Credit card processing and merchant services in New Brunswick
New Brunswick charges 15% HST and has no ban on credit card surcharges, so the card networks' 2.4% cap and your own costs set the limit.
Card surcharges
Allowed with limitsAllowed within Visa and Mastercard rules: credit cards only, at most 2.4% or your cost of acceptance, 30 days' notice, clear signage.
Sales tax
15% HST
Last checked
October 6, 2026
New Brunswick's HST is 15%, made up of a 5% federal component and a 10% provincial component, as the province's Department of Finance puts it. The province raised its component to 10% on July 1, 2016, which took the HST from 13% to 15%. There's one point-of-sale rebate to know about: CRA lists books as New Brunswick's rebate item, so a bookstore or gift shop rings up qualifying books without the provincial 10%.
Credit card surcharges are allowed. The FCAC names Quebec as the only province where a surcharge isn't an option, and everywhere else Visa and Mastercard set the limits: credit cards only, no more than 2.4% or your cost of acceptance, 30 days' notice, and signs at the entrance and the point of sale. If you also sell from a location in Quebec, that store can't charge any card fee at all, so keep its terminal settings separate from your New Brunswick ones.
Interac debit works differently again. Interac's fee page says a merchant can't apply a surcharge to Interac Debit directly, and it caps any surcharge fee at $0.25, applied by the acquirer. With debit costing merchants around 10 cents a transaction by Interac's estimate, a debit fee is rarely worth the trouble.
ISED counted 20,631 employer businesses in New Brunswick at the end of 2024, and 20,256 of them had fewer than 100 employees. Private sector employment was about 224,900 in 2024. For businesses that size, it helps to see each fee on its own line, which is how interchange-plus pricing is laid out.
We work with New Brunswick merchants remotely, with a dedicated rep and no cancellation fees. Send a recent statement for a free statement review and we'll show you where the money goes.
What New Brunswick merchants should know
15% HST and the book rebate
New Brunswick's HST is 15%: a 5% federal component (the GST) and a 10% provincial component. The provincial component rose to 10% on July 1, 2016, taking the HST from 13% to 15%.
CRA lists books as the item that gets New Brunswick's point-of-sale rebate of the provincial part, so qualifying books carry only the 5% GST at the till.
Sources: Government of New Brunswick, Department of Finance, Harmonized Sales Tax (HST); Government of New Brunswick, Transitional rules for the New Brunswick HST rate increase (PDF); Canada Revenue Agency, GST/HST Info Sheet GI-191: New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador HST rate increases; Canada Revenue Agency, Charge and collect the GST/HST: which rate to charge; Canada Revenue Agency, Provincial point-of-sale rebate on qualifying items: eligibility
Surcharging credit cards in New Brunswick
New Brunswick has no surcharge ban. Visa and Mastercard allow a surcharge on their credit cards of up to 2.4% or your cost of acceptance, whichever is lower, once you've given 30 days' notice: written notice to your acquirer for Visa, and notice to both Mastercard and your acquirer for Mastercard.
Post the surcharge at the store entrance and the point of sale, and print the amount on the receipt. Debit and prepaid cards from either network can't be surcharged, and the FCAC says a customer must be able to cancel without penalty after seeing the fee.
Sources: Visa Canada, Surcharging FAQ for businesses (PDF); Mastercard Canada, What merchant surcharge rules mean to you in Canada; Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, Merchant surcharges, service and convenience fees, and discounts
No HST on a separately charged surcharge
CRA's info sheet GI-200 says a credit card surcharge is generally consideration for a separate financial service when it is shown and charged separately from the purchase and from any other fees. No GST or HST is payable on a financial service, so the surcharge line on a New Brunswick receipt generally carries no 15%.
Fees on Interac debit
Interac's fee page says merchants may not apply a surcharge to Interac Debit directly, and any surcharge fee is capped at $0.25. Only your acquirer can apply one.
Source: Interac, Understanding fees
Cities we cover in New Brunswick
Payment services we provide
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Common questions
What sales tax rate applies in New Brunswick?
15% HST on taxable sales: a 5% federal component and a 10% provincial component, according to the province's Department of Finance. The rate has been 15% since July 1, 2016. Qualifying books get a point-of-sale rebate of the provincial part, so they carry only the 5% GST.
Is credit card surcharging legal in New Brunswick?
Yes. The FCAC names Quebec as the only province where merchants can't surcharge. In New Brunswick you can add up to 2.4% or your cost of acceptance, whichever is lower, to Visa and Mastercard credit card payments, after 30 days' notice and with disclosure at the entrance, the point of sale and on the receipt. Our surcharging program handles the setup.
Do I charge HST on a credit card surcharge in New Brunswick?
Generally no, if you show and charge it separately. CRA's info sheet GI-200 treats a separately charged surcharge as consideration for a financial service, and no GST or HST applies to financial services. If you build the cost into your prices instead, the full price is taxed at 15%.
Do New Brunswick small businesses get lower card rates?
If you're under the thresholds, yes. Since October 19, 2024, Visa has applied lower interchange to businesses with under $300,000 in annual Visa sales, and Mastercard to those under $175,000 in annual Mastercard sales. Visa's threshold rises to $750,000 on October 24, 2026. The cut is to interchange, so it only shows up on your statement if your pricing passes interchange through at cost.
What if I have stores in New Brunswick and Quebec?
Set them up separately. Your New Brunswick stores can surcharge credit cards within the network rules and charge 15% HST. A Quebec store can't charge any fee for paying by debit or credit card, charges 5% GST plus 9.975% QST, and must issue receipts in French. See our Quebec page for the details.
Other provinces and territories we serve besides New Brunswick
Disclaimer: general information, not professional advice
This page is general educational information, not legal, tax, accounting or financial advice. Rules and rates vary by place and change, so confirm them with the official source and a qualified professional before you act. Full terms are in our Terms of Service.
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