Crowcery
Every line on a Real Canadian Superstore, Loblaws, No Frills, Zehrs, Valu-mart or Atlantic Superstore receipt ends with a short cluster of capital letters: things like H, MRJ, HMRJ or RQ. Here is what those letters actually tell you.
An H in the cluster means tax was charged on that line; no H means it was not. The cluster is a set of product classification flags, and for your wallet only that one letter counts:
| What you see | What it means |
|---|---|
| H anywhere in the cluster (H, HMRJ, HMR, HRJ, HQ) | Sales tax (HST or GST, depending on your province) was charged on this item. |
| No H (MRJ, MR, RQ, KR, Q, or nothing at all) | No sales tax on this item. Most basic groceries fall here. |
Western provinces: because GST and PST are separate taxes there, Alberta, BC, Saskatchewan and Manitoba receipts print G (GST charged) and P (PST charged) in place of the H, so the taxed clusters read GMRJ or GPMRJ. Same rule: a G or P means tax, a cluster without one means none. The chain-by-chain letter glossary has the full list.
The other letters (M, R, J, Q, K) are Loblaws-internal product classification flags. Their exact meanings are not published by the chain, and they do not change what you pay. If you are checking your receipt math, you can ignore everything except whether an H is present.
The first and third items carry an H, so they were taxed. The bread was not. The long number at the start of each line is the item's barcode, and a (2) prefix means two units rang in on one line. Notice the HST line only covers the H items: $2.50 + $5.00 = $7.50, and 14% of that is the $1.05 charged (this receipt is from Nova Scotia).
This is federal and provincial tax law, not a store decision. In Canada, "basic groceries" (produce, meat, dairy, bread, eggs, most staples) are zero-rated: no GST or HST applies. But plenty of supermarket items do not count as basic groceries:
| Usually taxed (expect an H) | Usually not taxed |
|---|---|
| Pop, sparkling water and other carbonated drinks | Milk, juice (large formats) |
| Candy, chocolate, chips and most snack foods | Bread, flour, sugar, produce, meat, eggs |
| Prepared and heated foods from the deli counter | The same food sold cold as groceries, in most cases |
| Household goods: soap, paper towels, pet food, batteries |
What prints at the bottom of the receipt depends on where you shop. HST provinces show one combined line; the others show GST and any provincial tax as separate lines:
| Province | Tax line(s) on the receipt | Rate on taxable items |
|---|---|---|
| Ontario | HST | 13% |
| Nova Scotia | HST | 14% (lowered from 15% on April 1, 2025) |
| New Brunswick | HST | 15% |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | HST | 15% |
| Prince Edward Island | HST | 15% |
| British Columbia | GST + PST | 5% + 7% |
| Manitoba | GST + PST | 5% + 7% |
| Saskatchewan | GST + PST | 5% + 6% |
| Alberta, Yukon, NWT, Nunavut | GST only | 5% |
| Quebec | GST (TPS) + QST (TVQ) | 5% + 9.975% |
In the GST + PST provinces the two taxes have different rules: an item can carry GST but be exempt from PST (or the reverse), so the letter flags mark which items were taxed while the tax lines show exactly which taxes applied. The receipt always prints the rate it used, so trust what is printed when checking the math.
A Real Canadian Superstore receipt from BC (identifying details altered). Two things are different from the Atlantic example above: the taxed clusters carry a G and sometimes a P instead of an H, and each tax line prints the amount it was charged on, so you can check it without adding anything up:
Read the tax lines left to right: G=GST 5% was charged on $36.98, which is the two items with a G in their cluster, the cereal bars ($11.99, GMRJ) and the diapers ($24.99, GPMRJ); 5% of $36.98 is $1.85. P=PST 7% was charged on $24.99, and only the diapers carry a P; 7% of $24.99 is $1.75. Eight of the ten items have neither letter and were not taxed at all. The diapers also show a layout habit worth knowing: a long name pushes the cluster onto its own row, then a price note (a limit and the regular price), then the quantity and price on a fourth row. $96.40 + $1.85 + $1.75 = $100.00, to the cent.
Add up only the items with an H in their cluster, then multiply by your province's rate. That number should match the HST (or GST) line near the bottom of the receipt, to the cent. If it does not, the usual culprit is a discount line: member pricing and multi-buy deals reduce the taxable amount before the tax is calculated.
All Loblaws-banner grocery stores print the same receipt format, so this guide applies at Real Canadian Superstore, Loblaws, No Frills, Zehrs, Valu-mart and Atlantic Superstore alike. Other chains use different conventions: Walmart Canada prints single letters (Z, J, D, Y), Sobeys prints 1C for taxable and C for zero-rated, and Shoppers Drug Mart uses drugstore flags (GP, N, S, H). Same idea everywhere: one compact code per item that tells you whether tax applied.
One honest gap: we have receipts from Atlantic Superstore, Real Canadian Superstore, No Frills, Loblaws and Zehrs, but none from a Valu-mart. Valu-mart is listed because the banners share one point-of-sale system and one receipt format, not because we have checked one.
Available in Canada; English-language receipts; not offered in Quebec. Or try the read-only demo first, no signup needed.
Shoppers Drug Mart & Giant Tiger receipt codes (GP and N)
Which groceries are taxed in Canada, and why
How to read a Superstore or Loblaws receipt
How to read a Walmart Canada receipt
How to read a Costco receipt
Grocery receipt discounts and promo math
Receipt tax code letters, every chain (GP, J, C, T and more)
Costco receipt tax codes (H, G and GP)