HST on home services in Ontario comes down to what is actually supplied: renovation and repair labour and materials billed by a registered contractor are generally taxable at the 13% HST rate, just like most other taxable Ontario supplies. Landscaping, utilities and other home-related work follow that same general rule unless a specific exemption applies, so check what is actually being supplied before assuming otherwise.
| Invoice item | What generally applies |
|---|---|
| Repair or renovation labour | Taxable at 13% if the supplier is a registered HST/GST business in Ontario. |
| Materials | Generally taxable, but a supplier charges GST/HST only when required to collect it; an unregistered small supplier generally does not charge GST/HST. |
| Landscaping | Taxable like other home-service labour; the label does not change the result, only what is actually supplied. |
| Utilities | A separate supply with its own rules; a home-service invoice does not determine it. |
Not every contractor charges HST. A contractor who has not registered because they are a small supplier under CRA’s rules does not charge GST/HST on their work. Ask whether the supplier is registered before assuming a price is tax-included or tax-exempt.
Under CRA’s rules, a home-care service — bathing, feeding, help with dressing or medication, housekeeping, laundering or meal preparation for someone who needs that assistance because of age, infirmity or disability — is exempt from GST/HST when it is delivered at that person’s home and is either provided by a government or municipality or paid for by a government, municipality or organization administering a government or municipal program, or when it is an additional home-care service for someone who already receives an exempt one. A home-care service arranged and paid for privately, outside those channels, is generally taxable like any other personal service.
An ordinary repair or renovation does not change how an existing (resale) home is taxed on a later sale. But when work on a home is extensive enough to count as a substantial renovation, CRA treats the result similarly to newly constructed housing, which can bring the sale back into taxable territory and open up new-housing rebate rules. See HST rebates on new homes in Ontario for how substantial renovation is distinguished from ordinary repairs and what that means for a later sale.
Ontario says home-renovation contracts over $50 must be in writing and recommends an itemized description of products, services and prices. If the contract is signed in your home and is worth $50 or more, you also get a 10-calendar-day cooling-off period to cancel for any reason without a cancellation fee; cancelling after work has already started under that period still leaves you responsible for reasonable compensation for the work and materials already provided. If the contract includes an estimate, the final price for the same goods and services generally cannot run more than 10% over that estimate unless you agree to new work or a new price and sign a change to your contract, so anything added later should show up as a separate, agreed line rather than folded into the original number. Ask for an estimate and contract that separates labour, materials and change orders, and confirm whether the quoted price already includes HST or needs it added.
Sources: CRA rates and place of supply; CRA: application of GST/HST to home care services (GI-166); Ontario home-renovation contract rights.