Legal cannabis sold in British Columbia carries three taxes: a 7% provincial sales tax on most products, a 5% federal GST, and a federal excise duty that producers pay and pass through in the shelf price. Liquid vapour products are the big exception, taxed at 20% PST instead of 7%. Together, the visible taxes add roughly 12% at the register on standard products, and closer to 25% on vape cartridges, before you account for the excise duty already baked into the sticker.
The 7% PST on Most Cannabis Products
British Columbia charges 7% PST on retail sales of dried and fresh flower, capsules, oils and tinctures not designed for vaping, concentrates, topicals, edibles, and cannabis products marketed for pets.1Province of British Columbia. Cannabis Rolling papers, grinders, pipes, and lighters attract the same 7% rate.
Cannabis seeds are the one carve-out. They are not subject to PST. Seedlings, clones, and plantlets, however, are taxable.1Province of British Columbia. Cannabis
Retailers holding a cannabis store licence register with the Ministry of Finance, collect PST on every qualifying sale, and remit it to the province. They do not pay PST on inventory purchased for resale.
The 20% PST on Vape Cartridges and Devices
Cannabis vapour products face a much steeper 7% rate: 20% PST. The higher rate applies to vaping devices, cartridges, parts and accessories, and any vaping substance designed for inhalation.2Province of British Columbia. Notice to Sellers of Vapour Products – PST Rate Increase to 20% Buy a cartridge of cannabis distillate for a vape pen and you pay 20%. Buy a bottle of cannabis oil intended for oral use and you pay 7%.
The distinction turns on whether the device is part of the liquid-vapour ecosystem. Dry-herb vaporizers, the kind loaded with ground flower, stay at 7%.1Province of British Columbia. Cannabis Batteries, chargers, and replacement parts sold for liquid-vape hardware sit under the 20% umbrella.3Province of British Columbia. Small Business Guide to PST
Delivery Fees Count Toward the Taxable Amount
If you order cannabis for delivery, PST applies to the total purchase price, including the delivery charge itself. BC’s rules require the tax to be calculated on delivery charges incurred before title to the goods passes to the buyer.4Government of British Columbia. Delivery Charges A separate line on the receipt does not change that. The narrow exception: you pick up from a BC retailer’s premises and the seller charges a separate fee for a later delivery, itemized on the invoice.
The Federal Excise Duty Already in the Price
Before cannabis reaches a shelf, licensed producers pay a federal excise duty when products are packaged and stamped for sale. The Excise Act, 2001 sets the framework.5Department of Justice Canada. Excise Act, 2001 You will not see this duty as a separate line on your receipt. It is embedded in the price you pay.
For dried flowering material, the duty is figured two ways, and the producer pays whichever amount is higher: a flat rate per gram or an ad valorem rate based on the product’s dutiable amount.6Canada Revenue Agency. Excise Duty Rates Because BC participates in the coordinated cannabis taxation framework, the combined federal and additional provincial excise duty on flowering material works out to $1 per gram or 10% of the dutiable amount. When wholesale prices are low, the flat per-gram rate is usually the binding one. A House of Commons finance committee has recommended shifting to a pure ad valorem approach, but no legislative change has taken effect as of early 2026.
The revenue is split between Ottawa and the provinces. BC receives 75% of the cannabis excise revenue collected in the province, with the federal government keeping the remaining 25%, capped at $100 million nationally; anything above that threshold flows back to the provinces.7Province of British Columbia. Province Secures a Fair Deal for British Columbians on Cannabis
Low-THC Products Escape the Excise Duty
Products with very low THC content get a break, but only from the excise duty. A cannabis product is classified as “low-THC” if it consists entirely of fresh cannabis, dried cannabis, or qualifying cannabis oil and contains no more than 0.3% THC. Those products do not require an excise stamp and are exempt from the duty.8Canada Revenue Agency. EDM6-1 General Information on the Possession, Sale and Distribution of Cannabis Products and Cannabis Stamping Regime The exemption reaches CBD-dominant oils and dried flower sold through licensed retailers. It does not reach edible cannabis, topicals other than qualifying oils, or extracts beyond cannabis oil, even at THC below 0.3%. And PST and GST still apply to low-THC products normally.
The 5% GST on Top
Every cannabis purchase in BC also carries the 5% federal GST.9Canada Revenue Agency. Charge and Collect the GST/HST It is calculated on the retail price, which already includes the embedded excise duty, so you are paying tax on tax. The same layering happens with alcohol and tobacco, but it does push the effective rate slightly above what the visible percentages suggest. GST shows up as a separate line on the receipt, and retailers remit it to the Canada Revenue Agency independently from their provincial obligations.
Medical Cannabis Is Taxed the Same as Recreational
Patients often expect medical cannabis to be exempt. It is not. When BC designed its cannabis tax framework in 2018, the province explicitly applied 7% PST to both recreational and medical sales.10Province of British Columbia. Regulations Ready B.C. for Cannabis Legalization A medical document does not lower the rate.
The only PST exemption sits with pharmaceutical drugs containing cannabis derivatives listed in Schedule I or IA of BC’s Drug Schedules Regulation.1Province of British Columbia. Cannabis Think prescription medications like nabilone or nabiximols dispensed through a pharmacy. Dried flower or oil purchased from a licensed cannabis retailer with a medical document does not qualify, no matter what the medical document authorizes.
GST treatment follows the same pattern. A medical document is not a “prescription” for GST purposes, because it is not a written order given to a pharmacist directing a specific amount of a drug to be dispensed. Medical cannabis is therefore not zero-rated and remains subject to the full 5% GST. The federal excise duty applies as well. In practical terms, a medical patient in BC pays the same total tax as a recreational buyer on equivalent products.
Getting a Refund When PST Is Charged in Error
If a retailer charges PST on something that should have been exempt, such as a qualifying Schedule I cannabis pharmaceutical, the retailer can refund or credit the PST within 180 days of the original charge. If that window has passed or the retailer refuses, you can apply directly to the Ministry of Finance for a refund within four years of the date the tax was paid.11Government of British Columbia. PST Refunds You will need documentation of the purchase and evidence that the exemption actually applied. Because the cannabis-specific exemptions are narrow, most claims here involve the small number of pharmaceutical cannabis products rather than standard retail purchases.