Selling to the USA from Canada starts on the Canadian side: check whether the goods are restricted, enrol in the CBSA exporter program in CARM, report the export where required, and charge GST/HST at 0% on most exported goods and services.
Applies in: across Canada
Selling to the United States from Canada is two border crossings in one sale, and they are run by two different countries. Canada controls the export: whether the goods may leave, whether a declaration or permit is needed, and how the sale is taxed in Canada. The United States controls the import: who imports the goods, how they are classified and valued, and what duty is paid. The good news for a small seller is that the Canadian side is lighter for the United States than for any other destination. Most non-restricted goods sold for consumption in the United States need no Canadian export declaration at all. The work that remains is getting the restricted-goods check, the CARM enrolment, the classification, and the GST/HST treatment right, and agreeing with the buyer who handles the American side.
This guide covers goods sold to customers in the United States. It does not cover services delivered in person in the United States, which raise work authorization questions this guide does not address, and it gives no US tax advice. European Union import rules are a different set of rules and are not covered here; do not apply them to a United States sale.
The first question is whether the goods are restricted, meaning controlled, regulated, or prohibited by an act of Parliament. Restricted goods may require an export permit, certificate, or licence, and that requirement applies regardless of value. The CBSA points exporters to its page on goods that may require export permits and to Global Affairs Canada for export controls. Controlled goods include items on the Export Control List, and goods going to countries on the Area Control List carry extra permit requirements. A further check applies to goods that originated in the United States and are being exported onward: an individual export permit may be needed if they are exported to a destination on the Area Control List.
For ordinary consumer goods made in Canada, the restricted-goods check is usually quick: confirm the goods are not controlled, regulated, or prohibited, and record what you checked. For food, plants, animals, firearms, encryption products, dual-use technology, cultural property, and anything with a military use, the check is the whole job. Do not ship first and check later. If the goods need a permit, the permit must be presented within the time frames in the Reporting of Exported Goods Regulations, at the place specified in the permit, or at the designated export reporting office closest to the place of exit if no place is specified. Also confirm the goods are allowed entry into the United States: the CBSA directs exporters to the destination country's embassy or consulate for import requirements, and a product that is lawful in Canada may still be restricted at the US border.
If an export declaration is required for your shipment, you need a valid business number and an RM export program identifier before you can submit it. Register for both through the Exporter Program Enrolment process in the CBSA Assessment and Revenue Management (CARM) Client Portal. The CBSA guide for exporters states the requirement plainly, and the CARM start page confirms that an exporter needs a valid business number and RM export program identifier before submitting an export declaration.
Do this well before the first shipment that needs a declaration. Enrolment, classification, and a first CERS submission are not work to do against a truck departure time. You may delegate the reporting to a third party, such as a customs service provider, but you remain ultimately responsible for ensuring true, accurate, and complete information is provided within the prescribed time frames. If a provider files for you, the provider must enter your business number on the declaration, not its own. If you do not meet the reporting requirements, monetary penalties may apply, or the goods may be detained or seized.
The CBSA documentation table for commercial goods draws the line by destination and by whether the goods are restricted. For the United States, including Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands: restricted goods need no export declaration, but a permit, certificate, licence, or other authorization is required; non-restricted goods need no export declaration. For all other destinations, including goods moving through the United States to a foreign destination: restricted goods need both a declaration and the authorization, and non-restricted commercial goods valued at CAN $2,000 or more need a declaration. Goods in transit through the United States on a transportation and exportation entry bond also require a declaration.
That table is why a Canadian seller shipping a parcel of ordinary goods to a customer in Ohio usually has no Canadian declaration to file, while the same goods shipped to the same customer through a US warehouse onward to Mexico would. The common exceptions the CBSA lists are goods exported for consumption in the United States, with some goods requiring additional documentation, and non-restricted goods valued at less than CAN $2,000. Read the CBSA list of goods that do not need an export declaration for your exact goods rather than relying on the summary in this guide, and note the export declaration requirement on the transport document with the proper no-declaration-required code where the goods are exempt, so the carrier is not left guessing.
Where a declaration is required, there are two reporting methods: the Canadian Export Reporting System (CERS) and G7 Electronic Data Interchange Export Reporting (G7-EDI). The CBSA recommends CERS if you are unsure which method fits. In CERS, enter the 8-digit Canadian Export Classification number for the goods, from Statistics Canada's Canadian Export Classification. In G7-EDI, enter the 10-digit tariff classification number from the Canadian Customs Tariff.
Submission timing depends on the mode of transport: air, not less than 2 hours before the goods are loaded onto the aircraft; marine, not less than 48 hours before the goods are loaded onto the vessel; rail, not less than 2 hours before the goods are loaded onto the railcar assembled to the train; mail, not less than 2 hours before the goods are delivered to the post office; highway, immediately before the exportation of the goods. Give the proof of report number, issued by CERS or G7-EDI to show the goods were reported, to your carrier. The CBSA or other government officials may examine the goods to ensure they comply with export requirements. That examination is conducted without charge by the CBSA, though third-party handling charges may apply.
Most goods and services for which you charge and collect GST/HST in Canada are zero-rated when exported. Zero-rated means GST/HST applies at a rate of 0%: you do not charge GST/HST on the supply, but as a registrant you may be eligible to claim input tax credits for GST/HST paid or payable on property and services acquired to provide that supply. The CRA memoranda on exports set the conditions in detail: for exported goods, and separately for exported services and intangible personal property, zero-rating depends on the nature of the supply and on evidence that the goods were exported or the services are for consumption, use, or supply outside Canada.
In practice, that means two habits. First, invoice the American sale showing 0% GST/HST and keep the invoice with the shipping record that proves the goods left Canada, such as the carrier document and the proof of report number where one was issued. Second, do not assume every cross-border supply is zero-rated. A service performed in Canada for an American customer, a digital product, and a good that is consumed in Canada before export each have their own rules in the memoranda. If the supply does not qualify as zero-rated, the ordinary place-of-supply and tax-status rules apply instead. A GST/HST registrant who charges GST/HST in error on a zero-rated export creates a refund problem for the buyer; a seller who fails to charge GST/HST on a supply that was not zero-rated creates a remittance problem for themselves. When in doubt, check the memorandum for your supply type before invoicing.
The United States side is not covered by the Canadian export declaration, and this guide states only the awareness-level facts a Canadian seller needs to start the conversation. US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) runs the US import system, and the importer of record is the party responsible for the US entry. For most small sales, the American buyer is the importer of record, or a licensed US customs broker files the entry on the importer's behalf. Your contract or listing terms should state who is the importer of record, who pays US duties, taxes, and fees, and what happens if CBP holds or examines the shipment. A delivered-duties-paid quote and a quote that leaves US charges to the buyer are different prices, and the difference should never be discovered by the customer at the door.
Two further American-side checks belong before pricing, not after. First, confirm the current US duty and tariff treatment for your goods, including any preferential treatment claim. Preferential treatment under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) depends on the goods meeting the agreement's rules of origin, supported by a certification of origin. The CBSA exporters guide describes the certificate of origin as a signed declaration from the manufacturer that the goods are of Canadian origin and meet the requirements of a free trade agreement, a copy of which you forward to the importer and retain for your records. The Government of Canada's CUSMA support page points exporters to CBP's guide on importing merchandise into the United States under CUSMA and recommends a licensed customs broker for classification, tariff treatment, and document preparation. US duty rates and trade measures change, so confirm the treatment in force for your goods with the broker at the time of sale rather than relying on a rate quoted in an article. Second, check US product rules for your category: food, cosmetics, electronics, children's products, and other regulated goods may need approval or labelling from a US agency other than CBP. A licensed US customs broker is the right first call for both checks, and the cost of that call belongs in the price of the first shipment, not in a later dispute.
You must keep in Canada all records pertaining to your exportations for 6 years following the exportation of the commercial goods. Keep the classification working papers, the certificate of origin and any origin supporting documents, the declaration or no-declaration-required notation, the carrier and proof of report records, the invoice showing the GST/HST treatment, and the US-side agreement about who acted as importer of record. If the CBSA verifies an export later, those records are what proves the goods were what you said they were, went where you said they went, and were taxed as you taxed them. The same six-year habit serves the GST/HST side: the CRA can ask for the evidence behind a zero-rated supply long after the sale.
This guide states no US duty rate, no US de minimis or low-value threshold, no CBP record-keeping period, and no US sales tax or income tax threshold, because none of those figures was verified on a CBP or other US official page. US duty and entry treatment for a specific product must be confirmed with a licensed US customs broker or on CBP's own pages at the time of sale. The guide also states no CUSMA regional value content percentage for any product, because the percentage depends on the product's rule of origin. European Union import rules, including any low-value duty exemption, are not stated anywhere in this guide and must not be read into a United States sale.
For most ordinary sales, no. The CBSA exporters guide lists goods exported for consumption in the United States as a common exception, and its documentation table states that an export declaration is not required for non-restricted goods bound for the United States, and is not required for restricted goods bound for the United States either, though a permit, certificate, or licence is still required for restricted goods. The exception does not cover goods moving through the United States to another country, or goods on a transportation and exportation bond in transit, which do require a declaration. Check the CBSA list of goods that do not need an export declaration for your exact goods before you ship.
CARM is the CBSA Assessment and Revenue Management system, and its Client Portal is where exporters enrol for the exporter program. Before you can submit an export declaration you need a valid business number and an RM export program identifier, obtained through the Exporter Program Enrolment process in the CARM Client Portal. The CBSA guide also states that a customs service provider filing on your behalf must enter your business number on the declaration, not its own, and that you remain responsible for true, accurate, and complete information filed on time.
Use the Harmonized System classification for the goods. In the Canadian Export Reporting System, enter the 8-digit Canadian Export Classification number from Statistics Canada. In G7-EDI export reporting, enter the 10-digit tariff classification number from the Canadian Customs Tariff. The classification matters on both sides of the border: it drives the export declaration in Canada and the import entry in the United States, so get it right before the goods move and keep the working papers that support the code you chose.
Most exported goods and services are zero-rated, which means GST/HST applies at a rate of 0%: you charge no GST/HST on the export, but as a GST/HST registrant you may still be eligible to claim input tax credits for GST/HST paid on property and services acquired to provide those supplies. Zero-rating is not automatic for every supply. The CRA memoranda on exported goods and on exported services and intangible personal property set conditions for particular cases, so confirm that your supply qualifies as zero-rated and keep evidence that the goods left Canada or the services were for use outside Canada.
The United States has its own import system, run by US Customs and Border Protection, and it is separate from the Canadian export system. The party importing the goods into the United States, the importer of record, is responsible for the US import entry, including classification, value, and duty. In practice, most small Canadian sellers do not act as the US importer themselves: the American buyer imports the goods, or a licensed US customs broker handles the entry. Agree in writing, before the first shipment, who is the US importer of record and who pays US duties and fees, and confirm the current US duty treatment for your goods with the broker before you quote a landed price.
This guide does not answer that question, because US tax obligations depend on facts this guide does not cover, including where the buyer is, how the sale is made, and whether you have any presence or activity in the United States. Do not assume that a Canadian export with no GST/HST charged has no US tax consequence, and do not rely on a general claim about nexus or thresholds found online. Get US tax advice for your sales pattern before you scale, and keep the advice with your export records.