Crowcery
On a Canadian Costco receipt most prices have no letter after them at all, some end in H, a few in G, and the footer prints two odd-looking lines like P HST 14% and G GST 5%. Here is what the letters mean and how to make the footer numbers add up, verified by recomputing the printed totals on real receipts (Atlantic Canada; the flags can differ in provinces with a separate provincial sales tax).
| Flag | What it means |
|---|---|
| (nothing) | Zero-rated: no tax. Most basic groceries, which is why most of a Costco grocery receipt carries no letter. |
| H | Fully taxable: HST (or your province's full rate) was charged. Paper goods, snacks, supplements, household items. |
| G | Only the 5% federal GST was charged. Children's clothing, for example, in provinces with the point-of-sale rebate (NS, ON, PE). |
A blank is not a printing error. Unlike Loblaws-family receipts, which stamp a letter cluster on every line, Costco only marks the items that were taxed.
A mock-up of real Nova Scotia Costco receipt lines (14% HST; identifying details altered). The math reconciles to the cent:
The single TAX line above the total is the sum of the two footer lines: $3.22 + $0.50 = $3.72. Each footer line reconciles against one flag:
The HST line is 14% of the H items: $6.99 + $15.99 = $22.98, and 14% of that is $3.22.
The GST line is 5% of the G items after their discounts: $12.99 - $3.00 (the TPD line, which is also flagged G) = $9.99, and 5% of that is $0.50. Discounts reduce the tax: you pay tax on what you actually paid, and a TPD line carries the same flag as the item it discounts so the tax base stays consistent. (What TPD lines are is covered in the Costco receipt anatomy guide.)
The letters in front of the footer lines (P HST, G GST) are Costco's own tax-group labels and do not match the item flags one-for-one: the H items sum into the line labeled P. Go by the percentages, not the front letters.
Quebec Costco receipts print the two taxes as T.P.S. 5% (the federal GST) and T.V.Q. 9.975% (Quebec's provincial tax), with French item flags, French labels (SOUS-TOTAL for subtotal) and comma decimals on the dollar amounts (28,99 instead of 28.99). The reconciliation logic is the same: group the flagged items, apply each rate.
Sum the H items (minus any TPD lines pointing at them), apply your province's full rate, and compare with the HST/tax line; then the G items at 5%. If you are off, the usual culprit is a missed TPD line, since they carry the discount's share of the flag. The rest of the format (item numbers, the Bottom of Basket banner, the item count) is in the Costco receipt anatomy guide.
Available in Canada; English-language receipts; not offered in Quebec. Or try the read-only demo first, no signup needed.
How to read a Costco receipt
Walmart Canada tax codes (D, J, A, Z, Y)
Superstore & Loblaws tax codes (H, MRJ, HMRJ)
Grocery receipt discounts and promo math