When Does a Canadian Small Business Have to Register for GST/HST?

Sep 17

6 min read

Updated: Sep 27

Short answer: You must register for GST/HST once your worldwide taxable revenue passes $30,000 in a single calendar quarter or across four consecutive calendar quarters. Below that, you are a small supplier and registration is optional. Cross it in one quarter and the sale that took you over is already taxable. You then have 29 days to apply for your account.

GST/HST is the federal sales tax (5% GST, or 13-15% HST in the provinces that combine it with their provincial tax) that registered businesses charge on most goods and services sold in Canada. The $30,000 rule is the part most owners have heard. The parts that catch people out are what counts toward the $30,000, and what happens on the day you cross it.

Business owner at a desk with a calculator and a revenue chart crossing the $30,000 GST/HST registration threshold

What counts toward the $30,000?

It is revenue from taxable supplies, worldwide. Not your profit, and not only your Canadian sales.

Zero-rated sales count. Many exports and basic groceries are taxable at 0%. They are still taxable supplies, so they count toward the threshold.
Exempt supplies do not count. Most residential rent, most health and dental services, and most financial services are exempt.
Sales of capital property and goodwill do not count. Selling a used truck or a business does not push you over.
Associated businesses are tested together. Two corporations under common control are treated as one for the $30,000 test.

Common mistake: treating the $30,000 as a calendar-year test. It is not. It is any four consecutive calendar quarters. A business can cross the line in August based on revenue that started the previous September.

What happens the moment I cross it?

There are two different triggers, and they have different consequences.

How you exceed $30,000	When you stop being a small supplier	When you must register
In a single calendar quarter	Immediately	Effective date is the day of the sale that put you over. Apply within 29 days of that day.
Over four consecutive calendar quarters	At the end of the month following that quarter	Effective date is the day of your first sale after that. Apply within 29 days of that day.

In the single-quarter case, the sale that pushes you over is itself taxable. The CRA expects you to charge tax on it even though you are not registered yet. If you invoiced it without tax, the tax still has to be remitted. It just comes out of your margin instead of the customer's pocket. Watching the threshold approach matters more than reacting after the fact.

Which GST/HST rate do I charge?

You charge based on where your customer is, not where you are. That is the place-of-supply rule, and it is the single most common error we correct in new client files.

As of 2026, the rates are:

Province or territory	Rate you charge
Ontario	13% HST
Nova Scotia	14% HST (since April 1, 2025)
New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island	15% HST
British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec, Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut	5% GST

The 5% GST provinces may also have their own provincial sales tax (PST in British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba; QST in Quebec) with separate registration rules. Alberta and the three territories have no provincial sales tax at all.

So an Ontario consultant billing a client in Calgary charges 5% GST, not 13% HST. An Ontario consultant billing a client in Halifax charges 14%.

Should I register for GST/HST voluntarily before I hit $30,000?

Sometimes. Registering early lets you claim input tax credits (the GST/HST you paid on business purchases) and get that money back. That matters most when you are spending heavily before you are earning: buying equipment, fitting out a space, building inventory.

Register early if:

Your customers are other registered businesses. They claim the tax back and do not care.
You are carrying significant start-up costs with tax on them.
You expect to pass $30,000 within a few months anyway.

Wait if:

You sell to consumers, where adding 13% makes you visibly more expensive than an unregistered competitor.
Your expenses are small and the input tax credits would not be worth the filing work.

Registration is a commitment. Once registered you must charge, file and remit on schedule regardless of revenue. If you registered voluntarily, you generally have to stay registered for at least one year before you can cancel.

How often will I have to file?

The CRA assigns a reporting period based on your annual taxable supplies. You can usually elect a more frequent one.

Annual taxable supplies	Assigned period	You may elect instead
$1,500,000 or less	Annual	Monthly or quarterly
Over $1,500,000 up to $6,000,000	Quarterly	Monthly
Over $6,000,000	Monthly	Not available

Deadlines follow from that:

Monthly and quarterly filers: file and pay one month after the end of the reporting period.
Annual filers: file and pay three months after your fiscal year end.
Annual filers who are sole proprietors with a December 31 year end and business income: payment is due April 30, filing is due June 15.

Annual filers may also have to pay quarterly instalments during the year. The CRA will tell you if this applies.

Filing more often than required is sometimes the better choice. Businesses in a refund position (heavy input tax credits, zero-rated sales) get their money back four times a year instead of once by electing quarterly.

What is the Quick Method, and should I use it?

The Quick Method lets eligible small businesses remit a flat percentage of their tax-included sales instead of tracking input tax credits on every operating expense. As of 2026, it is available to registrants whose annual worldwide taxable supplies, including GST/HST and including associates, are not more than $400,000. It includes a 1% credit on the first $30,000 of eligible sales each fiscal year.

Some businesses cannot use it at all: bookkeeping, accounting, tax preparation, financial consulting, legal and actuarial services are excluded, along with listed financial institutions and some public bodies.

It works well for service businesses with low expenses: consultants, trades with little in the way of materials, professional services. It works badly for businesses that buy a lot, because you give up the input tax credits on those purchases. You can still claim input tax credits on capital purchases like equipment and vehicles.

The test is arithmetic, not opinion: calculate a year both ways and pick the smaller number. It is worth having someone run that comparison rather than guessing. That is part of the HST/GST filing work we do for clients, and we can register you if you would rather not deal with the CRA forms yourself. Our monthly bookkeeping plans include the filing.

Frequently asked questions

Do I charge GST/HST to customers outside Canada?

Exports of goods and many services to non-residents are generally zero-rated. You charge 0% but still claim input tax credits on related expenses. The rules depend on what you sell and where the service is consumed, so check rather than assume.

What if I have been over $30,000 for a while and never registered?

Register now. The CRA can assess the tax you should have collected, plus interest and penalties, back to when you should have registered. Coming forward voluntarily is materially better than being found. The Voluntary Disclosures Program exists for exactly this situation.

Can I charge GST/HST before my number comes through?

You need an effective registration date on or before the sale. Registration is usually effective immediately when done online, so the practical answer is to register first, then invoice.

Is the $30,000 based on revenue or profit?

Revenue. Your costs are irrelevant to the threshold test.

Do I need a business number before I register for GST/HST?

Yes. The GST/HST account is added to your nine-digit CRA business number (the RT0001 account). If you do not have a business number yet, you get one and the GST/HST account in the same online registration.

Sources

About Remote Bookkeeping

Remote Bookkeeping is a Canadian-owned firm providing monthly bookkeeping, financial reporting, payroll, HST/GST filing, year-end preparation and QuickBooks Online setup to small businesses across Canada. Founded by Lia and George, the firm has been keeping books for Canadian business owners for over 30 years. New here? Read what remote bookkeeping is and how it works. Call (289) 867-0808 or 1-800-880-9141.

This article is general information for Canadian small business owners. It is not tax, legal or accounting advice for your particular situation. Rates and thresholds change - always confirm against the source linked above or ask us.