Do I Need to Register for GST/HST in Canada?
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Understanding When GST/HST Applies to Your Business
For many Canadian entrepreneurs, GST/HST is the first real tax question they run into. Charge it when you shouldn’t and you’ve made yourself more expensive than the competition; fail to register when you must and the CRA can come looking for tax you never collected. The good news is that the core rules are clearer than they first appear.
This guide walks through when registration is mandatory, when it’s optional and worth doing anyway, which rate to charge depending on where your customer is, how filing works once you’re registered, and what it costs to get it wrong.
Key Takeaways
- The $30,000 rule: You must register once your worldwide taxable sales exceed $30,000 in a single calendar quarter or over four consecutive calendar quarters. Below that, you’re a “small supplier” and registration is optional.
- Timing matters: Cross the threshold in one quarter and you must charge tax on the very sale that put you over, then register within 29 days.
- Voluntary registration lets you recover the GST/HST you pay on business purchases through input tax credits, which is often worth it for B2B businesses and anyone with large start-up costs.
- Which rate you charge depends on your customer’s province, not yours: 5% GST in Alberta, the territories and the PST/QST provinces; 13% HST in Ontario; 14% in Nova Scotia; 15% in New Brunswick, PEI and Newfoundland and Labrador.
- Filing frequency is set by revenue: annual under $1.5 million, quarterly to $6 million, monthly above that.
- Register late and you still owe the tax. The CRA can backdate your registration and assess GST/HST on sales you never charged it on, plus interest and penalties.
What Is the Small Supplier Threshold?
The starting point for every GST/HST question is the small supplier rule. You are a small supplier, and therefore not required to register, as long as your total worldwide taxable supplies stay at or below $30,000 in both of these tests:
- a single calendar quarter (January–March, April–June, July–September, October–December), and
- the last four consecutive calendar quarters combined.
A few details trip people up:
- “Taxable” includes zero-rated sales. Exports, basic groceries and other zero-rated supplies are taxed at 0%, but they still count toward the $30,000. Only exempt supplies (see below) are left out.
- It’s worldwide revenue. Sales to customers outside Canada count.
- Associated businesses are combined. If you control more than one company, or a corporation and a sole proprietorship, their taxable sales are added together for the test.
- Certain amounts are excluded: sales of capital property (such as selling a vehicle or equipment you used in the business), goodwill and financial services don’t count.
- Public service bodies such as non-profits have a higher $50,000 threshold, and charities have an additional gross-revenue test.
The threshold has been $30,000 since 1991 and is not indexed to inflation, so a growing number of part-time and side-hustle businesses now cross it without realizing.
When Registration Becomes Mandatory
Once you stop being a small supplier, you must register for a GST/HST account and start charging tax. Exactly when depends on how you crossed the line:
Scenario 1: You exceed $30,000 in a single calendar quarter. You stop being a small supplier immediately. Your effective date of registration is the day of the sale that pushed you over, you must charge GST/HST on that sale and every sale after it, and you have 29 days from that date to register.
Scenario 2: You exceed $30,000 over four consecutive quarters, but not in any single quarter. You stay a small supplier until the end of the month following the quarter in which you crossed the threshold. Your first sale after that month is your effective date, and you must register within 29 days of it. Example: if your trailing four-quarter sales pass $30,000 in November 2026, you remain a small supplier through January 31, 2027 and must charge tax on your first sale in February.
Some businesses must register regardless of revenue:
- Taxi and commercial ride-sharing drivers (including Uber and Lyft) must register from their first fare.
- Non-resident performers selling admissions to events in Canada.
- Non-resident sellers of digital products and services, and the platforms that facilitate them, have their own simplified registration regime once Canadian sales exceed $30,000 in a 12-month period.
If you’re close to the threshold, track your quarterly sales carefully. Many business owners discover they crossed it months earlier than they thought, and the CRA applies the rules from the actual date, not the date you noticed.
Taxable, Zero-Rated and Exempt: What's the Difference?
Whether you need to register, and what you can recover, depends on what type of supplies your business makes.
- Taxable supplies are the default. Most goods and services sold in Canada, from consulting and construction to software and retail, are taxable at the GST or HST rate for the customer’s province. They count toward the $30,000 threshold, and once registered you charge tax on them and claim input tax credits on related purchases.
- Zero-rated supplies are taxable at 0%. They include basic groceries, prescription drugs, certain medical devices, agricultural products, and most exports of goods and services to non-residents. You charge no tax, but these sales do count toward the threshold, and you can claim input tax credits on the costs of producing them. Exporters often register voluntarily for exactly this reason.
- Exempt supplies are outside the GST/HST system altogether. They include most health, dental and medical services, child care, music lessons, educational courses leading to a certificate, long-term residential rent, used residential housing, and most financial services. Exempt sales do not count toward the threshold, you cannot charge tax on them, and you cannot claim input tax credits for the costs of making them.
Businesses with a mix, such as a chiropractor who also sells taxable products, or a landlord with both residential and commercial units, need to track each category separately. If all of your revenue is exempt, you can’t register even if you want to.
GST vs. HST: Which Rate Do You Charge?
The single GST/HST registration covers both taxes, but the rate you charge is set by the place of supply, which for most goods and services is the province where your customer receives them, not where your business is located. An Alberta consultant billing an Ontario client charges 13% HST; an Ontario retailer shipping to Calgary charges 5% GST.
| Province / Territory | Federal GST | Provincial portion | What you charge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alberta, Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut | 5% | None | 5% GST |
| British Columbia | 5% | 7% PST (separate) | 5% GST (+ PST if registered with BC) |
| Saskatchewan | 5% | 6% PST (separate) | 5% GST (+ PST if registered with SK) |
| Manitoba | 5% | 7% RST (separate) | 5% GST (+ RST if registered with MB) |
| Quebec | 5% | 9.975% QST (separate) | 5% GST (+ QST if registered with Revenu Québec) |
| Ontario | 5% | 8% | 13% HST |
| Nova Scotia | 5% | 9% | 14% HST (reduced from 15% on April 1, 2025) |
| New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador | 5% | 10% | 15% HST |
Two practical notes. First, the provincial sales taxes in BC, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Quebec are separate registrations with their own thresholds and rules; your CRA GST/HST account doesn’t cover them. Second, if you’re located in Quebec, Revenu Québec administers both GST and QST, so you register with them rather than the CRA.
Voluntary Registration: Should You Register Early?
If you’re still under $30,000, you can choose to register anyway, as long as you make (or intend to make) taxable supplies. For many businesses this is the smarter path.
Advantages
- Recover tax on start-up costs. Equipment, inventory, software, professional fees and leasehold improvements all carry GST/HST. Registering before you buy them lets you claim it back through input tax credits, which can be a meaningful cash injection in year one.
- No surprise threshold crossing. You won’t have to scramble to register mid-quarter or explain to a customer why their invoice suddenly has tax on it.
- Credibility. Larger clients and government buyers often expect a GST/HST number on invoices, and some won’t onboard a supplier without one.
Disadvantages
- Administration. You take on the obligation to charge, track, file and remit on schedule, even in slow years.
- Price sensitivity. If your customers are individuals who can’t recover the tax, your effective price rises by 5% to 15% overnight.
- You’re committed. Once you register voluntarily, you generally must stay registered for at least one year before you can cancel.
When voluntary registration usually makes sense
- Your customers are mostly other businesses that can claim the tax back, so it costs them nothing.
- You have significant purchases coming before revenue arrives.
- You export or make other zero-rated supplies and want to recover input tax.
- You expect to cross $30,000 within the year anyway.
The main case for staying unregistered is a consumer-facing business with low costs, a freelance tutor or a weekend market vendor, for example, whose customers would simply pay more.
How to Register for a GST/HST Account
Registration is free and usually takes less than half an hour. You’ll need a Business Number (BN) first; if you don’t have one, it’s issued as part of the same process. Your GST/HST account number is your nine-digit BN followed by RT0001.
Ways to register
- Online: through the CRA’s Business Registration Online service, or from within My Business Account if you already have one. This is the fastest route and gives you your account number immediately.
- By phone: call the CRA business enquiries line at 1-800-959-5525.
- By mail or fax: complete Form RC1, Request for a Business Number and Certain Program Accounts.
- Quebec businesses: register with Revenu Québec, which administers GST alongside QST.
Decisions you’ll make at registration
- Effective date. Use the date you were required to register (see above) or, for voluntary registration, the date you want to start charging tax. You can backdate a voluntary registration by up to 30 days.
- Fiscal year-end. Most sole proprietors use December 31. Corporations usually match their corporate year-end.
- Reporting period. The CRA assigns annual, quarterly or monthly filing based on your expected revenue, but you can elect a more frequent period if you expect refunds (common for exporters and start-ups with heavy purchases).
Once registered, your GST/HST number must appear on every invoice where you charge tax. Customers need it to claim their own input tax credits, and the CRA uses it to verify that the tax you collected is actually being remitted.
Reporting Periods and Filing Deadlines
Your reporting period is based on your annual taxable supplies (including those of associated businesses):
| Annual taxable supplies | Assigned reporting period | Can you elect more frequent? |
|---|---|---|
| $1,500,000 or less | Annual | Yes: quarterly or monthly |
| $1,500,001 to $6,000,000 | Quarterly | Yes: monthly |
| More than $6,000,000 | Monthly | N/A |
When returns and payments are due
- Monthly and quarterly filers: return and payment are due one month after the end of the reporting period.
- Annual filers who are self-employed with a December 31 year-end: payment is due April 30, and the return is due June 15, matching your personal tax deadlines.
- All other annual filers (including corporations): return and payment are due three months after your fiscal year-end.
Annual filers whose net tax was $3,000 or more in the previous year must also pay quarterly instalments, due one month after the end of each fiscal quarter, with the balance settled when the annual return is filed.
Every return must be filed even if you owe nothing or are due a refund, and most registrants are now required to file electronically through My Business Account, GST/HST NETFILE or their accounting software. For a full calendar of the coming year’s dates, see our guide to Canadian tax filing deadlines for 2027.
Input Tax Credits and the Quick Method
Registration isn’t only an obligation; it’s also how you get money back.
Input tax credits (ITCs) let you recover the GST/HST you pay on purchases and expenses used in your commercial activities: rent, supplies, equipment, software subscriptions, professional fees, advertising and more. On each return you report the tax you collected, subtract your ITCs, and remit (or receive) the difference. To support a claim you need a proper receipt or invoice; for purchases over $100, it must show the supplier’s GST/HST registration number. ITCs can generally be claimed up to four years after the period in which the expense was incurred, so missed credits aren’t lost forever, but the best practice is to book them as you go.
The Quick Method is a simplified alternative for small businesses with annual worldwide taxable sales (including GST/HST) of $400,000 or less. Instead of tracking ITCs on every purchase, you remit a fixed percentage of your tax-included sales; for example, a service business in Ontario remits 8.8% of HST-included revenue rather than the full 13% collected, and keeps the difference to cover the tax paid on its expenses. A 1% credit also applies to the first $30,000 of eligible sales each year. You still claim ITCs on capital purchases such as equipment and vehicles. The Quick Method often produces a lower net remittance for service businesses with few taxable expenses, but it isn’t available to certain professionals, including accountants, bookkeepers, lawyers and financial consultants, and it must be elected in advance. Running the numbers both ways before you elect is worth the effort.
What Happens If You Should Have Registered but Didn't
This is the scenario that turns a routine compliance question into a real cost. If the CRA determines you crossed the threshold and didn’t register, it can:
- Register you retroactively to the date you were required to register, which may be years earlier.
- Assess the GST/HST you should have collected on every taxable sale since that date. Because you didn’t charge it, the CRA treats your prices as tax-included and backs the tax out of your revenue, so a $10,000 Ontario invoice is treated as $8,850 plus $1,150 of HST that you now owe. Recovering that from past customers is rarely practical, so it usually comes out of your own pocket.
- Charge interest at the prescribed rate, compounded daily, from each original due date.
- Apply late-filing penalties of 1% of the amount owing plus 0.25% per full month late, for up to 12 months, on every return that should have been filed, plus a $250 penalty for any return not filed after a formal demand.
On the other side, you can partly offset the assessment by claiming the ITCs you would have been entitled to over the same period, provided you have the receipts. Good records dramatically reduce the damage.
If you realize you’ve crossed the threshold without registering, act quickly rather than waiting to be found. Registering voluntarily with a backdated effective date, and using the CRA’s Voluntary Disclosures Program where appropriate, can reduce or eliminate penalties. This is a situation where a conversation with an accountant before you contact the CRA pays for itself many times over.
Ready to Get Your GST/HST Set Up Right?
Whether you’re approaching the $30,000 threshold, weighing voluntary registration, or worried you may already be behind, the right guidance saves time and avoids expensive mistakes. Targeted Accounting works with Canadian small business owners to register correctly, choose the filing frequency and method that fit your cash flow, and keep every return filed on time.
Our bookkeeping service tracks GST/HST collected and paid as part of your regular monthly close, so filing becomes a routine task rather than a quarterly scramble. Contact us today to book a consultation and take the guesswork out of GST/HST.
This article reflects CRA rules and rates as of September 2026. Thresholds and provincial rates are subject to change; confirm your specific obligations with your accountant.
