Is there tax on groceries in Toronto?

In Canada most basic groceries are zero-rated (0% GST/HST), while snacks, candy, prepared/hot foods and non-food items carry 13% Ontario HST. The POS applies the right tax class per item; check the HST figure with the tax calculator (select Canada, HST Ontario) and confirm item categories with the CRA.

Does it work with a weighing scale?

Yes — items can be sold by weight with PLU lookup, so produce and deli lines ring at the correct price.

Can one receipt mix zero-rated and taxable items?

Yes — each item carries its own tax class, so a basket can mix zero-rated basic groceries with HST-taxable snacks and non-food items and total correctly.

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Best POS for a grocery store in Toronto

Last reviewed 2026-08-05 · by the RetailPOS team

In short

For a Toronto grocery store, the best POS handles PLU codes and sold-by-weight with a scale, scans fast for high throughput, and gets the tax right: in Canada most basic groceries are zero-rated (0%), while snacks, prepared foods and non-food items carry 13% Ontario HST — so a single basket mixes taxable and zero-rated lines. RetailPOS supports PLU, weight and per-item tax classes with multi-store on every plan. The checklist below is what decides it.

An independent grocer in Scarborough and a small multi-branch operation across the GTA need the same core: weight-based selling and correct mixed-basket tax at speed. Here is what to look for in Toronto, and where RetailPOS fits.

What a Toronto grocery POS must do

1. PLU & sold-by-weight. Produce and deli items priced by weight via a connected scale, with PLU lookup for fast entry.

2. Correct mixed-basket tax. Basic groceries are zero-rated in Canada; snacks, prepared hot foods, candy and non-food items carry 13% HST. The POS must apply the right tax class per item so a single basket rings correctly.

3. Fast scanning & throughput. High-volume barcode scanning with a responsive register so lines move.

4. Multi-store & stock. Central catalogue, per-store stock, transfers, and low-stock alerts for reorder.

5. Offline. Keep ringing if connectivity drops, then sync automatically.

How the options compare

Grocery POS criteria for a Toronto grocery store (2026)
	RetailPOS	Square	Lightspeed
PLU / sold-by-weight + scale	Yes	Limited	Yes
Per-item tax classes (zero-rated vs HST)	Yes	Basic	Yes
Fast high-volume scanning	Yes	Yes	Yes
Card processing	Bring your own	Bundled fixed rate	Own or Lightspeed Payments
Multi-store on base plan	Yes	Higher tier	Per-location
Works offline	Yes	Limited	Limited

Where RetailPOS fits — and where it doesn’t

Pick RetailPOS if you want PLU/weight selling, correct per-item tax classes and multi-store at flat per-shop pricing with your own processor.

Look elsewhere if you need supermarket-scale features — deli/scale label printing at department level, deep shelf-label and planogram management, or wholesale/DSD receiving — that dedicated grocery/supermarket systems specialise in. RetailPOS covers the independent-grocer workflow rather than large-format supermarket operations.

Frequently asked

Is there tax on groceries in Toronto?: In Canada most basic groceries are zero-rated (0% GST/HST), while snacks, candy, prepared/hot foods and non-food items carry 13% Ontario HST. The POS applies the right tax class per item; check the HST figure with the tax calculator (select Canada, HST Ontario) and confirm item categories with the CRA.
Does it work with a weighing scale?: Yes — items can be sold by weight with PLU lookup, so produce and deli lines ring at the correct price.
Can one receipt mix zero-rated and taxable items?: Yes — each item carries its own tax class, so a basket can mix zero-rated basic groceries with HST-taxable snacks and non-food items and total correctly.

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