Many people who shop at Costco find the letters and codes on their receipts like GP, A, Z, and -A pretty confusing. They don’t know how these codes affect their taxes or whether their discounts are being calculated correctly.
The good news is that the meaning of these Costco receipt numbers will be explained in this post. When you’re done reading, you’ll know exactly what to look for on your Costco receipt, including the applied taxes and discounts.
What does GP mean on Costco receipt?
Short Answer: When you see “GP” on your Costco receipt, it means that the item you bought is subject to both the Goods and Services Tax and the Provincial Sales Tax.
Reading the coupon carefully will show that all Costco discounts are applied post-tax. That is to say, the GST and provincial tax are calculated on the full selling price of the item before the coupon discount is applied.
For instance, if you spent $10.00 on an item and had a $3.00 coupon:
- The Goods and Services Tax (GST) on $10 would be: Assuming a GST rate of 5%, this would amount to $0.50.
- The Provincial Sales Tax (PST) on $10 would be $: Assuming a PST rate of 8%, this would amount to $0.80.
Add the GST of $0.50 to the PST of $0.80 to get your total tax bill of $1.30.
After considering the reduction and tax, the final amount due is reduced to $8.30 (10.00 + 1.30 – 3.00) from the original $10.00.
What does A and Z mean on Costco receipt?
The tax rate for non-food products is shown by an A on the Costco receipt, and a Z indicates that the item is chargeable for VAT but that the VAT rate is zero percent.
The tax rate for goods that are not food is shown by the letter “A” on your Costco receipt. It denotes that regular sales tax or other applicable taxes are added to the price of these items. Meanwhile, a Costco receipt marked with a “Z” means the item is subject to Value Added Tax but has no VAT applied to it.
Although the item is technically subject to VAT legislation, you will not be charged any extra VAT since the rate is set at 0%, thereby making it tax-exempt. These codes are used by Costco to indicate how sales tax is calculated for specific items.
What does -A mean on Costco receipt?
-A on a Costco receipt indicates an instant rebate for the respective non-food item.
Any non-food item marked with a -A on a Costco receipt is eligible for an instant rebate on that item, which is a major perk for customers. Similarly, if you come across -E on your receipt, it denotes an instant rebate, but this time for a food item.
When you add up all these individual rebates for items marked with “-A” and “-E,” they amount to what’s known as “Instant Savings.” You can usually see this total at the bottom part of your receipt.
So, when you look at your Costco receipt, the “Instant Savings” part gives you a clear picture of how much less you paid for your stuff because of the special deals you got.
What does E mean on a Costco receipt?
Costco’s tax rate for food and EBT-eligible products is shown by the letter “E” on the receipt.
The letter “E” on a Costco receipt has a specific meaning – it signifies the tax rate for food and items that are eligible for payment with EBT (Electronic Benefit Transfer) cards.
When you see this “E” letter, it tells you that any applicable taxes for food items have been included in the total cost of those specific products. This helps both the store and the shopper keep track of tax details for these particular types of purchases.
FAQs
1. What does F mean on a Costco receipt?
When you spot an “F” on your Costco receipt, it’s a special indicator. It indicates that the thing you bought is FSA-eligible, which commonly refers to medical costs covered by Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) and could also be reimbursed by your Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA).
In the case of a discounted FSA-eligible item, the receipt will first detail the FSA-eligible total prior to any rebates or taxes being used, after which it will detail the final FSA amount once the rebates and taxes have been implemented. This makes it easier for you to keep track of the savings on your purchase as well as any eligible medical costs.
Final Words
Understanding your Costco receipt is no longer a mystery. You’ve finally figured out how to interpret the codes that used to confuse you previously.
With this information in hand, your Costco shopping experience can be more transparent, and you can shop knowing exactly what you’re paying for and how much you’re saving.
Having earned a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce from Ravenshaw University, with a background in Accounting and Finance, Akshita Pattanayak contributes to UniTopTen by writing clear and concise articles based on Finance-Tech. With more than a hundred fin-tech related articles, she hopes to educate people about how banking and payment apps function.