Hello,
I am planning to move to Alberta Canada permanently and will bring my car with me. The province only has 5% GST. If I choose to cross at border in BC, are they going to tax my car based on BC's tax rate? BC has 5% GST + 7% PST while Alberta only has 5% GST. My question is: is the tax on imported car based on the where you cross the boarder? or your destination/residency.
I had a chance to ask someone at Canadian Boarder in BC and she wasn't clear but assumed that there will also be 7% PST collected when I import at their port of entry (she sounded not very confident about the answer). If this is the case, does that mean I have to cross at port of entries in Alberta only to save 7%? That's a lot of tax money tbh.
Anyone has expeirence here? Thanks in advance.
J
Import Car from US to Canada - Port of Entry and Tax
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canadiandeserter
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Re: Import Car from US to Canada - Port of Entry and Tax
My understanding is the CBSA only collects GST/HST and duties. ICBC collects PST when the vehicle is registered in BC.
Re: Import Car from US to Canada - Port of Entry and Tax
curiousJ wrote:
> Hello,
>
> I am planning to move to Alberta Canada permanently and will bring my car
> with me.
My reply is a bit late but I'm posting for anyone else who may be in this situation (as was I).
I moved to Canada from the US in 2021 as a permanent resident (wife has citizenship in both countries). As part of my immigration to Canada I was permitted to bring our household goods duty-free. This is a "one time" thing and there is a form that must be completed listing all items brought over. They can be brought in multiple trips... we had our car loaded, later movers brought up goods, and a second vehicle was shipped as well.
Point being that we paid no duty on the cars or any other items.
> Hello,
>
> I am planning to move to Alberta Canada permanently and will bring my car
> with me.
My reply is a bit late but I'm posting for anyone else who may be in this situation (as was I).
I moved to Canada from the US in 2021 as a permanent resident (wife has citizenship in both countries). As part of my immigration to Canada I was permitted to bring our household goods duty-free. This is a "one time" thing and there is a form that must be completed listing all items brought over. They can be brought in multiple trips... we had our car loaded, later movers brought up goods, and a second vehicle was shipped as well.
Point being that we paid no duty on the cars or any other items.
Re: Import Car from US to Canada - Port of Entry and Tax
I went through something similar when I moved to Alberta. The taxes are based on your final destination, not where you cross the border. I crossed through BC but registered my car in Alberta and only had to pay the 5% GST. Just make sure you have all your paperwork showing you're moving to Alberta. You'll be fine, and you won't have to pay the extra 7% PST. It saved me a lot of money!