Credit card processing and merchant services in Ontario
Ontario lets you surcharge Visa and Mastercard credit cards within the network caps, and its 13% HST comes with rebates your till has to know about. We help you get both right.
Card surcharges
Allowed with limitsAllowed on Visa and Mastercard credit cards, up to 2.4% or your cost of acceptance, with 30 days' notice and disclosure. Never on debit.
Sales tax
13% HST
Last checked
October 6, 2026
If you take cards in Ontario, two provincial details shape your setup more than anything else: you're allowed to surcharge credit cards, and your till has to handle a 13% HST with rebates built in. You're in large company: ISED's Key Small Business Statistics 2025 counted 418,322 employer businesses in Ontario at the end of 2024, and 410,154 of them had fewer than 100 employees.
Surcharging is legal here. You can add a fee to Visa and Mastercard credit card payments of up to 2.4% or your actual cost of acceptance, whichever is lower, once you've given 30 days' notice and posted signs at the entrance and the till. Debit and prepaid cards are off limits. Whether it's worth doing depends on who pays you. A contractor billing $6,000 jobs may like the math; a café with $7 tickets may decide 17 cents a sale isn't worth the conversation at the counter. Our surcharging program covers setup, disclosure and compliance if you go ahead.
HST is the other half. Ontario charges 13%, but the 8% provincial part comes off at the till for some items, including books, children's clothing and footwear, and qualifying prepared food and drinks when the order totals $4 or less before tax. A POS that charges the full 13% on a $3 coffee is taking more than it should from your customer. Give those items their own tax codes before you open.
We price on interchange-plus, with no long-term contract and no cancellation fee, and every account has a dedicated rep. Send a recent statement for a free statement review and we'll show you what each transaction really costs. Our city pages cover Toronto, Ottawa, Mississauga, Brampton, Hamilton, London, Kitchener, Windsor, Markham, Vaughan, Oakville, Kingston, Barrie, Guelph, Greater Sudbury, Burlington, Oshawa, St. Catharines and Richmond Hill.
What Ontario merchants should know
Credit card surcharges in Ontario
Ontario has no surcharge ban, so the card network rules set the limits:
- Visa and Mastercard credit cards only. Their debit and prepaid cards can't be surcharged.
- The cap is 2.4% or your cost of acceptance (your merchant discount rate), whichever is lower.
- Give 30 days' notice first: in writing to your acquirer for Visa, and to both Mastercard and your acquirer for Mastercard.
- Disclose the surcharge at the entrance and at the point of sale, show the amount on the receipt, and credit it back if you refund the purchase (a Visa rule).
The FCAC adds that customers must see the fee before the transaction is completed and be able to cancel without penalty.
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
HST and point-of-sale rebates
Ontario's HST is 13%: the 5% federal part plus an 8% provincial part. The province rebates the 8% at the point of sale on specific items, so you collect only the 5% on them. They include books, children's clothing and footwear, and qualifying prepared food and beverages sold for a total of $4 or less, before HST, for all the qualifying items in the purchase.
Set up a separate tax code for each rebate group in your POS and your online checkout, and test a $3.50 order before you go live.
Sources: Canada Revenue Agency, Charge and collect the GST/HST: which rate to charge; Ontario Ministry of Finance, Harmonized Sales Tax; Ontario, HST: Ontario point-of-sale rebates; Canada Revenue Agency, GST/HST Info Sheet GI-064: Ontario point-of-sale rebate on prepared food and beverages
Surcharges and Ontario's 13% HST
CRA's info sheet GI-200 says a credit card surcharge is generally treated as payment for a separate financial service when it is shown and charged separately from the price of what the customer bought and from any other fees. No GST or HST is payable on a financial service.
So a 2.4% surcharge printed as its own line generally goes on the receipt without 13% added to it. If you raise your prices instead, the higher price is taxed like the rest of the sale.
Fees on debit payments in Ontario
According to Interac's fee page, Ontario merchants can't put a surcharge on Interac Debit directly, and any surcharge fee is capped at $0.25. If you want one, it has to come from your acquirer, so ask before you program anything into a terminal. Visa and Mastercard debit cards can't carry a surcharge at all.
Sources: Interac, Understanding fees; Visa Canada, Surcharging FAQ for businesses (PDF)
Cities we cover in Ontario
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Common questions
Is it legal to charge a credit card surcharge in Ontario?
Yes. Ontario has no surcharge ban, and the FCAC names Quebec as the only province where surcharging isn't an option. Visa and Mastercard set the limits: credit cards only, no more than 2.4% or your cost of acceptance, 30 days' notice, and disclosure at the entrance, at the till and on the receipt. Our surcharging page walks through the setup.
Do I charge 13% HST on top of a surcharge?
Generally not, if the surcharge is shown and charged as its own line. CRA's info sheet GI-200 treats a separately charged credit card surcharge as consideration for a financial service, and no GST or HST is payable on financial services. Have your accountant confirm the treatment for the way your receipts are set up.
How does the $4 rule for prepared food work at the till?
When the qualifying prepared food and drinks in one purchase total $4 or less before tax, the 8% provincial part of the HST is rebated at the point of sale, so you charge 5%. Go over $4 and the full 13% applies. On a $3.50 coffee, that's about 18 cents of tax instead of 46 cents.
Can I add a fee when customers pay with Interac in Ontario?
Not on your own. Interac's rules say a merchant can't apply a surcharge to Interac Debit directly, and any surcharge fee is capped at $0.25 and applied by the acquirer. Interac also says a debit transaction costs merchants around 10 cents, so there isn't much to recover anyway.
Which Ontario cities do you have pages for?
We have pages for Toronto, Ottawa, Mississauga, Brampton, Hamilton, London, Kitchener, Windsor, Markham, Vaughan, Oakville, Kingston, Barrie, Guelph, Greater Sudbury, Burlington, Oshawa, St. Catharines and Richmond Hill, each with local figures. We work with businesses anywhere in Ontario, though. We serve merchants remotely, and every account gets a dedicated rep.
Other provinces and territories we serve besides Ontario
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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