Information

The Ministry of Finance continues to receive a high volume of rebate claims. Processing times are longer than the usual service standard. We appreciate your patience.

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Overview

Eligible First Nations people, bands, and band councils of an Ontario First Nations reserve may claim a rebate of the 8% provincial portion of the HST paid on qualifying goods and services purchased off-reserve.

The rebate can only be claimed on qualifying goods or services purchased for the exclusive personal use of the eligible First Nations person, band, or band council.

Vendors can provide this rebate at the time of purchase or customers can apply for the rebate from the Ministry of Finance after they have completed a purchase.

Where a supplier does not provide the rebate at the point-of-sale, purchasers may apply to the Ministry of Finance for a rebate by completing an Application for Rebate of the Ontario Portion of the HST for First Nations form.

Who is eligible

To be eligible for the HST rebate, a First Nations purchaser must be one of the following:

  • a resident of Ontario
  • a resident of Canada on the Akwesasne reserve

You must also have either a federal government-issued:

Bands or band councils of an Ontario First Nations reserve (including the Akwesasne reserve) are also eligible.

What goods and services qualify

Purchases that qualify

Examples of goods and services that qualify:

  • most tangible goods, including:
    • new and used motor vehicles purchased from a dealer
    • take-out meals
    • medical cannabis purchased from a federally authorized licence holder
    • low-THC (less than 0.3%) cannabis products that do not have a duty-paid stamp on them
    • cannabis accessories (for example rolling papers, pipes, vaporizers)
  • warranty or maintenance agreements for qualifying tangible goods
  • services to install, assemble, dismantle, adjust, repair or maintain the qualifying tangible goods
  • telecommunication services (including cable television, telephone, internet)

Purchases that do not qualify

The rebate cannot be claimed if:

  • the goods are not subject to HST (for example, basic groceries or certain health care services)
  • the goods are select items that already qualify for a rebate of the Ontario portion of the HST (for example, children’s clothing, printed books, etc.)
  • the purchaser is eligible for input tax credits for the HST payable (for example, because the purchase is for use in the purchaser’s business activities)
  • receipts include GST only

Examples of goods and services that do not qualify:

  • restaurant food (except take-out meals)
  • tangible goods supplied under a catering agreement
  • electricity, natural gas
  • gasoline and fuel
  • alcohol
  • raw leaf tobacco and tobacco products
  • most forms of recreational cannabis — these items will have a duty-paid stamp
  • real property (for example, new homes, condos, and mobile homes)
  • transient accommodation (for example, hotels)
  • parking

Find more information on what’s taxable off-reserve under the HST and what’s not.

Claim a rebate after your purchase

If you do not receive a rebate at the point-of-sale or at the time of importation, you can claim a rebate from the Ontario Ministry of Finance using the Application for Rebate of the Ontario Portion of the HST for First Nations form.

You may save your receipts (up to 100 per claim) and submit one application, instead of filing multiple applications for small rebate amounts.

To check the status of your claim, email us at commodity.tax@ontario.ca.

Updates to the Ontario First Nations HST Rebate Application

We have made changes to the Ontario First Nations Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) rebate application to make it easier to complete and to support more efficient processing of claims.

Starting June 2026, the following changes will apply to rebate applications:

  • You do not need to mail receipts for purchases where the HST is $5 or less, reducing the number of documents you need to submit. Please keep your receipts for your records.
  • You no longer need to provide a photocopy of your Certificate of Indian Status card with every claim. A copy is only required if you are applying for the first time or if the card has expired.
  • We are introducing a new Receipt Listing form to help organize your claim. You will use this form to list all purchases you are claiming, including purchases where the HST is $5 or less. Please include this form with your application.
  • We have updated the application as a fillable form and added a new step-by-step guide.

How to submit a claim

Follow these steps to submit your claim:

  1. Complete the forms

Download and complete the Application for Rebate of the Ontario Portion of the HST for First Nations form and the Receipt Listing form.

Learn how to complete the application in the guide.

  1. Prepare your receipts
    • Include original receipt(s) for qualifying goods and services where the Ontario portion of the HST is more than $5.
    • Do not mail receipts where the Ontario portion of the HST is $5 or less. Keep these receipts for your records.
      • We may request original receipts during a review of the application or as part of refund verification.
      • Applicants must be able to provide the original receipts upon request and they should be kept for 1 year from the submission of the application.
  2. Include a supporting document

    If the purchase was made by an individual

    You only need to provide supporting documents when you are applying for the first time or if your card has expired.

    In these cases, include one of the following:
    • a photocopy of both sides of a valid Certificate of Indian Status card
    • a Temporary Confirmation of Registration Document

If the purchase was made by a band or band council

Supporting documents must be included with every application. 

Include:

  • a letter on band letterhead signed by an authorized representative of the band stating that the goods or services are exclusively for the consumption or use by the band or band council
  1. Mail your application

    Mail the completed and signed application form, Receipt Listing form, required receipts and supporting documents to:
    Ministry of Finance
    33 King Street West
    PO Box 625              
    Oshawa, Ontario
    L1H 8E9

After you submit a claim

Processing time

Submitting one application with several receipts instead of many applications for small rebate amounts will speed up processing time (please limit applications to 100 receipts per claim).

Your receipts will be sent back to the address on the application form. If you need your receipt for warranty purposes, please create and keep a copy for your records.

Receiving your rebate

You will receive your rebate in the form of a cheque sent to the address on the application form.

You can also receive your rebate faster by signing up for direct deposit. To do so, complete the direct deposit section on the Application for Rebate of the Ontario Portion of the HST for First Nations.

Authorize a representative

You can authorize a representative (for example, someone from your local band council) to act on your behalf for your HST rebate claim.

To authorize a representative, complete Section B of the Application for Rebate of the Ontario Portion of the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) for First Nations form.

Both you and the representative need to sign the application form.

Deadline to claim a rebate

For the 8% Ontario portion of HST

You must submit your application within 4 years from the date the tax was paid for:

  • the 8% provincial portion of the HST paid in Ontario
  • qualifying goods imported into Canada

For the portion of HST in another province

You can apply for a rebate of the provincial portion of the HST paid in another participating province.

On qualifying goods brought into Ontario within 30 days of purchase, you must submit your application within one year from the date the goods were brought into Ontario.

Rebate at the time of purchase

Vendors may provide the rebate of the 8% provincial portion of the HST to eligible customers when the purchase is made (known as the “point-of-sale”).

Vendors that provide the rebate at the point-of-sale will credit the 8% provincial portion of the HST and only charge the 5% federal portion of the HST.

Customer responsibilities

At the time of purchase, you must show the vendor either a federal government-issued:

As the customer, you must be buying or importing the eligible goods or services exclusively for your personal use or consumption.

Vendor responsibilities

Certificate of Indian Status card

If a customer presents a federal government-issued Certificate of Indian Status card, you must:

  • make sure that the items being purchased qualifies for the rebate
  • look at the card and confirm it displays the customer’s photograph
  • record the purchase date, customer’s name, card number, band registry number and a brief description of the goods sold (these records should be kept for audit purposes)

View samples of valid Certificate of Indian Status cards.

Temporary Confirmation of Registration

If a customer presents a federal government-issued Temporary Confirmation of Registration, you must:

  • view a piece of government ID with the customer’s picture to confirm their name matches the name on the temporary document (for example, driver’s licence)
  • confirm the temporary document has a raised seal of the Indian Registrar (bottom-right side of the document)

A photocopy of the Temporary Confirmation of Registration document is not acceptable.

The Temporary Confirmation of Registration document will be deemed null and void if altered in any way.

Other cards

Other cards, like a band card or Métis card, are not permitted to support the First Nations HST Rebate.

Download a poster of vendor responsibilities to put up in your store.

Vendor reporting requirements

For information on how GST/HST registrant vendors are required to report the Ontario First Nations HST rebate, please refer to GST/HST Info Sheet GI-106, Ontario First Nations Point-of-Sale Relief — Reporting Requirements for GST/HST Registrant Suppliers.

These reporting requirements relate only to the Ontario First Nations HST rebate and are not applicable to:

For more information about reporting requirements, please contact the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) directly at  1-800-959-5525 .

Online, phone or mail/courier purchases

Vendors are not allowed to provide the rebate at the time of purchase when goods are purchased via the Internet or other ways that do not allow the vendor to verify the Certificate of Indian Status card.

The rebate also cannot be provided at the time of sale on goods imported by mail or courier.

Rebate at the time of importation

The Canada Border Service Agency (CBSA) may provide the rebate at the “point of importation” on qualifying goods imported into Ontario by eligible First Nations people, bands or band councils.

First Nations people must show border service officers their Certificate of Indian Status card at the time that the goods are imported.

Other rebates and exemptions

Exemption under section 87 of the Indian Act

The federal government administers a separate exemption from the payment of GST/HST to First Nations people with a status card under section 87 of the Indian Act (Canada). The exemption is different from the Ontario First Nations HST Rebate and generally applies in different circumstances (for example, to certain purchases made on a reserve). Where applicable, the exemption may relieve the purchaser from payment of the entire HST and not just the provincial portion.

For more information about the exemption and how the GST/HST generally applies to First Nations peoples, please refer to GST/HST and First Nations peoples.

Ontario point-of-sale-rebate

Ontario also provides a rebate of the 8% provincial portion of the HST for all Ontarians on specific items such as:

  • print newspapers
  • qualifying prepared food and beverages
  • printed books
  • children’s goods
  • feminine hygiene products

The Canada Revenue Agency administers these other rebates on behalf of the Government of Ontario. If these rebates are not provided to you by a business, you may contact the CRA at  1-800-959-5525  for further instructions or visit their General GST/HST rebate application webpage.