Gift Cards and Gift Certificates

Gift cards, also known as “prepaid cards,” are a modern form of gift certificate offered by businesses in the form of swipe or chip cards. An amount of money is stored on the card for use by a customer to purchase goods or services from the issuing business or businesses.

Gift certificates are vouchers that allow you to purchase goods or services for a certain value from one or more designated businesses.

The sale of gift cards and gift certificates is not taxable (This link will open a new window). However, the GST and QST apply to the total price of the goods or services purchased using a gift card or gift certificate, as in a cash purchase. The gift card or gift certificate thus covers all or part of the amount paid for the item.

For more information, see the booklet General Information Concerning the QST and the GST/HST (IN-203-V).

Note that the rules of the Consumer Protection Act respecting prepaid cards, namely gift cards and gift certificates, were amended on June 30, 2010. For more information, refer to the Office de la protection du consommateur website.