Edition 1
September 2026
The Reading Room
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Canada
Free to read · Canada
Edition 1 · Published by Periodica ·
The Reading Room · Edition 1 ·
Column · Law & history
The tampon tax: how Canada took GST off period products
At a glance
Who it’s for: Anyone who has wondered whether there is tax on period products in Canada, including students working on a civics project.
Reading time: About 8 min
On this page:
In three points:
- Since 1 July 2015, no GST or HST is charged on the period products listed in Canada’s tax law.
- The provinces moved on their own dates. Manitoba took its provincial sales tax off in 2002.
- The law lists “a sanitary napkin, tampon, sanitary belt, menstrual cup or other similar product” that is “marketed exclusively for feminine hygiene purposes”.
Canada once charged its federal sales tax on period pads and tampons. Manitoba took its own provincial tax off in 2002. Ottawa took the GST and HST off on 1 July 2015. Here is what the tax was, who removed it, when, and what the law says today.
General information, not tax, legal or medical advice. For a question about tax on a purchase, the Canada Revenue Agency or a tax professional can help. Where to go from here
- 1993 to 2015The dates, in order
- Wait. What? · Sanitary beltsStill named in Canada’s tax law
- ElsewhereAround the world
About this Column · Editor’s Note
Dear reader,
“Tampon tax” sounds like a slogan, but it was a real line on a real receipt. This Column tells how that line came off in Canada, in the words of the governments that did it, with dates. It covers the federal change and the provinces whose own records we read. It does not cover every province, and it does not give tax advice. If there is a tax question you would like explained next, tell the Editor.
— The Editor
The tampon tax did not end on one day in Canada. It came off in steps: one province in 2002, the federal government in 2015, and other provinces on their own dates. This Column puts those steps in order, and then shows what the law says now.
What the tampon tax was
“Tampon tax” is an everyday name for sales tax or value-added tax charged on period products. In Canada, the federal sales tax is the goods and services tax (GST). In some provinces it is combined with a provincial tax as the harmonized sales tax (HST).
Glossary · Tampon tax
An everyday name for sales tax or value-added tax charged on period products.
Says who? Context, 2023.
Glossary · GST and HST
The goods and services tax is Canada’s federal sales tax. The harmonized sales tax combines it with a provincial sales tax in some provinces.
Says who? Canada Revenue Agency.
Since 1 July 2015, the period products listed in the law are zero-rated. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) explains: “Zero-rated means that no GST/HST is charged when the product is sold, as the tax rate is 0%.”
Glossary · Zero-rated
Taxed at 0%. In the CRA’s words, “no GST/HST is charged when the product is sold”.
Says who? Canada Revenue Agency, 2015.
In 2015, the CRA also gave examples of products the change would not include: “deodorants, douches, sprays, syringes and feminine wipes”.
A note on words: the laws and government releases we quote say “feminine hygiene”, “sanitary napkin”, “sanitary pads” and “sanitary products”. We keep their words so we report them accurately. In our own words, we say “period products” and “period pads”. The Reading Room is for everyone who menstruates.
Glossary · Sanitary belt
A period product named in Canada’s tax law.
Says who? Excise Tax Act.
The dates, in order
- 1993. Manitoba’s budget extends its retail sales tax to “feminine hygiene products”.
- 1 May 2002. Manitoba takes its retail sales tax off these products. The minister says the tax “amounted to gender-based taxation”.
- By August 2014. Ontario and Nova Scotia give a rebate, at the till, for the provincial part of the HST on these products: 8% in Ontario and 10% in Nova Scotia.
- January 2015. An online petition to remove the federal tax goes live. It later receives “more than 70,000 signatures”.
- May 2015. The House of Commons unanimously adopted a motion calling for the change.
- 28 May 2015. The federal government tables a Notice of Ways and Means Motion “to remove the goods and services tax (GST) and harmonized sales tax (HST) on products marketed exclusively for feminine hygiene purposes, making them zero-rated.”
- 1 July 2015. No more GST or HST on these products. On the same day, Saskatchewan removes its provincial sales tax (PST) from them.
- Quebec. Quebec also zero-rates these products (Act respecting the Québec sales tax, s. 198.6).
Glossary · Notice of Ways and Means Motion
A notice tabled in Parliament that proposes a tax change; the 2015 notice proposed amending the Excise Tax Act.
Says who? Canada Revenue Agency, 2015.
The 2015 change had a longer story behind it. “Legislative efforts to remove the GST date back years,” The Canadian Press reported at the time, in the Globe and Mail. An MP quoted by CBC News credited the faster timeline “to the thousands of signatures on written and online petitions”.
What the law says now
The zero rate is now written into Canada’s Excise Tax Act. Its list of zero-rated supplies includes:
“1 A supply of a product that is marketed exclusively for feminine hygiene purposes and is a sanitary napkin, tampon, sanitary belt, menstrual cup or other similar product.”
Excise Tax Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. E-15, Schedule VI (zero-rated supplies), Part II.1, s. 1. Current to 21 September 2026.
The federal change covers the GST and the HST. Provincial sales taxes are set by each province. In 2015, the CRA said: “provincial sales tax may still apply to such sales.” Manitoba and Saskatchewan took their own taxes off, on the dates above, and Quebec’s sales tax act also zero-rates these products. This Column covers only the provinces whose own records the Editor read. It does not cover every province.
Glossary · PST and QST
Provincial sales tax and Quebec sales tax, set by the provinces that have them.
Says who? Governments of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Quebec.
For a question about tax on a purchase or a business, the CRA or a tax professional can answer it. This Column cannot.
Around the world
- Kenya, 2004. Kenya “became the first country to scrap VAT on sanitary pads and tampons in 2004”, according to a 2023 explainer by the Thomson Reuters Foundation’s news site, Context.
- By 2023. The same explainer counted “at least 17 countries” that followed Kenya, and said tax had been “scrapped or cut in 48 nations”.
- United Kingdom, 2021. A zero rate of VAT applied from 1 January 2021, once the UK was “no longer bound by the EU VAT Directive which mandates a minimum 5% tax on all sanitary products”, the UK Treasury said. For what Scotland’s own law did, see “Scotland made period products free”.
Where to go from here
- If you need period products now, in Canada: “Free period products in Canada, by province and program”.
- If you want to help others get period products: Food Banks Canada’s Menstrual Equity Fund page or a local charity.
- Period products at work in Canada: “Period products at work: the federal rule in Canada”.
- Another country’s law: “Scotland made period products free: what the law actually says”.
- For a question about tax on a purchase or a business: the Canada Revenue Agency or a tax professional.
What this is not
This Column reports what Canada’s tax law, the CRA and provincial governments say, dated, in their own words. It is not tax or legal advice. It does not say how much any product costs, or how much anyone saves. It covers only the provinces whose records the Editor read.
Drafted and checked against its sources with our proud team of AI assistants; read and signed by the Editor.
This Column is general information, compiled by the Editor from the sources listed below. It is not medical advice, and the Editor is not a healthcare provider. For anything about your own health, talk to a healthcare provider.
No rush. We like reading slowly, one short piece at a time. The articles will wait for you.
Sources the Editor read (12)
Consulted 2026-09-28. One source is in French.
- Excise Tax Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. E-15, Schedule VI, Part II.1, s. 1 (current to 2026-09-21). laws-lois.justice.gc.ca
- Canada Revenue Agency, “Notice of Ways and Means Motion concerning GST/HST and feminine hygiene products: questions and answers” (2015; page details 2023-03-22). canada.ca
- Canada Revenue Agency, GI-062, “Point-of-Sale Rebate on Feminine Hygiene Products” (August 2014). canada.ca
- Government of Manitoba, “Provincial Sales Tax Lifted on Feminine Hygiene Products” (2002-05-01). news.gov.mb.ca
- Government of Saskatchewan, “No Provincial Sales Tax on Feminine Hygiene Products Starting July 1” (2015-06-24). saskatchewan.ca
- Gouvernement du Québec, Dépenses fiscales, édition 2025, fiche 310106 (in French). budget.finances.gouv.qc.ca
- Act respecting the Québec sales tax, CQLR c. T-0.1, s. 198.6 (LégisQuébec, English version, up to date to 2026-06-10). legisquebec.gouv.qc.ca
- The Canadian Press, in the Globe and Mail, on the federal tax removal (2015-05-28). theglobeandmail.com
- CBC News, “Tampon tax will end July 1” (2015). cbc.ca
- Ms. Magazine, “How Canada Finally Axed Its Federal Tampon Tax” (2016-04-14). msmagazine.com
- Context (Thomson Reuters Foundation), “What is the tampon tax and which countries have axed it?” (updated 2023-09-01). context.news
- HM Treasury, “Tampon tax abolished from today” (2021-01-01). gov.uk
Date due for review
| Written by | The Editor |
| Last checked | 28 Sep 2026 |
| Next check | Mar 2027 |
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