Canada Menu Price Rounding Guide (2026): GST/HST + Cash Rounding Without Margin Leaks

Rounding sounds small until it quietly distorts your margin reporting. In Canada, operators usually run into trouble when pre-tax costing, GST/HST checkout totals, and cash-rounding rules are handled in the wrong order.

This guide gives you a practical sequence: protect margin with pre-tax math first, then apply province tax, then round cash totals at the very end.

Quick Takeaways

• Build and review food cost on pre-tax menu prices.
• Apply GST/HST by province only after your target margin is locked.
• For cash payments, round the final amount to the nearest 5 cents.
• Keep one rollout date across POS, printed menus, QR menus, and ordering channels.

The Order That Prevents Margin Drift

Use this order every time:

1. Set the pre-tax menu price from your target food cost.
2. Apply the location tax rate (GST/HST).
3. Round only the final cash amount when needed.

When teams round earlier in the process, item-level margin checks stop matching what finance sees at month end.

GST/HST Snapshot to Lock First

CRA guidance currently uses:

• 13% HST in Ontario
• 14% HST in Nova Scotia (on or after 2025-04-01)
• 15% HST in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Island
• 5% GST in provinces/territories without HST (with PST/QST handled separately where applicable)

If you operate in multiple provinces, keep one pricing sheet with rate columns by region.

Core Pricing Math (Pre-Tax First)

Pre-tax target price = Food cost per serving / Target food cost %

Then checkout math:

Tax-inclusive total = Pre-tax price x (1 + GST/HST rate)

For cash only, apply nearest-5-cent rounding to the final total.

Worked Example: Same Item, Different Province Outcome

Assume your pre-tax target price is C$14.20.

Your item-level food cost % does not change because it is based on C$14.20 pre-tax. What changes is the guest-facing checkout amount by province and payment method.

Local Operating Scenarios

Downtown Toronto quick-service lunch shop

You usually protect conversion by holding anchor prices steady and recovering margin through add-ons, drinks, and bundles. In this setup, consistent price endings (for example .20, .50, .90) reduce front-counter friction.

Calgary food truck with high cash mix on event days

Card volume is still high, but cash spikes on festival weekends. The key is testing cash-rounding behavior in POS before event service, so staff can quote totals confidently.

20-Minute Monthly Rounding Audit

1. Recalculate pre-tax target price for top sellers.
2. Verify province tax mappings in POS.
3. Simulate card and cash totals for your top 20 SKUs.
4. Check whether menu endings still fit your ladder.
5. Publish one effective date across all channels.

Related Guides

• Canada Menu Pricing Calculator
• Canada Menu Pricing Guide
• Canada GST/HST Pricing Guide
• Canada Food Cost Calculator
• Canada Menu Price Review Checklist

Want This Done Automatically?

KitchenCost recalculates recipe costs, food cost %, and price targets as ingredient prices change, so your province checkout math stays consistent.

If you want faster monthly updates, try KitchenCost.

Sources (checked on 2026-02-13)

• Canada Revenue Agency - GST/HST rates and place-of-supply guidance
• Canada Revenue Agency - GST/HST calculator
• Government of Canada (Budget 2012) - Penny phase-out and cash rounding guideline