resale: Computer programs purchased for the purpose of resale (e.g., computer programs that will become "part of" another program, etc.) can be purchased exempt from RST. This exemption is not limited to manufacturers."
- xinsight 17y agoThere are some hilarious tax laws. I remember reading that PST was required to be charged if a web site was delivered on CDROM. If you delivered it digitally there was no PST. The distinction here is whether you are selling software or working to build custom software. Clearly your clients are involved in the design, so it's not the same as buying a copy of Photoshop. So, no PST. You should register for a business number with the feds and charge GST. Any GST you spend on expenses (e.g. laptop) will reduce how much GST you have to submit.