Do I owe EPR fees Alberta

Check your own case

Choose your role, add your revenue and the packaging you supply, and the checker applies the rules this page describes to your figures. It runs in your browser and stores nothing.

The Instica free plan covers the threshold check, exemption tracking, the deadline calendar, packaging templates and fee sources, so you can start without paying. See what the free plan includes

How the checker reaches a result

The checker asks the same questions in the same order for every place, and it stops with a result as soon as a question settles the matter. It never fills a missing answer in for you.

1. Whose brand is on the packaging? If it is another company's brand, you are not the producer for those goods under the roles recorded for Alberta. If you have not said, the checker asks first.
2. Do you sell into Alberta? A place where you report no sales returns not obligated.
3. Does a size limit apply? The checker compares your revenue or packaging weight with each limit on record and, where a limit is not met, returns below threshold.
4. Is an exemption on record for your case? An exemption that is not yet verified is never assumed, and the checker asks for more data instead.
5. Are related companies counted together? Where the rules add up affiliated companies, their figures are combined before the limits are compared.

Who is the producer in Alberta?

The first question is whose duty it is. Alberta assigns the duty by packaging level, and the table shows which roles count as the producer at each level.

• Alberta: for primary (sales) packaging the producer is the brand owner, importer, or seller.
• Alberta: for secondary packaging the producer is the brand owner, importer, or seller.
• Alberta: for shipping packaging the producer is the brand owner, importer, or seller.
• Alberta: for tertiary (transport) packaging the producer is the brand owner, importer, or seller.

Find the row that describes you. Where more than one role appears in a row, the checker asks whose brand is on the product before it gives a result.

Does revenue matter in Alberta?

Where a revenue limit applies, Alberta counts revenue earned in the jurisdiction. The revenue figure is taken over the year. Limits are stated in CAD; a figure in another currency is converted with a published rate before it is compared.

Size limits in Alberta

Some rules switch the duty on or off by size. These are the limits on record for Alberta, each with what happens when you meet it.

The revenue limit: CA$1,500,000

Alberta: the revenue limit is CA$1,500,000. Alberta: at the revenue limit of CA$1,500,000, the producer is exempt below it. Alberta: the revenue rule reads, in plain words: Exempt from registration and reporting under CAD 1,500,000 Alberta revenue. Alberta: the revenue limit is counted as follows: Alberta revenue.

The tonnage limit: 9 tonnes

Alberta: the tonnage limit is 9 tonnes. Alberta: at the tonnage limit of 9 tonnes, a reduced duty applies. Alberta: the tonnage rule reads, in plain words: Above revenue threshold but below each tonnage amount: must register and file, no fee. Alberta: the tonnage limit is counted as follows: residential supply per year (9 t paper; 2 t rigid plastic; 2 t flexible plastic; 1 t glass; 1 t metal).

Exemptions in Alberta

An exemption removes the duty for a producer that meets its conditions. Some must be applied for; others apply on their own.

Exemption 1

Exemption 1: Producers under CAD 1,500,000 Alberta revenue are exempt. Alberta: exemption 1 applies without an application.

What the rules cover in Alberta

A duty applies only to the packaging and the sales channels that the rules cover. This is what is on record for Alberta.

Every case, worked through

Below, the same engine that powers the checker is run on a set of standard cases for Alberta. Each case states the input, the result and the next step. The figures are test inputs set at half, equal to and twice each recorded limit, read as of November 4, 2026; they are not rules.

Revenue of CA$750,000: below the limit

Your own brand is on the goods and your revenue is CA$750,000, half the limit of CA$1,500,000. The figure is under the CA$1,500,000 limit, so the engine returns below threshold: the exemption on record applies. Result: below threshold. Next: keep the figures that put you below the limit, and check again as you grow.

Revenue of CA$1,500,000: exactly at the limit

Your own brand is on the goods and your revenue is CA$1,500,000, exactly the limit of CA$1,500,000. The limit is met, so the engine returns obligated. Result: obligated. Next: register, report and pay as the sections below describe, and prepare your figures in a workspace.

Revenue of CA$3,000,000: above the limit

Your own brand is on the goods and your revenue is CA$3,000,000, twice the limit of CA$1,500,000. The limit is met, so the engine returns obligated. Result: obligated. Next: register, report and pay as the sections below describe, and prepare your figures in a workspace.

Packaging of 4.5 tonnes: below the limit

Your own brand is on the goods and you supply 4.5 tonnes of packaging, half the limit of 9 tonnes. The rules for Alberta set a limit that needs a figure this case does not supply, such as a different measure or unit, so the engine asks for more data. Result: more data needed. Next: supply the missing answer in the checker to get a result.

Packaging of 18 tonnes: above the limit

Your own brand is on the goods and you supply 18 tonnes of packaging, twice the limit of 9 tonnes. The rules for Alberta set a limit that needs a figure this case does not supply, such as a different measure or unit, so the engine asks for more data. Result: more data needed. Next: supply the missing answer in the checker to get a result.

Above every limit

Your own brand is on the goods and every figure is above every limit on record. The limit is met, so the engine returns obligated. Result: obligated. Next: register, report and pay as the sections below describe, and prepare your figures in a workspace.

If you owe: what happens next

If the result is obligated, these are the steps on record for Alberta. You register, report and pay yourself; Instica prepares the figures and the files.

Deadlines on record

• Alberta: the other deadline is October 1, 2026.