Did you know that registered massage therapists (RMTs) are among the few health professionals in Canada required to charge and remit harmonized sales tax (HST)?  Whether it is in addition to or included in the price that you pay, HST is part of massage therapy fees.

But why?  The Canada Revenue Agency indicated that professions established in five or more provinces qualify for HST exemption.  Massage therapy meets this requirement, having been regulated in Ontario, British Columbia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Island in 2019.  Five years on, and massage therapists (and their clients) still await tax exemption.

The Canadian Massage Therapy Association (CMTA) has written to bureaucrats and government ministers requesting their support for tax exemption.  Chrystia Freeland, the Minister of Finance, has confirmed that massage therapy does indeed meet the criteria for tax exemption status and is open to considering CMTA request.

The Registered Massage Therapist Association of Ontario (RMTAO) is planning another letter-writing campaign to encourage members of the association to send letters to Minister Freeland’s office in support of tax exemption.  We cannot achieve this without your support.

It is hoped that tax exemption will FINALLY be included in the November 2024 federal budget.  Until then …

Article excerpted from Massage Therapy Today, Summer 2024
Michael Feraday, Executive Director, RMTAO