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They are trickling in, but not everyone has received a rebate cheque yet. Remember to check to see that you have complied with all the rules in order to determine your HST rebate eligibility. In order to qualify, you:

• Are 18 years and older
• Must have filed a 2009 tax return

Eligible individual taxpayers with annual income less than $80,000 will receive 3 payments totalling $300.

Eligible families, which include single parents and senior couples, with annual income less than $160,000 will receive 3 payments totalling $1,000.

The first of these payments should have been mailed out June 10, 2010. These payments are scheduled for June 2010, December 2010 and June 2011. Note that to receive the June 2011 payment you must file a 2010 tax return.

Currently, used vehicles and boat sales by individuals/businesses not registered for GST are only subject to 8% PST in Ontario. The Ontario Ministry of Revenue has announced that beginning July 1st, private sales of used vehicles and boats will be subject to a PST at a rate of 13%. We believe the intent is to ensure a level playing field between sales by GST/HST registrants (i.e., dealerships) and private sales.

Used cars and boats sold by registered dealers have always been subject to both GST and PST and will continue to be subject to 13% HST.

Broadly speaking, where the contractor would be supplying you with a service, the HST would generally apply to the extent that the service is performed on or after July 1, 2010. The HST would generally not apply to a supply of a service if all or substantially all (i.e., 90% or more) of the service is performed before July 1, 2010.

There are no special HST rules which apply exclusively to students. Basically, effective July 1, 2010, HST of 13% replaces the 5% GST and 8% Ontario Retail Sales Tax (“RST”). If GST previously applied, HST will now apply. As a result, consumers in general will be hit with a broader base of goods and services subject to HST, which were not previously subject to the Ontario RST.

There are programs in place to provide relief to low-to-middle-income residents (not specific to students) for the sales tax they pay, such as the GST/HST credit program and the Ontario Sales Tax Credit (OSTC) program for Ontario residents. In addition, with the introduction of the HST, there is a one-time HST rebate (3 payments totalling $300) available to eligible individual taxpayers with annual income less than $80,000. For eligible families, which include single parents and senior couples, with annual income less than $160,000, the HST rebate will be in the form of 3 payments totalling $1,000.

To apply for the GST/HST credits and OSTC, you have to file an income tax and benefit return. To qualify for the one-time HST rebate, you must be 18 years and older and filed your 2009 income tax and benefit return.

If you purchase a newly constructed or substantially renovated home after July 1st, HST will apply. However, new home purchases will attract a maximum $24,000 rebate of the 8% Ontario component of the HST. Therefore, in Ontario, on a $300,000 purchase of a new residence, the Ontario rebate would be $24,000, so the only tax remaining is the 5% federal portion for the HST. Used residential homes are not subject to GST or HST.

There is no correct answer to this question, as it depends on how much a family spends and what they are spending money on. However, the Ontario Ministry of Revenue has stated that 83% of products and services will not attract new tax. In a general sense, households can expect to pay more for “home” costs than previous, such as home renovations, home service repair calls, landscaping, snow removal, and electricity and heating. Also, personal and professional services such as hairstyling and accounting/legal fees will cost more because of the new tax.

There are no provisions which will allow for a single payment of the GST/HST rebate. If you qualify based on the information on your 2009 income tax return, you will receive your annual GST/HST credit in four payments. GST/HST credit payments are generally issued on the 5th day of each quarter i.e. July 2010, October 2010, January 2011, and April 2011.

The Ontario Sales Tax Credit (OSTC) program is in addition to the GST/HST credit program; therefore, the introduction of the HST in Ontario will not mean an end to the OSTC program. The OSTC program is intended to provide relief to low-to-middle-income Ontario residents for the sales tax they pay. The OSTC program is administered by the Canada Revenue Agency on behalf of Ontario and the quarterly OSTC payments are issued separately from the GST/HST credit payments. The amount of OSTC an individual receives has no impact on the GST/HST credit he/she will receive and vice versa.

An exemption similar to GST is available for HST purposes. You do not have to register for HST if you qualify as a small supplier because your total worldwide taxable supplies of goods and services does not exceed the small supplier limit of $30,000 in a single calendar quarter or in four consecutive calendar quarters.

The current retail sales tax exemption for Status Indians remains in effect until June 30, 2010. Under the proposed HST rules for Ontario, this exemption would not apply to the 8% Ontario portion of the HST. However, there are ongoing discussions between the federal government and the Ontario government of possibly reinstating the exemption by exempting the 8% provincial portion of the HST charged to natives at points of sale.

They can’t. To summarize, businesses now have the ability to claim an input tax credit on 13% instead of 5% - which means they can “recover”, or deduct the entire 13% amount from their business expenses at the end of the period, whereas before they could only deduct the GST at 5%. There is no direct benefit to the consumer as it depends what savings the business decides to pass along.

HST will generally apply to all goods and services that are currently subject to GST. Certain designated items such as books and children’s items (clothing, footwear, car seats) would be exempt from the 8% Ontario portion of the HST.

Graphic Designers are generally in the business of providing a service. In the past, generally, where the service has been performed has been the standard rule of when to apply GST and PST. However, under the proposed changes, greater emphasis is placed on the location of the recipient of the supply. Therefore, where it is the normal course of the supplier’s business to obtain a business address/home address of their clients, the supplier should be charging the tax rate of the province in which the client’s address is located, not the province in which the service is performed (Ontario). For example, if a client’s address is in Alberta, they should only be charged GST of 5%. Similarly, if the client’s address is in Ontario, they should be charged HST of 13%. As for clients in the US, the service would generally be deemed to be made outside Canada and no GST/HST will apply.

Without knowing all the facts relating to the business in question, we can only provide general comments. For the purposes of applying GST or HST, the place of supply rules will determine where a good or service is ultimately supplied and hence, the applicable tax rate that must be charged. Generally, the supply of goods (tangible personal property) by way of sale is deemed to be made in a province if the supplier delivers the property or makes it available in the province to the recipient of the supply. For example, if in July 2010 the corporation (based in Ontario) ships the goods by mail or courier to an address in Alberta, or transfers possession of the property to a common carrier that it has retained on behalf of its customer to ship the property to an address in Alberta as specified in the contract, GST of 5% should be charged on the sale, not Ontario HST because the supply would be considered to be made in Alberta.

Computer-related services and internet access will now be subject to HST at 13% for services performed within Ontario.