No match. See all guides.
Money in Canada, sorted.
A calm, current plan for the money side of your trip: why you barely need cash, the two costs that never show up on the price tag, and the hotel taxes that vary by province.
The three things people ask
Will my card work? Do I need cash? Are ATMs easy?
The quick read for a first trip.
Your card
Works almost everywhere
Visa and Mastercard are taken nearly everywhere, contactless is standard, and Apple Pay and Google Pay are widely accepted. Tap works up to about C$250, above which you enter a PIN. Amex is accepted at most chains and hotels but is patchier at small independents.
Check yours →Cash
You barely need it
Cards cover almost everything, and you can even tip on the terminal. Keep C$40 to C$60 for farmers markets, food trucks, parking, small tips and the rare cash-only place. Canada dropped the penny in 2013, so cash totals round to the nearest 5 cents, while card charges stay exact.
How much to bring →ATMs
Use a bank machine
Major bank ATMs (RBC, TD, Scotiabank, BMO, CIBC) are everywhere and mostly dispense C$20 notes. Avoid the private white-label machines in bars, hotels and convenience stores, which pile on fees. Read the on-screen fee and decline "convert to US dollars."
See ATMs in Canada →(opens in a new tab)Cash or card
Nearly cashless, just budget for tax and tips on top of the sticker.
A rough feel for everyday spending. Cards and contactless work almost everywhere, on transit, in shops, restaurants and taxis, and card terminals even handle the tip. You need very little cash, mostly for farmers markets, food trucks, parking meters, small tips and the occasional cash-only spot. The bigger surprises are not about cash at all: sales tax is added at checkout, and a tip is expected on top.
See what the trip really costs →Your money plan
Four steps and you're set.
Before you go
- Bring a no-foreign-fee Visa or Mastercard with contactless for nearly everything, plus a backup card from a different bank.
- Get a no-foreign-fee debit card for cash. Charles Schwab refunds ATM fees worldwide; Wise and Revolut are low-fee.
- Check whether your US phone plan already includes Canada, many do, so you may not need a separate eSIM or SIM at all.
At the airport
- Skip the airport exchange counters, the rates are poor.
- Pull Canadian dollars from a major bank ATM (RBC, TD, Scotiabank, BMO, CIBC) and decline "convert to US dollars."
- You will need little cash, so a single modest withdrawal usually covers a whole trip.
Day to day
- Card or phone for essentially everything: shops, restaurants, transit, taxis and rideshare.
- Remember the sticker price is pre-tax. Sales tax (5% to 15% by province) is added when you pay.
- When the terminal offers tip choices (often 18, 20, 25%), that is expected at sit-down restaurants and bars. Check whether the percentage is on the pre-tax or post-tax total.
- Always choose Canadian dollars, never US, on every card terminal and ATM screen.
A golden rule
- Always pay in Canadian dollars, never in US dollars. Choosing your home currency (dynamic currency conversion) quietly adds 3 to 8%.
- Budget for the two hidden costs on every restaurant meal: sales tax and a 15 to 20% tip, so a listed $100 dinner really lands closer to $130.
Staying connected
Will my phone work here? And what will it cost?
Very good in the populated south, patchy in the vast north. The three national carriers, Rogers, Bell and Telus, cover cities, towns and the main highways well with 4G and growing 5G, but coverage thins out fast in the mountains, the far north and deep in the national parks. Canadian mobile plans are among the most expensive in the world, so for a short visit an eSIM (Airalo, Nomad, Ubigi) usually beats a local SIM, and many US carriers already include Canada in their plans, so check yours first. You do not need mobile data to pay for anything; cards and contactless stand on their own. The cost is where people get caught out, and on most US plans it lands in one of two buckets.
Your plan may already include it
Often, do nothing
Some US plans include slow data abroad at no extra cost. If that is you, the honest move is to leave it alone.
we earn nothing
Or it charges quietly, after the fact
The bill lands later
On pay-per-use plans the cost runs in the background while you travel, and the charge can show up weeks after you are home. Forgetting to switch off data roaming is the classic one. For a week or more, an eSIM is usually cheaper and keeps you in control.
Check what your own carrier charges before the trip, not after.
If an eSIM is the cheaper call, Nomad covers Canada.
Get your Nomad eSIM for Canada→(opens in a new tab)we may earn a commissionMedical cover
The one cost with no price tag.
Every other number on this page has a price you can look up. This one does not, and it can be the largest of them all. Most US health plans cover little or nothing once you leave the country, and Medicare covers essentially none of it abroad. A serious illness or injury is paid up front, and a medical evacuation runs from tens of thousands of dollars to past $100,000 if you are remote or an ocean from home.
First, you may not need to buy anything.
A cheap, refundable trip close to home does not need this. And if you are healthy, headed somewhere with good care, and one of the premium cards on the shortlist above already includes emergency medical and evacuation, you may be covered already. Check your card's benefits guide before you buy. Saying that costs us the commission, and it is still the right call.
How much cover matters here
Here, good hospitals are easy to reach and the care is high quality, so for a healthy traveler this leans more toward your call than a must.
If you do want cover, this is what it is for: the evacuation and the up-front hospital bill, the part no card limit is meant to absorb.
Enough for most trips
Faye, or a comparable whole-trip policy
Bundles trip protection with emergency medical, which is enough cover for most travelers on a typical trip.
The deeper end
A dedicated travel-medical plan built for serious care and evacuation abroad
Stronger on medical care and evacuation, for a remote or higher-risk trip where that is the real exposure.
If it happens
Call it first, then call your insurer's 24/7 assistance line, which is what confirms payment and arranges an evacuation. 911 works everywhere, the same as it does at home.
TrueTripCosts explains the gap and points to options. It does not set your coverage amounts or act as your insurance advisor, and every policy carries its own exclusions, so read them before you buy. Emergency number checked Jul 2026. Confirm the current number before you travel, as local lines can change.
Renting a car
Where the rental desk makes its money.
Renting is often the best way to see Canada, and the cover is where the counter earns its margin. The rental comes with basic collision cover, but it leaves you owing the excess, the first slice of any damage or theft bill, often several hundred to a couple of thousand dollars, held on your card until the car is back. The desk will offer to erase that excess. It is a real product, just priced at the counter for far more than the same cover costs if you arrange it before you go.
You may not need to buy anything at all. Some US credit cards include rental collision cover when you pay with the card and decline the counter's version, so check what your own card covers on rentals before you add anything extra. We cannot read your policy for you, and flagging this can cost us the sale below, but it is the honest first step.
If your card does not cover it, or you would rather have cover built for this, a standalone policy bought ahead is the cheaper way to handle it. It covers the damage and theft the rental leaves you liable for, often including parts the counter cover leaves out like tires, glass and the underbody, and mechanical faults stay the rental company's problem. RentalCover covers rentals in Canada. Read what the policy includes before you buy.
Cover a rental in Canada with RentalCover→(opens in a new tab)we may earn a commissionCurrency basics
The Canadian dollar, in plain terms.
Quick conversion
At about 1.38 Canadian dollars to 1 US dollar in mid-2026, a Canadian dollar is worth about 72 US cents. So C$10 is roughly $7.25, C$50 about $36, and C$100 about $72. To go the other way, add a little under half again to a US figure.
Notes and coins
Polymer notes come in C$5, 10, 20, 50 and 100. Coins are the 5, 10 and 25 cent pieces plus the C$1 loonie and C$2 toonie. There is no penny (dropped in 2013), so cash totals round to the nearest 5 cents while card charges are exact.
The price tag is pre-tax
This catches Americans out even though it mirrors home: the shelf or menu price does not include sales tax. Depending on the province, 5% to 15% is added at the register, so always expect to pay a bit more than the number shown.
Tipping is expected
Canada follows US-style tipping: 15 to 20% at sit-down restaurants and bars, and the card terminal will prompt you. This is a real part of the cost, on top of tax. See the tipping section below.
Real exchange rate
What your money is really worth here.
This is the mid-market rate, the one the banks trade at and the yardstick every other rate is measured against. Your card lands a little below it, and if a screen ever offers to bill you in dollars, that is worse again. So this is the number to expect, and how you spot a bad one.
1 US dollar is about 1.41 CAD
Taxes, tips and refunds
Tax on top of the sticker, a tip on top of that, and no refund.
Canada has no single national tourist tax, but two costs sit on top of almost every price. First, sales tax is added at the register, not shown on the tag: it is 5% GST alone in Alberta and the territories, a combined 13% to 15% HST in Ontario and Atlantic Canada, and GST plus a provincial sales tax in British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Quebec (Quebec's combined rate is just under 15%). Hotel rooms often carry an extra municipal or provincial accommodation levy of about 2 to 6%. Second, tipping is US-style, effectively another 15 to 20% on restaurant, bar and taxi bills. Unlike Europe, there is no general sales-tax refund for visitors: Canada ended its GST visitor rebate in 2007, so you cannot claim tax back on shopping (a narrow rebate still exists for some tour packages and conventions). There is no separate departure tax; airport fees are built into your airfare.
Before you book: passports, the six-month rule and whether you need a visa. Not a US citizen, or connecting through Europe? The rules can differ, and even a layover can need its own visa. See our passports and visas guide →
Watch out for
The small traps that catch first-timers.
Tipping
US-style: 15 to 20%, usually on the terminal.
Tipping in Canada works just like the US, so budget for it. At sit-down restaurants and bars, 15 to 20% is standard, and the card terminal will offer preset choices (often 18, 20 and 25%); watch that the suggested percentage is sometimes calculated on the post-tax total, which nudges it higher. For bartenders, about C$1 to C$2 a drink is fine if you are not tipping a percentage. Taxis and rideshare get 10 to 15%, hairdressers and spa staff 15 to 20%, hotel housekeeping C$2 to C$5 a night, and a bellhop C$2 to C$5 a bag. Coffee shops and counter service have a tip prompt too, but there it is genuinely optional. A service charge is not usually added to the bill except for large groups, so read it before you tip again.
Common questions
Quick answers.
Do I need cash in Canada?
Very little. Cards and tap work almost everywhere, and you can tip right on the terminal. Keep about C$40 to C$60 for farmers markets, food trucks, parking meters, small tips and the rare cash-only spot, and pull it from a major bank ATM if you run low.
Should I pay in Canadian or US dollars in Canada?
Canadian. If a card terminal or ATM offers to charge you in US dollars, decline; that dynamic currency conversion adds roughly 3 to 8%. A handful of border and tourist businesses take US cash, but the rate is poor and your change comes back in Canadian dollars.
Is sales tax included in prices in Canada?
No, and this catches US visitors out even though it mirrors home. The shelf or menu price is pre-tax. Depending on the province, 5% (Alberta and the territories) up to 15% (Atlantic Canada) is added at checkout, and hotels usually add an accommodation levy on top.
Can I get a tax refund on shopping in Canada?
Generally no. Canada ended its GST visitor rebate program in 2007, so there is no EU-style tourist refund on ordinary purchases. A narrow rebate still exists for some tour packages and foreign conventions, but not for everyday shopping.
How much should I tip in Canada?
Like the US: 15 to 20% at restaurants and bars, 10 to 15% for taxis and rideshare, and a couple of dollars per bag or per night for hotel staff. The card terminal will prompt you, so check whether the suggested percentage is on the pre-tax or post-tax total before you choose.
What is the best ATM to use in Canada?
A major bank's machine: RBC, TD, Scotiabank, BMO or CIBC. Avoid the private white-label ATMs in bars, hotels and convenience stores, which charge high fees, and always decline the US-dollar conversion. Most machines dispense C$20 notes.
What it really costs
What you'll really spend in Canada.
Your flights if you want them counted, your room, your on-the-ground spending, the two fees most US cards add without telling you, and Canada's tourist tax. One number, nothing waiting on the statement. No bank to pick, no sign-up, nothing saved.
Optional. Enter your round trip fare per traveler to fold flights into the total.
In Canada, plan for about $0.
Realistically somewhere between $0 and $0.
Whether at an ATM or a card terminal in a shop or restaurant, always choose to be charged in the local currency, not dollars. Paying in dollars (called dynamic currency conversion) lets the machine set its own, worse, exchange rate on top of any fee.
Rough guide, not a quote. The percentage here is a blended stand-in for a typical US card's foreign fee, not your exact rate. The real number moves with the card you carry: one no-foreign-fee card can cover both sides, while a plain rewards credit card only removes the fee on what you buy, and cash still costs a little unless that card also waives ATM and foreign-cash fees. A debit card, or accepting the "pay in dollars" (dynamic currency conversion) offer at a till or ATM, can push it higher. Rates checked Jun 2026 and rounded.
How this estimate is built
These are the assumptions behind the number. Change the room price, nights, travelers, or travel style above, and every line here moves with them.
- Hotel
- Daily spending
- Flights
- Cash vs card
- ATM withdrawals
- Foreign fee
- The range
- Tourist tax
Not sure which card to bring? See my pick for Canada.
Already carry a card with no foreign transaction fee? Then you are set for Canada, and can skip this. There is nothing to buy.
If you are getting a card for Canada, this is the pairing I would pick: a no-foreign-fee credit card for spending, and a fee-free ATM debit card for cash. We earn nothing on these today. Always confirm the current fee with the issuer before you apply. Checked Jun 2026.
Capital One charges no foreign transaction fee on any of its cards.
No foreign transaction fee
Fee-free ATM cash worldwide
Want one account that holds and spends in the local currency? A different job from the three above, and the one I reach for abroad. It is free to open; you can create a virtual card in the app and add it to your phone wallet in minutes, without waiting for the physical card; and you can convert US dollars into the local currency inside the account before you travel, then spend from that balance. Wise uses the mid-market rate plus a small conversion fee (around 0.4% and up), with no flat foreign fee.
The three picks above pay us nothing, and their tags say so. Wise is the only option here that can earn us a commission, and its tag says that too. Paid or not, the pick is still the pick.
Travelers, not touristsA few local words go a long way
A few local words go a long way
Canada runs on English and French, and on an easy, apologetic friendliness all its own. You will not need a phrasebook, but a few local words and a story or two mark you as a guest rather than a tourist.
Say a few words
Tip: Two things are gloriously Canadian: sorry, said so often it is more reflex than apology, and eh, a warm little tag that turns a statement into a shared moment. In Québec, lead with Bonjour, and a cheerful Bonjour-Hi is common in Montréal shops.
Know a story
The paddlers who opened a continent
Long before roads or rails, French-Canadian voyageurs paddled birchbark canoes, a craft learned from the First Nations, thousands of miles along the rivers and lakes to trade furs. Singing to keep the rhythm, they could paddle for sixteen hours a day. Their routes traced the shape of the country to come.
Good to know: the canoe routes became Canada's map
Red coats on the plains
The Mounties, Canada's famous police in scarlet coats, began in 1873 to bring order to the vast western plains. The old boast that they always get their man became legend, and the red serge is now a proud national symbol. You will still see it at ceremonies and on the celebrated Musical Ride.
Good to know: the red serge dates from 1873
The game on the frozen pond
When the ponds freeze, Canadians of every age lace up for hockey, the game closest to the national heart. Many a star first learned to skate on a backyard rink or a frozen pond, stick in hand, long before any arena. Ask a Canadian about their team and you may have a friend for life.
Say it: a game of shinny on the pondCanadians are warm, understated and quick to make room for a newcomer. They are proud of the sheer scale of the place, the second largest country on Earth, of two founding languages, and of a national habit of kindness that the sorry and the eh only hint at.
No links here, nothing to buy. This part is just to help you travel well.
Sources, and how this guide was checked
Last checkedJul 2026
Changed since last checkSources added. Confirmed with the Canada Revenue Agency that sales tax is added at the register: 5% GST alone in Alberta and the territories, a combined 13% to 15% HST in Ontario and Atlantic Canada, with Nova Scotia down to 14% since April 2025, and GST plus a provincial tax in British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Quebec. Verified that Canada has no general sales-tax refund for visitors, since the GST visitor rebate ended in 2007, and that a narrow rebate survives only for some tour packages and conventions. The guide's figures are current.
- Canada Revenue Agencycharge and collect the GST/HST, rates by province
Our own judgmentThe daily cash share, tipping norms, and likely ATM behavior are our own estimate from experience, not an official figure.
More money guides in the Americas
If you are also weighing up nearby destinations, each guide covers cards, cash, ATMs and the fees to expect.
Going deeper on Canada
The money questions people ask on the ground.
Short, focused answers to the specific things that catch first-timers out in Canada.
- Tipping in CanadaUnlike Europe, Canada tips just like the US: 15 to 20% at sit-down restaurants, and staff rely on it. The one thing to watch is the card terminal, which often suggests high amounts and calculates on the after-tax total. Here is what you actually owe.
- Bringing your dog or cat to Canada.Canada is one of the lightest-lift destinations for a US pet owner. For an adult dog or cat there is no health certificate, no quarantine, and no waiting period. One document does almost all the work: a valid rabies vaccination certificate. Here is exactly what the border wants, and the one thing to remember for the trip home.
- Do I need cash in Canada, or can I use cards?Short answer: cards for almost everything, a little cash for markets and parking meters. Canada is nearly as tap-happy as it gets. The things to get right are the pre-tax price tag, the fee-heavy private ATMs, and the dollar prompt.
- Staying connected in Canada.Canada is the one trip on this list where your US plan may already have you covered without paying more, so start there. If it does not, or you want real data, an eSIM is cheaper than a day pass. The thing to plan for is the dead zones on rural highways and in the parks.
- What does renting a car in Canada really cost?Canada is the easy one for US drivers: your license works, and your usual card and insurance most likely cover the car, so the counter's pricey add-ons are often skippable. The costs to watch are the winter-tire rule, a sneaky Ontario toll, and the usual drop and driver fees.
- Taxis, Uber and Lyft in Canada.Rideshare works in Canada's major cities much as it does at home, so getting around town is easy. The money question is the airport run, where a train or a fixed taxi fare often beats a surging Uber. Here is what to use where.
This is how Canada stands today.
Money rules move. We can let you know for free if that changes.