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Visitors can go on a shopping spree in Canada and take
advantage of the extraordinary exchange rates that have been in effect for several years. One U.S. dollar tends to buy $1.40 Canadian or more, so you can pay for a CDN$14 purchase with a U.S. $10 bill and probably even get some change.
Currency can be changed into Canadian funds at any bank or exchange house. Major credit cards are accepted virtually everywhere. Generally, folks in even the smallest town will take U.S. dollars at the approximate exchange rate, giving you change in Canadian funds.
The best bargains are locally produced products, crafts, fashions, shoes, furs and leather goods according to concierges at the Four Seasons Hotel Toronto. The most popular and best buys are cigars and accoutrements, china, furs, smoked salmon, Canadian designed jewelry and accessories, Canadian art, Canadian cosmetics, leather goods and clothes, Ontario ice wine, souvenirs and children's furniture.
Two taxes are levied on most purchases: the eight percent Provincial Sales Tax (PST) and the seven percent Goods and Services Tax (GST). Don't leave your tax dollars behind. Foreign visitors can apply for a refund of the GST applied to accommodation and most goods (GST on meals is not refundable).
You qualify for a tax refund if you are not a resident of Canada, have original receipts, purchase amounts (before taxes) of short-term accommodation and goods on which you paid a GST total of at least CAN$200. For goods, each individual receipt must show a minimum purchase amount (before taxes) on which you paid GST of CAN$50. Credit or debit card receipts and photocopies are not acceptable.
You can apply for your refund at participating duty-free shops on the Canada/United Sates border. If leaving Canada by plane, you have to mail your application.
Every 30 days, returning U.S. citizens are allowed to bring back $400 (retail value) in merchandise duty-free, provided they have been out of the U.S. for 48 hours. This amount can include one carton of cigarettes, 100 cigars (no Cuban), two kilograms of smoking tobacco and one liter of liquor, provided the buyer is 21 years of age. (The legal drinking age in Canada is 19 which is also the minimum age for purchasing cigarettes.) If the length of stay is less than 48 hours, $200 may be taken back to the U.S. duty-free (including up to five ounces of alcohol and 50 cigarettes).
The following items are not permitted into the U.S.: Cuban or Iranian products, fruits and vegetables and uncooked grains. Goods bought in Canada but manufactured in the U.S. are duty-free and not included in the basic exemption. Original handmade crafts and works of art are also exempt. However, a receipt of purchase may be required.
Before booking a hotel in cities like Toronto, Vancouver, Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec, always ask about the availability of shopping packages (and other packages too).
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