Shopping Discussion

Amazon Canada has sales tax?

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  • Oct 12th, 2013 9:39 am
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Deal Expert
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Mar 27, 2007
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Amazon Canada has sales tax?

Never used Amazon before. It's a little more complicated than eBay or other online stores. Does Amazon tax items sold?
21 replies
Deal Addict
Jul 17, 2009
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not sure how it is more complicated.

I don't remember about the taxes but you can always add something to your cart and go to the checkout and see.
Deal Fanatic
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Oct 23, 2003
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amazon.ca

displays taxes upon checkout as well as shipping costs if any

.com

displays duty costs and charges them upon checkout so u wont pay when u pick up your package

.co.uk

does not include international taxes and you MAY or MAY NOT pay duty on your shipment depending on your luck and choice of shipping method.
Deal Expert
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Mar 27, 2007
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veryboredguy wrote: not sure how it is more complicated.

I don't remember about the taxes but you can always add something to your cart and go to the checkout and see.
True, but I need to put in my financial information before I can even see shipping costs or taxes applicable. I just want to know beforehand. :)
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Oct 23, 2003
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Setz wrote: True, but I need to put in my financial information before I can even see shipping costs or taxes applicable. I just want to know beforehand. :)
that info is for your account, they wont charge u until they let you review your order AND after that go to another screen to select shipping and do final confirm.
Deal Addict
Sep 22, 2009
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Canadia
Yeah actually Amazon has a very stupid system where they won't tell you the full price including all shipping, taxes and other fees until you've gone through like 5 screens entering all sorts of mailing and billing info. Sometimes you get to the end only to find that the shipping costs are horrible and what seemed like a hot deal is actually ice cold after all, and your time has been wasted on useless checkout forms.

Amazon is obviously not on the same level as ebay, where it is nearly always immediately clear what the full price including shipping etc will be before you go into any purchasing system.

*****

Regarding sales tax on Amazon.ca:

Today I made a purchase on Amazon.ca and was surprised to be charged no sales tax at all. All I paid for was shipping which, thanks to Canada post, was 25% more expensive than the item itself.

I know Amazon.com has never charged me sales tax since it's American, but in the past I've been charged sales tax at Amazon.ca. That was one of the reasons I stopped using Amazon.ca for many years and used ebay or Amazon.com.

Would be nice to hear other people's recent experiences with sales tax on Amazon.ca so we can see whether this is a promotion, glitch or permanent policy change.
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Oct 7, 2007
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Setz wrote: True, but I need to put in my financial information before I can even see shipping costs or taxes applicable. I just want to know beforehand. :)
For Amazon.ca shipping is free for orders over $39, and sales tax would be the same as what you pay regularly elsewhere. You can pretty much calculate the total mentally before you check out since it would be total+tax.

nauru wrote: Yeah actually Amazon has a very stupid system where they won't tell you the full price including all shipping, taxes and other fees until you've gone through like 5 screens entering all sorts of mailing and billing info. Sometimes you get to the end only to find that the shipping costs are horrible and what seemed like a hot deal is actually ice cold after all, and your time has been wasted on useless checkout forms.

Amazon is obviously not on the same level as ebay, where it is nearly always immediately clear what the full price including shipping etc will be before you go into any purchasing system.

*****

Regarding sales tax on Amazon.ca:

Today I made a purchase on Amazon.ca and was surprised to be charged no sales tax at all. All I paid for was shipping which, thanks to Canada post, was 25% more expensive than the item itself.

I know Amazon.com has never charged me sales tax since it's American, but in the past I've been charged sales tax at Amazon.ca. That was one of the reasons I stopped using Amazon.ca for many years and used ebay or Amazon.com.

Would be nice to hear other people's recent experiences with sales tax on Amazon.ca so we can see whether this is a promotion, glitch or permanent policy change.
Amazon.ca will always charge sales tax. Not sure why you didn't get charged. And shouldn't shipping be free? (Assuming your order is more than $39.)

And it's not like Amazon.com or Ebay doesn't charge you tax. Amazon.com still adds an "import fee" to cover taxes you pay to custons, and from Ebay customs might ding you for taxes/duties at the border.

You are fooling yourself if you think you can get away from paying your taxes unfortunately. :lol:
There's a sucker born every minute.
Deal Expert
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Mar 27, 2007
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I just used a vanilla MC and I was charged no tax. :confused: :confused: :confused:
Shipping Method: Express
Shipping Preference: Ship when entire order is ready
Subtotal of Items: CDN$ 12.99
Shipping & Handling: CDN$ 9.98
------
Total for this Order: CDN$ 22.97
Deal Addict
Oct 9, 2005
1884 posts
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Sales tax is alive and well on Amazon:

Items (3): CDN$ 349.55
Shipping & Handling: CDN$ 0.00
Total Before Tax: CDN$ 349.55
GST: CDN$ 17.48
PST: CDN$ 0.00
Order Total: CDN$ 367.03

Same items on Amazon.com:

Items: $265.76
Shipping & Handling: $16.96
Credit upon ship: -$0.00
Total Before Tax: $282.72
Estimated Tax:* $0.00
Import Fees Deposit $13.28
Order Total: $296.00
Deal Addict
Sep 22, 2009
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Canadia
number8888 wrote: For Amazon.ca shipping is free for orders over $39, and sales tax would be the same as what you pay regularly elsewhere. You can pretty much calculate the total mentally before you check out since it would be total+tax.




Amazon.ca will always charge sales tax. Not sure why you didn't get charged. And shouldn't shipping be free? (Assuming your order is more than $39.)

And it's not like Amazon.com or Ebay doesn't charge you tax. Amazon.com still adds an "import fee" to cover taxes you pay to custons, and from Ebay customs might ding you for taxes/duties at the border.

You are fooling yourself if you think you can get away from paying your taxes unfortunately. :lol:
As I said, Amazon.ca didn't charge sales tax on my order. So no, Amazon.ca doesn't always charge sales tax, as my example demonstrates.

Amazon.com has never charged me an import fee, but then again I haven't ordered anything from them in a couple of years so my info on Amazon.com may not be current. Ebay doesn't charge tax obviously, unless you reside in the same state as the seller and the seller chooses to charge you tax. There is always a chance of being charged customs duties, but in my entire time on ebay (over 100 purchases during the course of several years, see signature), I have never been charged tax or duty, or had to deal with customs for any reason. Even if I would be charged on 1 purchase out of every hundred, the 99 purchases that are tax and duty free make buying from abroad rather than from Canadian merchants quite worthwhile. Even if I was being charged on 50 out of 100 it would still be worthwhile. Possibly even at 80 out of 100. Obviously 0 out of 100 is the ideal situation though, so I am definitely not complaining! :lol:

My order today was from 2 different Amazon.ca sellers, totalling less than $39. (not sure why one would assume purchase was larger than that since I said there were shipping fees).

Thank goodness for the internet. :)
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Deal Addict
Sep 22, 2009
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Setz wrote: I just used a vanilla MC and I was charged no tax. :confused: :confused: :confused:
I also used a MC to pay for my tax-free amazon.ca purchase. Maybe it's a mastercard thing.

Hot deal? :lol:
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Jun 1, 2006
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nauru wrote: As I said, Amazon.ca didn't charge sales tax on my order. So no, Amazon.ca doesn't always charge sales tax, as my example demonstrates.

Amazon.com has never charged me an import fee, but then again I haven't ordered anything from them in a couple of years so my info on Amazon.com may not be current. Ebay doesn't charge tax obviously, unless you reside in the same state as the seller and the seller chooses to charge you tax. There is always a chance of being charged customs duties, but in my entire time on ebay (over 100 purchases during the course of several years, see signature), I have never been charged tax or duty, or had to deal with customs for any reason. Even if I would be charged on 1 purchase out of every hundred, the 99 purchases that are tax and duty free make buying from abroad rather than from Canadian merchants quite worthwhile. Even if I was being charged on 50 out of 100 it would still be worthwhile. Possibly even at 80 out of 100. Obviously 0 out of 100 is the ideal situation though, so I am definitely not complaining! :lol:

My order today was from 2 different Amazon.ca sellers, totalling less than $39. (not sure why one would assume purchase was larger than that since I said there were shipping fees).

Thank goodness for the internet. :)
All Amazon.com orders now include the import fee. It is built into the invoice.
Have a nice day!


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May 25, 2009
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nauru wrote: Yeah actually Amazon has a very stupid system where they won't tell you the full price including all shipping, taxes and other fees until you've gone through like 5 screens entering all sorts of mailing and billing info.
What?

This is standard. How are they supposed to know what applicable taxes and shipping fees to charge you if they don't have your shipping info? Nothing's charged until you actually place the order anyway so what's the problem? Try buying from Apple's Online Store, they don't even tell you the taxes until you have placed your order and they have processed it and send you a confirmation email.
"God's in His heaven. All's right with the world." - Robert Browning (1812-1889)
Deal Addict
Oct 9, 2005
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nauru wrote: As I said, Amazon.ca didn't charge sales tax on my order. So no, Amazon.ca doesn't always charge sales tax, as my example demonstrates.

My order today was from 2 different Amazon.ca sellers, totalling less than $39. (not sure why one would assume purchase was larger than that since I said there were shipping fees).

Thank goodness for the internet. :)
Used books are GST exempt. Maybe that's why you weren't charged sales tax.
Sr. Member
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Oct 15, 2007
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nauru wrote: As I said, Amazon.ca didn't charge sales tax on my order. So no, Amazon.ca doesn't always charge sales tax, as my example demonstrates.
Amazon.ca should be like any retailer operating in Canada and they must collect and remit sales tax on taxable items to the government. It's not an option, it's the law.

What item did you buy that they didn't charge sales tax? Maybe it was a tax exempt item?
Deal Expert
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Jun 27, 2004
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People are talking about two different things here:
- items sold directly by Amazon
- Amazon marketplace, with third-party sellers
Deal Expert
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Nov 27, 2006
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LonesomeDove wrote: All Amazon.com orders now include the import fee. It is built into the invoice.
True, which is why I'm glad I have family in the U.S. to send my orders to :lol:
Avril Lavigne Black Star Parfum & Cineplex Night out for Two $126, Leapster Gaming System worth $59.99 US; Trip to Cuba ARV $2000; Cineplex Movie ticket (iCoke/Nestea contest)$10; Palaria Clothing Hoody $69;Joe Fresh GC $25; 4 tics for Ted Nugent Concert; Joe Fresh Make-up Kit $50.00; $25 Bath & Body Works GC (Fresh Fiction contest for DiAnn Mills); $1000 in TD Exlusive Offers contest; $100 necklace from an on-the-spot draw while shopping at Sears
Newbie
Jun 7, 2008
1 posts
nauru wrote: Yeah actually Amazon has a very stupid system where they won't tell you the full price including all shipping, taxes and other fees until you've gone through like 5 screens entering all sorts of mailing and billing info. Sometimes you get to the end only to find that the shipping costs are horrible and what seemed like a hot deal is actually ice cold after all, and your time has been wasted on useless checkout forms.

Amazon is obviously not on the same level as ebay, where it is nearly always immediately clear what the full price including shipping etc will be before you go into any purchasing system.

*****

Regarding sales tax on Amazon.ca:

Today I made a purchase on Amazon.ca and was surprised to be charged no sales tax at all. All I paid for was shipping which, thanks to Canada post, was 25% more expensive than the item itself.

I know Amazon.com has never charged me sales tax since it's American, but in the past I've been charged sales tax at Amazon.ca. That was one of the reasons I stopped using Amazon.ca for many years and used ebay or Amazon.com.

Would be nice to hear other people's recent experiences with sales tax on Amazon.ca so we can see whether this is a promotion, glitch or permanent policy change.
***************

Hi, I bought something on Amazon.ca today (Oct 11, 2013) and it did not charge me sales tax as well. That is actually why I came to look at this thread. I started to wonder if they will try to have me pay for the taxes when I pick it up from the post office or when they deliver to my door.

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