Sales Tax on Paid Parking Tickets

by SB

Hi there,

I am trying to enter some expenses for the partners of the business and am not sure what to do when the receipt does not have the taxes broken out and just lists a total.

For example, they went on a work-related trip and have some tickets for paid parking. If the parking ticket says $10.00, do I enter this as $10.00 'inclusive of sales tax'? Or $10.00 'exempt'? Or something else entirely?

Any indication as to how I should enter these would be greatly appreciated.

Hey SB,

It looks like you are using QuickBooks Online. So in this case, if the parking lot was a commercial lot, you would choose "inclusive of sales tax". Why? Because parking attracts GST/HST.

If the lot was a public service body (PSB) lot, it might not include GST/HST and therefore be exempt. Cyndee Todgham has a good blog on a 2013 change in this area. Effective March 22, 2013, PSB lots became subject to GST/HST.

You can find her blog titled "The Cost of Paid Parking in a PSB Lot Just Became More Expensive in Canada" here.

A sure way to know whether GST/HST is included in the paid parking ticket amount is to see if the receipt references a GST/HST registration number. If it does, then you definitely want to enter the receipt inclusive of tax.

Also, if the lot used is used frequently by the partners and you can't find a registration number reference, I would call the parking company (there is often a phone number on the tickets) and ask them. If they say yes, ask for their registration number … then check it out using CRA's "Verify a Supplier" tool.