E-commerce & Online Sellers
E-commerce Accountant in Ottawa
Looking for an e-commerce accountant in Ottawa? Whether you sell on Shopify, Amazon, Etsy, or your own site, the hard part of selling online is rarely the bookkeeping, it is the sales tax. From one laptop you can sell to every province and into the U.S., and each destination has its own rules. Add marketplaces that collect tax for you, inventory that ships from a warehouse you have never seen, and products imported from overseas, and the result is a sales-tax map most accountants never set up properly. Nour & Daniels Tax works with online sellers across Ottawa, domestic and cross-border, and makes that map make sense.
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One Checkout, Many Tax Rules
Why online selling is a sales-tax puzzle
A storefront on Bank Street sells to whoever walks in, and the tax is simple: Ontario HST. An online store has no such limits. The same checkout can take an order from Ottawa, Calgary, Halifax, or Texas, and the right tax is different for each. Sell through a marketplace and the platform may collect some of that tax for you, but not all of it, and you are still the one who has to register and reconcile.
On the supply side, many online sellers buy stock from overseas or hold it in fulfillment warehouses in more than one province. Each of those choices has a tax consequence, on what you owe at the border and on where you are considered to be doing business. We untangle all of it so your filings are right, and you are not paying tax you do not owe or missing tax you do.
Who We Help
Online sellers we work with across Ottawa
Marketplace sellers
Selling on Amazon, Etsy, or eBay means the platform may collect and remit some GST/HST for you under Canada's digital-economy rules, while your inventory can sit in fulfillment warehouses across the country. We reconcile what the platform collected against what you owe and sort out the registration questions that come with selling through someone else's checkout.
Your own online store
On Shopify, WooCommerce, or your own site, you collect the tax, so every order has to apply the right rate for the customer's province. We set your store and books up so checkout is correct and your HST returns reconcile to your payouts and fees. For inventory and the Quick Method, see our retail and service page.
Cross-border and US sellers
Shipping into the U.S. or buying stock from abroad changes the picture. Exports are generally zero-rated for Canadian GST/HST, but U.S. states run their own sales tax once your sales there cross a threshold. We keep your Canadian side clean and flag your U.S. exposure before it becomes a problem.
The Hard Parts
The sales-tax map for online sellers
Four questions decide whether an online seller's tax is right. Here is how each one works.
Selling across Canada
When you ship within Canada, the place-of-supply rules tie the tax to where the customer is, not where you are. An order to Ontario carries 13%, one to Alberta carries 5%, and one to a province with a higher HST carries that rate. Your checkout has to apply the right one on every order, and your return has to add them up by province.
Selling on marketplaces
Under Canada's digital-economy rules, distribution platform operators like large marketplaces can be required to collect and remit GST/HST on the sales they facilitate, including goods shipped from Canadian fulfillment warehouses. That does not always remove your own need to register once you pass the $30,000 threshold, and it makes reconciling what the platform collected essential.
Selling into the US and abroad
Goods you export from Canada are generally zero-rated, so you charge no GST/HST on a sale shipped to a U.S. customer, and you can still claim input tax credits on your costs. The catch is on the U.S. side: most states now charge sales tax once your sales into the state cross an economic-nexus threshold, commonly around $100,000 or 200 transactions, though it varies by state. We help you see where you have crossed a line and coordinate the U.S. filing.
Importing your inventory
If you bring stock into Canada, GST is generally payable at the border when the goods arrive, and the importer of record pays it. If you are registered and you are the importer, you can recover that import GST as an input tax credit, so it should not be a permanent cost. We make sure the border GST is claimed and that drop-shipping from overseas is handled correctly.
An Ottawa seller ships orders across Canada from her Shopify store, sells the same products through Amazon, and imports her stock from a supplier in Asia. On her own-store sales she charges 13% to Ontario buyers and 5% to Alberta buyers. On her U.S. sales she charges no GST/HST, because exports are zero-rated. Amazon collects the tax on many of her marketplace orders, so she reconciles those against her return rather than collecting twice. The GST she paid when her container cleared customs is claimed back as an input tax credit.
Figures are illustrative and depend on your setup and the year's rules. U.S. sales tax is state law, not Canadian, and we coordinate it where you have exposure.
What We Handle
Everything an online store's tax needs
Register and file across channels
We register you for GST/HST when you need it and file returns that pull together your own-store sales, your marketplace payouts, and the tax collected on your behalf.
Reconcile payouts, fees, and imports
We tie your Shopify, Amazon, and processor payouts to your actual sales, claim the GST you paid at the border, and make sure fees and refunds are recorded right.
Cross-border and the year-end
We flag your U.S. sales-tax exposure, keep your exports zero-rated correctly, and file your corporate return. Behind on filings? See back taxes.
What To Gather
Documents we usually need
For an online seller, the platform and payout reports tell the real story. A good starting list:
- Payout and tax reports from each platform (Shopify, Amazon, Etsy, eBay)
- Payment-processor statements (Stripe, PayPal, Square)
- A sales breakdown by province and by country
- Import and customs documents showing the GST paid at the border
- Inventory counts and where your stock is held
- Supplier invoices, including overseas purchases
- Any U.S. sales-tax registrations or notices you have received
- Your GST/HST registration details and reporting period
Online Seller Questions
Common e-commerce tax questions
I sell to customers across Canada. How do I know which sales tax to charge?
It follows the customer, not you. The place-of-supply rules generally tie the rate to the province the order ships to, so an Ontario buyer pays 13%, an Alberta buyer pays 5%, and a buyer in a province with a higher HST pays that rate. Your checkout needs to apply the right rate automatically, and your HST return has to total the tax by province. We set your store and bookkeeping up so the two always agree.
I sell on Amazon or Etsy. Does the platform handle the tax, or do I?
Both, in a way. Under Canada's digital-economy rules, large marketplaces can be required to collect and remit GST/HST on the sales they facilitate, so the platform may charge the tax on many of your orders. That does not automatically end your own obligations: you generally still need to register once you pass the $30,000 threshold, and you have to reconcile what the platform collected against your own records so you neither double-count nor under-report. We handle that reconciliation each filing period.
Do I charge HST on sales to US customers?
Generally no. Goods exported from Canada are usually zero-rated, which means you charge GST/HST at 0% on a sale shipped to a U.S. customer, while still being able to claim input tax credits on the costs of making that sale. Keep proof of export, like shipping and customs records, to support the zero-rating. The separate question is U.S. sales tax, which is covered below.
When do I owe US sales tax?
That is U.S. state law rather than Canadian tax, so it works very differently. Most states now require out-of-state sellers to collect their sales tax once sales into the state pass an economic-nexus threshold, commonly around $100,000 in sales or 200 transactions in a year, though the numbers and rules vary by state. Marketplaces often collect U.S. sales tax for you on their orders, but your own-store sales can still create an obligation. We help you track where you are approaching a threshold and coordinate the U.S. registration and filing where you have exposure.
I import my products. What about the GST at the border?
When goods are imported into Canada, GST is generally payable at the border, and the importer of record pays it along with any duties. The good news is that if you are registered for GST/HST and you are the importer, you can recover that import GST as an input tax credit on your return, so for a registered business it is usually a cash-flow item rather than a real cost. We make sure your import GST is documented and claimed, and that drop-shipping arrangements are set up correctly.
I just started on Shopify. When do I have to register for HST?
The general rule is that you must register once your worldwide taxable sales pass $30,000 over a rolling 12-month period, and you can choose to register earlier, which lets you claim input tax credits on your startup and inventory costs sooner. Selling through a marketplace can change the picture slightly, since the platform may be collecting tax on some sales, but it rarely removes the need to register as you grow. We tell you exactly when you cross the line and handle the registration.
Do you also handle my inventory and bookkeeping?
Yes. Beyond the sales-tax map, we keep your full books, reconcile your platforms and processors, and file your corporate return. Inventory accounting, cost of goods sold, and whether the Quick Method makes sense are covered in more depth on our retail and service business page, and we bring all of it together for an online store.
Talk to an Ottawa e-commerce accountant
Whether you are launching a Shopify store, scaling on Amazon, or already shipping across the border, tell us how you sell and we will get the sales tax and the books right. Reach out and we will take it from here.
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