Saskatchewan and Manitoba Business Compliance: PST, RST and Payroll Levy

Saskatchewan and Manitoba business compliance revolves around two provincial sales taxes that sit on top of the 5% GST: Saskatchewan's 6% PST and Manitoba's 7% retail sales tax (RST). Both provinces collect their own sales tax, while the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) collects provincial corporate income tax, GST and payroll deductions. Manitoba also charges a payroll levy on larger employers. This page is for owners in Saskatoon, Regina, Winnipeg and Brandon, including U.S. and India-linked owners, and it explains registration, filing and the 2026 rates.

Saskatchewan and Manitoba business compliance: how do you register?

Saskatchewan. The Corporate Registry (saskregistries.ca) lets you incorporate or register a business online and file annual returns. You can ask the Ministry of Finance to register you and have the Workers' Compensation Board contact you, and the registry assigns a federal business number automatically. Separately, businesses must hold a PST number.

Manitoba. The Companies Office registers corporations and business names; check its notices for the status of Companies Online. Register for RST online through TAXcess at no charge, or by application form. See our incorporation guide for the federal alternative.

How does Saskatchewan PST work?

PST is 6% on taxable goods, services and insurance contracts used in Saskatchewan, and GST is excluded from the base. Basic groceries, reading materials, agricultural equipment and prescription drugs are exempt. All businesses operating or making retail sales in the province must be registered, except qualifying small traders. A small trader is a home-based individual making craft-type goods sold on a small, non-commercial scale, with annual sales under $10,000, sold from the residence. That guideline does not extend to sales at markets or online marketplaces, to commercial customers or to non-resident vendors.

Businesses outside Saskatchewan that make retail sales in the province must become licensed to collect PST, including where they accept orders from Saskatchewan or deliver goods there. Marketplace facilitators must be licensed too. You apply through Saskatchewan eTax Services (SETS), by adding an account to an existing SETS login, or by mailing or emailing the registration form to the Ministry of Finance, Revenue Division.

Returns filed and paid electronically are due the last day of the month after the reporting period (a November return is due December 31). Paper filings are due the 20th. If the date falls on a weekend or statutory holiday, the next business day applies.

How does Manitoba RST work?

RST is 7% on the retail sale or rental of most goods and certain services in Manitoba, and the tax is calculated on the selling price before GST. Any person carrying on business in Manitoba must have an RST number before making taxable sales, except small businesses with annual taxable sales under $30,000. Those small businesses pay RST on their purchases and do not collect it. They must register and collect within one month of passing $30,000, and sellers of tobacco or liquor, and businesses buying from out-of-province suppliers who do not collect Manitoba RST, are not eligible for the exception.

Return frequency depends on the average RST collectable each month: $5,000 or more is monthly (filed through TAXcess), $500 to $4,999 is quarterly and under $500 is annual. A vendor that brings goods bought outside the province into Manitoba, with a fair value of $800 or more, in each of two or more months in a calendar year must register and self-assess RST on those purchases. The CRA reports that effective July 1, 2026 the 7% refundable portion of Manitoba's manufacturing investment tax credit for certain machinery and equipment becomes an immediate RST exemption.

What is Manitoba's payroll levy?

The Health and Post-Secondary Education Tax Levy is paid by employers with a permanent establishment in Manitoba on remuneration paid to employees. Employers with total remuneration of $2.5 million or less in a year are exempt, and associated groups share that exemption. Between $2.5 million and $5 million the rate is 4.3% on the amount above $2.5 million; above $5 million it is 2.15% of the entire payroll.

What corporate tax applies?

The CRA administers both provinces' corporate tax on the T2 return. Saskatchewan's lower rate is 1% on the first $600,000 and the higher rate is 12%. Manitoba's lower rate is nil on the first $500,000 and the higher rate is 12%. With the federal rates, a CCPC pays 10% in Saskatchewan and 9% in Manitoba on income within its limit, and 27% in both provinces on other income. See the small business deduction guide.

Worked example: a Winnipeg retailer and a Regina fabricator

Red River Goods Ltd. is a Winnipeg CCPC. It has $480,000 of taxable sales, so it collects 7% RST of $33,600 a year, an average of $2,800 a month, which puts it in quarterly filing. Its $400,000 of active business income is taxed federally at 9%, or $36,000, and provincially at nil.

Prairie Fab Ltd. is a Regina CCPC with $400,000 of active business income. It pays 10% (9% federal plus 1% Saskatchewan), or $40,000, and remits about $10,000 a year of PST, so it files quarterly, by the last day of the month after each quarter.

If a Manitoba employer's payroll is $3 million, the levy is 4.3% x ($3,000,000 - $2,500,000) = $21,500. At $5.5 million it jumps to 2.15% x $5,500,000 = $118,250.

Mistakes to avoid

• Charging Manitoba RST on top of GST at the wrong base; RST is calculated before GST.
• Ignoring Manitoba's one-month deadline after passing $30,000.
• Assuming the Saskatchewan small-trader rule covers an online seller.
• Filing a Saskatchewan paper return by the electronic due date; the 20th applies to paper.
• Forgetting that associated employers share Manitoba's $2.5 million exemption.

A note for U.S.- and India-linked owners

U.S. sellers who ship to Saskatchewan customers can fall within the non-resident vendor rules, and sellers into Manitoba should check the out-of-province rules in Bulletin RST 004. Our U.S. sales tax registration page and the GST, sales tax and VAT comparison show how Canadian provincial taxes differ from U.S. state sales tax. Indian groups should read Indian company entering Canada, and U.S. parents can read U.S. company entering Canada. India's own system is covered in GST in India. The U.S.-Canada treaty guide explains how the treaty applies to income tax; provincial sales taxes are consumption taxes and sit outside an income tax treaty.

How we can help

We are a U.S. CPA firm in Aurora, Illinois. We help U.S. and India-linked owners decide where provincial sales tax registration is needed and coordinate with your Canadian CPA, who files the PST, RST, GST and T2 returns. See our sales tax and GST compliance and payroll and employer compliance services.

Frequently asked questions

General information only. It is not tax, legal, accounting or immigration advice for your situation, and rules change; confirm the current rules with the official source or a licensed professional in the relevant country.