The federal government, which administers Nova Scotia’s HST, finalized and published the rate reduction regulatory amendments on March 26, 2025, which include transitional rules that clarify the treatment of certain transactions that straddle the April 1, 2025 effective date, as well as other consequential tax changes. Affected businesses, including businesses with real property transactions, financial institutions and employers with pension plans, should review the details of these transitional rules, in addition to the other consequential HST tax measures, to ensure they collect, pay or claim the appropriate amount of Nova Scotia’s HST.

While considering these final regulatory amendments, businesses that have transactions subject to Nova Scotia’s HST, including retailers, builders, financial institutions, employers with pension plans, e-commerce platforms, and businesses with real property transactions, should ensure they have properly updated all of their systems that may be affected by this provincial HST rate reduction.

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