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Help me to understand tax formation

mp29
I'm a participant level 1
I'm a participant level 1

Hello everyone!

Happy new year

 

I recently bought iPhone and fido sim card together from Ontario province and am living in Alberta. I have received the first bill which includes the amount of the device and my plan with 13% tax as per Ontario taxation format whereas my billing address is about Alberta which is supposed to have only 5% tax on my bill. How can i solve the problem to save couple of buck for each upcoming bills? 

1 REPLY 1

Cawtau
Senior MVP Senior MVP
Senior MVP

Hello Mp29,

 

  Happy New Year and Welcome to the Community!

 

  I understand you are currently living in Alberta, however, do you have an Ontario phone number? You should note that taxes for hardware and services could be different. Plans and services are related to your phone number and not necessarily where you live. For example, if you have an Ontario phone number, you would be required to have a plan from Ontario. You would not be able to avail of any Alberta-specific phone plans. Similarly, the taxes on your services would be based in Ontario. If you wish to pay Alberta taxes on services, you would need to get an Alberta plan and you will have to get an Albertan number.

 

  On the other hand, the taxes on devices would be based on your billing address (see here). That said, if you purchased the iPhone in Ontario, you would be required to pay the Ontario tax since the purchase was made in Ontario. However, since you live in Alberta and presumably removed the device from Ontario to Alberta, you might be able to apply for a HST rebate (see here and here).

 

  If you do have an Ontario phone number, you should also note that your phone number is not considered local to Alberta. It is not possible to make a phone number with an out-of-Province area code, local within another Province. As such, your incoming local calling area would still be somewhere in Ontario (dependent on your area code). If you have Canada-wide calling, it won't likely be an issue for yourself. However, people in Alberta will be making long-distance calls to your phone -- even though you are now living in Alberta.

 

 Hope this helps 🎉

 

Cheers