Manitoba PST (Retail Sales Tax) in 2026: Rate, Registration, Exemptions and Filing

People search for "Manitoba PST", but the tax's legal name is the Retail Sales Tax (RST), and Manitoba Finance — not the CRA — runs it. If you sell goods, cloud software or listed services in Manitoba, you'll charge it alongside the federal GST, register for it separately and file it on its own schedule. This guide is for Manitoba owner-operators, contractors and out-of-province sellers who want the 2026 rules in one place: the rate, who must register and who's now exempt from registering, which goods and services are taxable, the several changes that took effect in 2026, how contractors are treated, and how to file through TAXcess. Every rule is checked against Manitoba Finance bulletins and notices as of October 2026, with worked examples in Canadian dollars.

Quick answer

Manitoba RST is 7%, charged on the price before GST, so most taxable sales carry 12% in total. You must register with Manitoba Finance if you carry on business in Manitoba selling taxable goods or services — unless your annual taxable sales are under C$30,000 and you buy all your goods from Manitoba-registered sellers. Returns and payments are due by the 20th of the month after each period.

• Monthly filing if average RST collectable is C$5,000+ a month; quarterly from C$500; annual below that

• Cloud computing (SaaS, PaaS, IaaS) taxable since 1 January 2026

• From 1 July 2026: more grocery foods and drinks, prenatal vitamins and M&P machinery are exempt

• Accounting, legal, engineering, architectural and security services are taxable in Manitoba

• Contractors pay RST on materials for real property; M&E contractors charge RST on the full contract

What Manitoba RST is and how it works

The Retail Sales Tax is a 7% tax under The Retail Sales Tax Act on the retail sale or rental of most goods and certain services in Manitoba. A retail sale is a sale to someone for their own use; a sale to a registered vendor who will resell the item isn't one, which is why vendors quote their 7-digit RST number to buy inventory tax-free. RST is calculated on the selling price before GST, and the CRA calculates GST on the price before RST, so the two never compound.

The rate was cut from 8% to 7% on 1 July 2019 and hasn't changed since. As of October 2026 we found no rate change announced for 2026; the provincial budget, usually tabled in March or April, is where one would appear.

Goods are taxable unless the Act exempts them. Services are the opposite: they're taxable only if the Act lists them — but Manitoba's list is longer than many people expect and includes professional services that BC and Saskatchewan treat differently. Some insurance is taxable too: personal property and casualty insurance and group insurance generally attract RST, while insurance on real property, health, individual life and certain auto insurance does not.

There's no RST input tax credit. RST you pay on goods and services you use in your business — furniture, computers, cloud subscriptions, repairs — is a cost. That's different from GST, where a registrant recovers what it pays through input tax credits on its GST/HST return.

Manitoba RST at a glance (2026)

7%

RST rate

on the price before GST

12%

Typical combined GST + RST

C$30,000

Small business registration exception

since April 2024

20th

Return due day

of the month after the period

Who must register for Manitoba RST

Manitoba Finance's registration guide lists who needs an RST account. You must register if you:

• carry on business in Manitoba selling taxable goods or services at retail;
• are a manufacturer, wholesaler or importer in Manitoba;
• bring into Manitoba taxable goods for your business's own use — specifically, goods bought outside the province with a fair value of C$800 or more in each of two or more months in the same calendar year;
• are an out-of-province business that solicits and sells goods in Manitoba;
• are a mechanical or electrical (M&E) contractor working in Manitoba; or
• run a temporary, short-term or intermittent retail business in Manitoba, such as at a trade show or seasonal market.

Out-of-province sellers must register and collect RST when they cause taxable goods to be delivered in Manitoba, solicit orders there (by advertising, email, phone or any other means) and accept orders originating there — or when they hold inventory in Manitoba for Manitoba customers. Bulletin RST 004 sets no minimum sales threshold for this test. Sellers who only ship exempt goods, or sell only to Manitoba businesses buying for resale, don't need to register.

You don't need to register if your business sells only non-taxable goods or services, or if you're a contractor (other than an M&E contractor) who only supplies and installs goods into real property and buys everything from RST-registered sellers.

Do you need a Manitoba RST number?

Step 1

Sell taxable goods or services in Manitoba?

Step 2

Annual taxable sales under C$30,000?

Step 3

Buy only from RST-registered sellers, no tobacco or liquor?

Step 4

Yes to all → registration optional

otherwise register on TAXcess

The C$30,000 small business exception

Since April 2024 (Information Notice RST 24-01), small businesses with annual taxable sales under C$30,000 don't have to register or collect RST. Instead, they pay RST on everything they buy — including goods bought for resale and inputs for things they make — keep sales records, and state on their invoices that RST is included in the price. They must not show RST as a separate line.

The exception doesn't apply to businesses that sell tobacco or liquor, or that buy from out-of-province suppliers who don't collect Manitoba RST. Already-registered businesses under the threshold may cancel their RST number, but must first self-assess RST on inventory they bought tax-free while registered.

Once sales exceed C$30,000, you get one month to register and start collecting. Manitoba Finance's own example: a business with a December year-end that crosses the threshold in October must register and begin collecting RST on 1 December.

Business customers of an unregistered small business don't self-assess RST on goods when the invoice says RST is included. They do have to self-assess on taxable services bought from any unregistered seller, because no RST is built into a service price.

How to register for an RST number

Registration costs nothing. Complete the Application for Registration/Dealer's Licence online through TAXcess, Manitoba's tax portal, or on a paper form from Manitoba Finance. If you apply online, your account number arrives by email. You'll receive two numbers: the 7-digit RST number you give suppliers when buying for resale, and a 15-digit account number that appears on your returns and correspondence — the account number can't be used to buy tax-free.

Register for Manitoba RST

1. 1

   Check whether you must register

   Compare your taxable sales with the C$30,000 exception and check whether you sell tobacco or liquor or buy from out-of-province suppliers that don't charge RST.

2. 2

   Apply through TAXcess

   Complete the Application for Registration/Dealer's Licence online. There's no fee.

   Manitoba TAXcess
3. 3

   Note both numbers

   Use the 7-digit RST number with suppliers; use the 15-digit account number when filing and paying.

4. 4

   Set up invoices

   Show the sale price of each item and the total RST separately. Record a customer's RST number when you sell to them tax-free for resale.

5. 5

   Tell Manitoba Finance about changes

   Report changes of name, address, ownership or business form straight away. RST numbers aren't transferable.

What's taxable and what's exempt

Taxable goods include clothing (other than children's), jewellery, vehicles, furniture, building materials, alcohol, cigarettes and e-cigarettes, equipment and tools, appliances, toys, musical instruments, sports equipment and prepackaged software. Goods bought outside Manitoba for use here are taxable on the full cost, including freight, currency exchange and other charges but not GST.

Exempt goods include basic groceries; children's clothing and footwear priced at C$150 or less within the specified size ranges; qualifying books; baby supplies such as diapers, cribs, strollers, gates and monitors; feminine hygiene products; prescription drugs and many medical supplies; farm inputs; used clothing and footwear valued at C$100 or less; custom-developed software; and, since 1 July 2026, prenatal vitamins and qualifying manufacturing and processing machinery.

Taxable services — the list that surprises newcomers — include:

• Accounting, legal, architectural, engineering, security and private investigation services;
• repairing, maintaining, cleaning, installing or altering taxable goods (a computer repair or a car service);
• maintenance and repair of plumbing, heating, electrical and air-conditioning systems, taxed on the total charge;
• telephone and other telecommunications within the province, and streaming of music, video, podcasts and ring tones;
• cloud computing (since 1 January 2026);
• short-term accommodation of less than one month, including through online platforms;
• printing, photography, videography and tanning.

Exempt services include construction labour and other services to real property, personal services such as hair, nail, skin and spa services, child care, education, general advice or consulting, veterinary services, footwear repair and laboratory testing.

GST vs Manitoba RST on common sales

Item	GST	Manitoba RST	Combined
Adult clothing, furniture, electronics	5%	7%	12%
Children's shoes, C$80	5%	Exempt	5%
Accounting or legal fees	5%	7%	12%
SaaS subscription used in Manitoba	5%	7%	12%
Haircut	5%	Exempt	5%
Grocery-store sandwich or soft drink (from 1 July 2026)	5%	Exempt	5%
Restaurant meal	5%	7%	12%
Basic groceries	Zero-rated	Exempt	0%

Adult clothing, furniture, electronics

GST

5%

Manitoba RST

7%

Combined

12%

Children's shoes, C$80

GST

5%

Manitoba RST

Exempt

Combined

5%

Accounting or legal fees

GST

5%

Manitoba RST

7%

Combined

12%

SaaS subscription used in Manitoba

GST

5%

Manitoba RST

7%

Combined

12%

Haircut

GST

5%

Manitoba RST

Exempt

Combined

5%

Grocery-store sandwich or soft drink (from 1 July 2026)

GST

5%

Manitoba RST

Exempt

Combined

5%

Restaurant meal

GST

5%

Manitoba RST

7%

Combined

12%

Basic groceries

GST

Zero-rated

Manitoba RST

Exempt

Combined

0%

What changed in 2026

Cloud computing became taxable on 1 January 2026. Before then, Manitoba taxed software but not software merely accessed remotely. Bulletin RST 033 now treats software as a service, platform as a service and infrastructure as a service as taxable when bought for use on a device, or by a person, ordinarily situated in Manitoba. Payments made before 1 January 2026 for service periods that began before that date weren't taxed, even where the period ran into 2026. Organizations with users inside and outside Manitoba may prorate RST by the share of licences or users in Manitoba.

Groceries and prenatal vitamins from 1 July 2026. The 2026 budget, tabled in March, removed RST from a long list of food and drink sold in grocery stores, regardless of packaging or serving size: self-serve sandwiches, soups, rotisserie chickens and samosas; prepared salads and platters; carbonated and non-carbonated soft drinks, sports and energy drinks without a natural health product licence; and single-serve baked goods. Restaurants, coffee shops, food trucks, licensed premises, cinemas and grocery-store food counters that don't sell through the regular checkout stay taxable. Prenatal vitamins became exempt on the same date.

Manufacturing and processing machinery from 1 July 2026. Manufacturers and processors can buy qualifying machinery, equipment and apparatus — used directly in manufacturing or processing and attached to land or a building — RST-free by quoting their RST number. Leased or previously used equipment doesn't qualify. Anyone who paid RST on qualifying equipment can instead claim the 7% refundable portion of Manitoba's Manufacturing Investment Tax Credit on their corporate return.

Electronic filing ahead. The same budget announced that every RST vendor will have to file, pay and remit electronically from 1 January 2028. Monthly filers already must use TAXcess.

RST for contractors and M&E trades

Manitoba treats construction very differently from Saskatchewan. A contractor working on real property — building, renovating or repairing land and buildings — pays RST on the materials it buys and installs, and does not charge RST on its invoice for construction, installation, maintenance or repair of real property. The contractor also pays RST on its own equipment, rentals, equipment repairs and supplies.

Mechanical and electrical (M&E) systems are the exception. Plumbing, heating, cooling, electrical, electronic and telecommunication systems remain tangible personal property under the Act even when built into a building. So an M&E contractor buys the materials RST-free and charges RST on the total contract price, labour included. The same applies to supplying and installing production equipment, and to repair or maintenance of M&E systems — RST applies to the labour even if no parts are used.

Worked example: two Winnipeg contractors

A roofer. Red River Roofing replaces a house roof for C$15,000 before tax. It paid C$6,000 for shingles and materials plus C$420 RST to its supplier, and built that cost into its price. Its invoice to the homeowner shows C$15,000 + C$750 GST = C$15,750, with no RST line.

A heating contractor. Prairie Mechanical installs a new furnace for C$8,000, including C$4,800 for the furnace (bought RST-free with its RST number) and C$3,200 of labour. Because a furnace is an M&E system, the invoice shows C$8,000 + C$400 GST + C$560 RST = C$8,960.

Filing and paying your RST return

Your filing frequency depends on your average RST collectable per month:

Returns and payments are due by 4:30 p.m. on the 20th day of the month after the period, or the next working day if the 20th falls on a weekend or holiday. Manitoba Finance goes by the date it receives the return; postmarks don't count, so mailing on the 19th is risky. Monthly filers must file and pay through TAXcess; quarterly and annual filers can still use paper until electronic filing becomes mandatory for everyone in 2028. File every period: if you have nothing to report, enter "nil" (or 0.00 in TAXcess).

Credit sales are reported in the month of the sale whether or not the customer has paid, and if you fail to collect the correct RST, you owe it anyway. Two adjustments reduce what you remit. RST paid in error on exempt purchases can be deducted from the RST collectable on line 1 or claimed as a refund, within two years. The RST portion of a bad debt can be credited too: Manitoba Finance's example is a C$168 bill (C$150 + C$7.50 GST + C$10.50 RST) of which C$43 is written off, giving a credit of C$43 ÷ C$168 × C$10.50 = C$2.69, also within two years.

The June 2024 revision of Bulletin RST 004 removed the references to a vendor commission, so don't build one into your cash planning. Late returns attract penalties, and unpaid amounts accrue interest compounded monthly at a rate Manitoba Finance resets every 1 January and 1 July. Keep records for the current year plus the six previous years — general ledgers indefinitely.

Worked example: a Brandon retailer's quarter

Westman Outdoor in Brandon sells C$65,000 of taxable goods in January to March and C$9,000 of exempt children's footwear. It bought a C$3,000 display system from a Saskatchewan supplier who didn't charge RST, and paid C$140 RST in error on goods for resale.

Average monthly RST of about C$1,500 keeps Westman Outdoor on quarterly filing.

Common mistakes and how to fix them

• Relying on the old C$10,000 rule. The registration exception is now C$30,000 — but only if you buy from RST-registered sellers and don't sell tobacco or liquor.
• Itemizing RST while unregistered. A small business using the exception must say RST is included, not show it. If you collected RST without being registered, remit it immediately with a reconciliation letter.
• Not charging RST on professional fees. Accounting, legal, engineering, architectural and security services are taxable in Manitoba, unlike in most other provinces.
• Ignoring cloud subscriptions. Since 1 January 2026, foreign and out-of-province SaaS providers that don't charge RST leave you to self-assess it.
• Old POS codes after 1 July 2026. Grocers still charging RST on soft drinks, sandwiches or single-serve baked goods are overcharging.
• Treating an M&E job like general construction. Furnace, plumbing and electrical work is taxed on the whole contract; general construction is not.

If you also sell into Saskatchewan or BC, see our Saskatchewan PST guide and BC PST guide — both handle contractors and services differently.

Official Manitoba RST links

• Retail Sales Tax — Manitoba FinanceOverview, bulletins and forms
• TAXcessRegister, file and pay online
• Bulletin RST 004 — Information for VendorsRegistration, filing, due dates
• Notice RST 24-01 — small business exceptionC$30,000 rule
• Bulletin RST 030 — taxable and exempt goods and servicesRevised July 2026
• Bulletin RST 033 — software and cloud computingCloud taxable from 1 January 2026
• Notice RST 26-01 — food and beverage exemptionFrom 1 July 2026

What to do next

Check your taxable sales against the C$30,000 exception, register through TAXcess if you need to, and set separate tax codes for 7% RST, exempt items and GST. Use the GST/HST calculator to check 12% totals, and see GST/HST rates by province for the federal rates when you sell outside Manitoba.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice — confirm on the official source or with a professional.

Frequently asked questions

What is the PST rate in Manitoba?

Manitoba's provincial sales tax, officially the Retail Sales Tax (RST), is 7%, calculated on the selling price before GST. With the 5% GST, most taxable sales carry 12% in total. The rate fell from 8% to 7% on 1 July 2019 and has not changed since.

Do I need to register for Manitoba RST?

Yes, if you carry on business in Manitoba and sell taxable goods or services, unless your annual taxable sales are under C$30,000 and you buy all your goods from sellers registered for Manitoba RST. Tobacco and liquor sellers, and businesses buying from out-of-province suppliers that don't collect RST, can't use that exception. Registration is free through TAXcess.

When is the Manitoba RST return due?

By 4:30 p.m. on the 20th day of the month after the reporting period — 20 March for a February monthly return, 20 April for a January–March quarter, and 20 January for an annual return. Postmarks don't count; the return and payment must be received by the deadline. Monthly filers must file and pay through TAXcess.

Does Manitoba charge PST on services?

Only on services the Act lists. Taxable services include accounting, legal, architectural, engineering, security and private investigation services, repairs and installation of goods, telecommunications, short-term accommodation, streaming, printing and photography, and — since 1 January 2026 — cloud computing. Haircuts and other personal services, construction labour on real property, child care, education and veterinary services are not taxed.

Is SaaS taxable in Manitoba?

Yes, from 1 January 2026. Software as a service, platform as a service and infrastructure as a service are taxable at 7% when used on a device or by a person ordinarily situated in Manitoba. Payments made before that date for service periods straddling it were not taxed. Businesses using cloud services across provinces can prorate by Manitoba users or licences.

What changed in Manitoba RST in 2026?

Cloud computing became taxable on 1 January 2026. On 1 July 2026, RST was removed from many grocery-store foods and drinks (ready-to-eat foods, soft drinks, single-serve baked goods) and from prenatal vitamins, and qualifying manufacturing and processing machinery became exempt. The 2026 budget also announced mandatory electronic filing for all RST vendors from 1 January 2028.

Sources & verification

Figures on this page were checked against the sources below when it was last reviewed on 12 October 2026. Each rate and limit is stored once with its own official source and review date, and official update channels are monitored daily so changes are picked up. How we verify

1. 1.Information Bulletin RST 004, Information for Vendors (revised June 2024) — Manitoba Finance · accessed 12 October 2026
2. 2.Information Notice RST 24-01, Registration Requirement Eliminated for Small Business — Manitoba Finance · accessed 12 October 2026
3. 3.Registering for Manitoba Taxation (January 2026) — Manitoba Finance · accessed 12 October 2026
4. 4.Information Bulletin RST 030, Summary of Taxable and Exempt Goods and Services (revised July 2026) — Manitoba Finance · accessed 12 October 2026
5. 5.Information Bulletin RST 033, Computer Software and Online Services (revised January 2026) — Manitoba Finance · accessed 12 October 2026
6. 6.Information Notice RST 26-01, Expanded Exemption on Food and Beverages (revised June 2026) — Manitoba Finance · accessed 12 October 2026
7. 7.Information Bulletin RST 065, Manufacturing and Processing (July 2026) — Manitoba Finance · accessed 12 October 2026
8. 8.Bulletin No. 005, Information for Contractors — Manitoba Finance · accessed 12 October 2026
9. 9.Budget 2019 – Retail Sales Tax rate reduction (Taxation bulletin) — Manitoba Finance · accessed 12 October 2026
10. 10.GST/HST calculator (and rates) — Canada Revenue Agency · accessed 12 October 2026
11. 11.Manitoba 2026 budget RST changes — Sovos · accessed 12 October 2026