Three levels of government, one listing.
A Canadian host answers to the municipality, often the province, and the CRA at the same time. Since 2024 a lapsed local permit is a federal tax problem too. Here is what applied on September 2, 2026, who says so, and the files built for it.
Federal: the CRA
Rental income goes on Form T776 with your T1. Hotel-style services such as daily cleaning can turn it into business income; ask an accountant once.
GST/HST applies to stays under 30 consecutive nights. Once that revenue passes CAD 30,000 in any four consecutive quarters, registration is mandatory.
Since January 1, 2024, the Income Tax Act denies every expense on a short-term rental that does not comply with provincial and municipal licensing and zoning.
Source: Canada Revenue Agency, canada.ca.
British Columbia
Hosts register in the provincial short-term rental registry, show the number on every listing, and renew yearly. Platforms remove listings without it.
A principal-residence requirement applies in many communities. Kelowna was the first to opt out, on June 1, 2026.
On every night: PST at 8 percent, the MRDT of up to 3 percent where a community collects it, and in the City of Vancouver a 2.5 percent Major Events MRDT until January 31, 2030.
Sources: Province of BC, short-term rentals and the PST bulletin on accommodation.
Ontario
Toronto requires registration, limits short-term rentals to your principal residence, and caps entire-home rentals at 180 nights a year. The Toronto rules and the MAT article walks through all of it. Other cities run their own licensing; ask yours in writing.
The Toronto Municipal Accommodation Tax is 6 percent for stays from August 1, 2026, after a temporary 8.5 percent rate that ran from June 1, 2025. Airbnb collects it for Toronto hosts. Vrbo does not, and every operator files a quarterly MAT report either way.
Ontario's Fire Code has required carbon monoxide alarms since 2014 in any home with a fuel-burning appliance, a fireplace, or an attached garage, and in condo units beside a service room or garage. Since January 1, 2026 an alarm is required on every storey, and one outside the bedrooms is no longer enough.
Sources: City of Toronto, short-term rentals and the MAT page.
Quebec
Every listing and advertisement carries the establishment's registration number and its expiry date. The CITQ issues the number for the Minister of Tourism. Platforms face fines of up to CAD 100,000 per non-compliant listing, so they check and delist.
On every night: the tax on lodging at 3.5 percent of the room price on stays of 31 nights or less, then 5 percent GST and 9.975 percent QST on the total including that tax. Airbnb collects all three for unregistered hosts. On a direct booking, you do.
Sources: Revenu Quebec on the tax on lodging, and Quebec.ca on registration under the Tourist Accommodation Act.
Rules move. Dates protect you.
Everything above was checked against the issuing body on September 2, 2026. Get your municipality's answer in writing with a date, print the registration number on the listing, and file every period. Those three are what the platform, the province, and the CRA each look for.
The Canadian editions
The same trackers, rebuilt for the T776, the GST/HST test, and the taxes that stack on each night. All three come with the All-Access Pass.
Income & Expense Tracker, Canada
Categories named as the T776 names them, GST/HST in and out on the side, and a rolling four-quarter test that tells you when to register.
Registry, Permit & Tax Tracker, Canada
Every number you hold with its renewal countdown, the tax matrix by province, a filing calendar, and the questions to ask the municipality first.
Startup Checklist, Canada
The five phases with the Canadian rules put where they bite, and a gate before the listing goes live.
Reading
- GST/HST on short-term rentals: the 30,000 dollar test
- The BC short-term rental registry, what a host has to do
- Toronto short-term rental rules and the accommodation tax
- Quebec: the CITQ number and the tax on lodging
Prices in Canadian dollars
The Pass and the services are priced in USD and shown in CAD at checkout for Canadian cards. The Book Direct tool lets you quote your own guests in CAD.