Guides
Tire recycling fees in Alberta and how they appear on your invoice
Alberta tire shops collect ARMA's environmental fee on new tires. This guide shows where the fee goes on the invoice, how to keep it in a liability account, and how to reconcile and remit it.
What to take away
- Alberta tire shops collect ARMA's environmental fee on new tires and can show it as its own invoice line.
- The fee is a pass-through. It sits in a liability account, not in your sales.
- Reconcile fee collected against new tires sold every month, before the remittance goes out.
Key findings
- ARMA says its tire recycling program launched in 1992 and is the second-oldest in Canada.
- ARMA calls the charge "environmental fees", and a business that wants to supply tires in Alberta registers with ARMA through an online application.
- ARMA's tire remittance overview says a visible fee on a retail invoice is not mandatory. The overview is undated, so confirm the current rule with ARMA.
- CRA's rate table lists Alberta GST/HST at 5% on or after April 1, 2025.
- CRA says GST/HST records must usually be kept for six years from the end of the year to which they relate.
What the advance disposal fee is and who collects it
Alberta Recycling Management Authority (ARMA) runs the province's scrap tire programme. Every new tire sold at retail carries an advance disposal fee that pays for collecting, hauling and processing that tire when it comes back bald.
ARMA's tire recycling program launched in 1992, and ARMA describes it as the second-oldest in Canada. ARMA's own tire recycling program page calls the charge "environmental fees". This article uses "advance disposal fee" and "the fee" for the same charge.
You are the collection agent. The fee goes on the customer's bill, sits in your books as a liability, and leaves again when you remit it to ARMA. It never becomes your revenue.
The fee covers passenger, light truck and some commercial tires. It does not apply to used tires. ARMA sets the rate and revises it, so confirm the current figure with ARMA before you print a new batch of invoices.
Registration with ARMA is required before you sell new tires, and it is done by submitting an online application to ARMA. ARMA supplier registration is only one obligation among several. Work through that checklist so the ARMA paperwork sits beside your other requirements rather than behind them.
How Alberta's fee differs from other provinces
Alberta puts the duty on the retailer. You collect at the point of sale and you remit, on a schedule you have to meet.
Other provinces run their own programmes under their own rules. If you run stores in more than one province, you need a separate process for each, so a counter person who moves between provinces does not carry one province's habits into another.
Where the fee goes on the invoice
ARMA's tire remittance overview says a visible fee on a retail invoice is not mandatory. The overview is undated, so confirm the current rule with ARMA. A separate line is still the practice that keeps counter questions short.
Put the fee on its own line, after the tire lines and before tax. Label it "Alberta Recycling Advance Disposal Fee" or "ARMA Tire Fee". "Environmental charge" and "shop supplies" tell the customer nothing and invite an argument at the counter.
Invoice fee line example
- 4 | Tires at $150 each
- $16.00 | ARMA fee (4 x $4)
- $30.00 | GST on tires only
- $646.00 | Total due
Show it per tire where you can. Four tires at the fee rate is a sum the customer can check in their head, and it matches your POS report at month end.
Build the line into your tire shop quote template so it appears on the estimate, the work order and the invoice without anyone retyping it.
The fee line has to survive the whole tire shop operations chain, from the quote through the work order to the final invoice, so test it on one job before you roll it out.
A worked example on one invoice
The fee is a flat amount per new tire. ARMA's fee table sets the rate in force, so check it on ARMA's tire recycling program page before you print a new batch of invoices. For a wider view, see the provincial eco-fee comparison across Canada. The example below uses $4 per tire as an illustrative figure only. It is not the current ARMA rate.
Four new tires at $150 each, with an illustrative ARMA fee of $4 per tire:
| Line | Description | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tires (4 x $150) | $600.00 |
| 2 | Alberta Recycling Advance Disposal Fee (4 x $4, illustrative rate) | $16.00 |
| 3 | Subtotal before GST | $616.00 |
Illustrative example only: the $4 fee is not a confirmed ARMA rate. The example stops at the subtotal and shows no GST amount or total, because whether GST is charged on the fee itself is left for you to confirm (see the GST section below).
You remit the fee you collected to ARMA and the GST to the Canada Revenue Agency. Substitute your own tire price and the rate in force on ARMA's fee table.
GST on the invoice
CRA's GST/HST rate table lists 5% for Alberta on or after April 1, 2025. Rates and what they apply to are set out at Charge and collect the GST/HST on Canada.ca.
Whether GST is charged on top of the recycling fee is a point to check against the current CRA text before you set up the fee line in your POS. This article does not give a ruling on it. Apply one rule on the quote, the work order and the invoice, and keep the fee on its own line so the ledger balance still matches what you remit to ARMA. Our guide to GST and HST on tire pricing across Canada covers the wider tax picture for tire shops.
Tires sold with the fee attached must still meet Motor Vehicle Tire Safety Regulations.
Record keeping and remittance
Open a dedicated liability account for the fee. Each collection credits it; each remittance to ARMA debits it. The balance should always equal fees collected and not yet remitted.
Reconcile monthly. Multiply new tires sold, from your POS report, by the current ARMA rate, and compare that to the ledger balance. A gap usually means a tire sold without the fee line or a rate change the POS still carries at the old figure.
ARMA sets the remittance schedule, and your registration documents state the frequency and the due date. Any interest or penalty for a late payment comes from the same agreement. Read those terms once and put the due date in the shop calendar.
Keep invoices and remittance receipts for six years from the end of the year to which they relate, which is the usual CRA retention period for GST/HST records (see CRA's guide RC4419, 2023 edition). ARMA may also ask to see them. The cash flow and record keeping basics in new vs used tire shop equipment apply to the same filing cabinet.
Monthly fee checklist for the office
Monthly ARMA fee reconciliation
- Count new tires sold from POS report
- Multiply by current ARMA rate
- Compare to fee ledger balance
- Confirm every invoice shows fee line
- Confirm GST charged on tires only
- File remittance receipts in ARMA folder
- Update POS fee code on rate change
Monthly fee checklist
- Pull the month's new tire count from the POS report.
- Apply the ARMA rate in force to that count and write down the expected fee.
- Match the result against the balance in the fee liability account.
- Check any gapa tire sold without the fee line, a fee charged on a used tire, or an old rate still sitting in the POS.
- File the invoices that show the fee together with the remittance receipt.
- Confirm the next remittance date is in the shop calendar before you close the month.
What customers ask at the counter
The first question is why a fee sits on top of the tire price. It is a provincial recycling charge, not a shop charge, and it pays for the tire's end of life. Say it that way and most customers stop there.
Some customers say they paid it when they bought tires before. The fee attaches to each new tire sold, so a new set carries it again. It is not a one-time charge per vehicle.
Others ask whether keeping their old tires avoids it. It does not. A trade-in credit for returned tires is a separate line and does not reduce the fee.
You cannot waive the fee for a customer who refuses it. It is collected on ARMA's behalf, and a waived fee comes out of your own remittance. How to present fees alongside labour and parts is covered in tire shop pricing.
Common questions
Is the advance disposal fee subject to GST?
Check the current CRA text before you set up your invoice template; this article does not give a ruling. CRA's rate table lists GST/HST for Alberta at 5% on or after April 1, 2025.
Do I charge the fee on used tires?
No. The fee applies to new tires sold at retail. Used tires sold on their own or with a vehicle do not carry it.
What if I sell tires online to an Alberta address?
The fee still applies to tires delivered into Alberta. Register with ARMA and remit on the same schedule as your counter sales.
How often do I remit, and what records do I keep?
ARMA sets the schedule for your account, and your registration documents state the frequency and the due date. Keep invoices showing the fee, remittance receipts and the ledger for six years from the end of the year to which they relate.
Methodology
The facts in this article come from ARMA's tire recycling program page, ARMA's undated tire remittance overview, CRA's GST/HST rate table and CRA guide RC4419 (2023 edition). Each was checked against the text of the page in October 2026. The article gives no current per-tire rate, because the newest ARMA fee schedule we could confirm is more than 12 months old. It gives no ruling on GST for the fee itself. Check ARMA's fee table and the current CRA text for both.
Cite this
Tire Tread Stock, "Tire recycling fees in Alberta and how they appear on your invoice," tiretreadstock.com, 2026. https://tiretreadstock.com/tire-guide-alberta-recycling-fees-invoice
