Sales of prepared food and non-alcoholic beverages
1. Is this a retail business?
e.g., grocery store, convenience store, department store, vending machine
- Yes
- No
Display condition: If Q#1=YES or non-response, display the 'Prepared food and beverages ready for immediate consumption info block'. Otherwise, do not display.
Prepared food and beverages ready for immediate consumption:
- Food or beverages heated for consumption
- Salads not canned or vacuum sealed
- Sandwiches and similar products other than when frozen
- Platters of cheese, cold cuts, fruits or vegetables, and other arrangements of prepared foods
- Cakes, muffins, pies, pastries, tarts, cookies, doughnuts, brownies, croissants with sweetened filling or coating, or similar products, where they are not pre-packaged for sale to consumers and are sold as single servings in quantities of less than six
- Ice cream, ice milk, sherbet, frozen yogurt or frozen pudding, non-dairy substitutes for any of the foregoing or any product that contains any of the foregoing sold in single servings and not pre-packaged
- Non-alcoholic beverages, such as coffee, tea, milk and juice.
2. From January 1 to February 28, 2025, what were the total net sales of prepared food and non-alcoholic beverages that were ready for immediate consumption?
Include take-out food and food from a deli food counter.
Exclude taxes and basic groceries such as bread, vegetables, fruits, etc.
Report in Canadian dollars rounded to the nearest dollar
Total net sales excluding taxes
$________.00
Flow condition: If Q#2=non-response or 0, go to Q#5. Otherwise, go to Q#3.
Note: In Ontario, single transaction sales of prepared food and non-alcoholic beverages totalling $4.00 or less (pre-tax) are exempt from being charged the provincial portion of the HST.
3. Of the previously reported amount of total net sales of prepared food and non-alcoholic beverages that were ready for immediate consumption from January 1 to February 28, 2025, were there any sales exempt from the provincial portion of the HST because the single transaction pre-tax price was $4.00 or less?
Note:
- this question does not refer to the temporary HST exemptions that ended on February 15, 2025
- zero-rated basic grocery product should be excluded
- refer to the help button (?) for a list of all prepared food and non-alcoholic beverages that qualify for the exemption
- Yes
- No
Flow condition: If Q#3=YES, go to Q#4. Otherwise, go to Q#5.
Note: In Ontario, single transaction sales of prepared food and non-alcoholic beverages totalling $4.00 or less (pre-tax) are exempt from being charged the provincial portion of the HST.
4. Of the previously reported amount of total net sales of prepared food and non-alcoholic beverages that were ready for immediate consumption from January 1 to February 28, 2025, what is the amount of the sales that were exempt from the provincial portion of the HST because the single transaction pre-tax price was $4.00 or less?
Note:
- exclude transactions totalling more than $4.00, even if they were subject to the temporary HST exemptions that ended on February 15, 2025
- zero-rated basic grocery product should be excluded
- refer to the help button (?) for a list of all prepared food and non-alcoholic beverages that qualify for the exemption
- report in Canadian dollars rounded to the nearest dollar or provide a percentage of the total net sales.
Qualifying sales in Canadian dollars
$________.00
OR
Qualifying sales percentage
_______%
Display condition: If Q#1=YES or non-response, display the 'Prepared food and beverages ready for immediate consumption info block'.
Note: The following questions will ask you to report information from March 1 to December 31, 2025
Prepared food and beverages ready for immediate consumption:
- Food or beverages heated for consumption
- Salads not canned or vacuum sealed
- Sandwiches and similar products other than when frozen
- Platters of cheese, cold cuts, fruits or vegetables, and other arrangements of prepared foods
- Cakes, muffins, pies, pastries, tarts, cookies, doughnuts, brownies, croissants with sweetened filling or coating, or similar products, where they are not pre-packaged for sale to consumers and are sold as single servings in quantities of less than six
- Ice cream, ice milk, sherbet, frozen yogurt or frozen pudding, non-dairy substitutes for any of the foregoing or any product that contains any of the foregoing sold in single servings and not pre-packaged
- Non-alcoholic beverages, such as coffee, tea, milk and juice.
5. From March 1 to December 31, 2025, what were the total net sales of prepared food and non-alcoholic beverages that were ready for immediate consumption?
Include take-out food and food from a deli food counter.
Exclude taxes and basic groceries such as bread, vegetables, fruits, etc.
Report in Canadian dollars rounded to the nearest dollar.
Total net sales excluding taxes
$________.00
Flow condition: If Q#5=non-response or 0, go to the end of the survey. Otherwise, go to Q#6.
Note: In Ontario, single transaction sales of prepared food and non-alcoholic beverages totalling $4.00 or less (pre-tax) are exempt from being charged the provincial portion of the HST.
6. Of the previously reported amount of total net sales of prepared food and non-alcoholic beverages that were ready for immediate consumption from March 1 to December 31, 2025, were there any sales exempt from the provincial portion of the HST because the single transaction pre-tax price was $4.00 or less?
Note:
- zero-rated basic grocery product should be excluded
- refer to the help button (?) for a list of all prepared food and non-alcoholic beverages that qualify for the exemption
- Yes
- No
Flow condition: If Q#6=YES, go to Q#7. Otherwise, go to the end of the survey.
Note: In Ontario, single transaction sales of prepared food and non-alcoholic beverages totalling $4.00 or less (pre-tax) are exempt from being charged the provincial portion of the HST.
7. Of the previously reported amount of total net sales of prepared food and non-alcoholic beverages that were ready for immediate consumption from March 1 to December 31, 2025, what is the amount of the sales that were exempt from the provincial portion of the HST because the single transaction pre-tax price was $4.00 or less?
Note:
- zero-rated basic grocery product should be excluded
- refer to the help button (?) for a list of all prepared food and non-alcoholic beverages that qualify for the exemption
- report in Canadian dollars rounded to the nearest dollar or provide a percentage of the total net sales
Qualifying sales in Canadian dollars
$________.00
OR
Qualifying sales percentage
_______%