GST/HST Registration and Filing in Canada: The $30,000 Rule, QST and PST

GST/HST registration is the step that lets a business charge the federal goods and services tax (GST) or the harmonized sales tax (HST), claim back the tax it pays on business costs and file returns with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). Most businesses selling taxable goods or services in Canada must register once their revenue passes the $30,000 small-supplier line. Some provinces then add a separate provincial tax, and Quebec's QST is collected by Revenu Quebec rather than the CRA. This guide covers the tests, rates, filing calendar and traps for owners starting out or expanding into Canada.

How does GST/HST registration work?

Registration is not tied to incorporating or to having employees. It depends on your taxable sales, meaning sales taxed at 5%, 13%, 14%, 15% or at the zero rate. A business that makes only exempt supplies generally cannot register. A small supplier can still register voluntarily, which helps when you buy equipment and want to recover the tax.

The CRA tests the $30,000 line two ways:

• One calendar quarter. If you exceed $30,000 in a single quarter, you stop being a small supplier on the sale that takes you over, and you charge tax starting with that sale.
• Four consecutive quarters. If revenue across the previous four quarters passes $30,000, you stop being a small supplier at the end of the month after the quarter in which you crossed, and you charge tax from your first sale after that point.

Revenue counts worldwide taxable supplies, not only Canadian sales. Taxi and commercial ride-share drivers must register regardless of revenue. A non-resident who carries on business in Canada and is not a small supplier must also register, and the CRA generally asks a non-resident with no permanent establishment in Canada for a security deposit.

What are the GST and HST rates by province?

Basic groceries are zero-rated in every province. The rate depends on the place of supply, so a Toronto firm billing a client in Halifax may have to charge Nova Scotia's 14%.

How to register, step by step

1. Add up the last four quarters of taxable revenue, including associated businesses, and note the quarter in which you cross $30,000.
2. Collect your details: legal name, business number if you already have one, address, start date, estimated revenue and fiscal year-end.
3. Register online. Since November 3, 2025 new business number and program account registrations must be completed online; see our CRA My Account and business number guide.
4. Confirm your reporting period. The CRA assigns it from your revenue (see the next section). You can elect to file more often with Form GST20.
5. Start charging tax from your effective date and show your registration number on invoices, because customers need it for their own credits.
6. Quebec businesses register for the GST and QST together with Revenu Quebec using the Register a New Business service, My Account for businesses or form LM-1-V.

How often do you file, and when is it due?

A sole proprietor with a December 31 year-end and business income files annually by June 15 but must pay by April 30. When a date falls on a weekend or CRA-recognized holiday, the next business day applies; see the CRA deadline calendar. An annual filer whose net tax for the previous fiscal year was $3,000 or more generally pays quarterly instalments; paying one quarter of last year's net tax on time avoids instalment interest. All GST/HST returns for periods ending in 2024 and later must be filed electronically, apart from charities. Quebec registrants file a combined GST/HST and QST return.

Input tax credits and the Quick Method

You recover GST/HST paid on commercial expenses as an input tax credit (ITC) on your return. Keep documents that match the size of the purchase. Under $100 you need the supplier's name, the date and the total. From $100 to $499.99 you also need the supplier's GST/HST number and the tax amount or rate. At $500 or more add your own name, a description and the payment terms. Claims generally must be made within four years, and personal-use purchases do not qualify.

Businesses with annual revenues (with associates) of $400,000 or less may elect the Quick Method, which remits a flat percentage of sales instead of tracking ITCs on operating costs. Accountants, bookkeepers, lawyers and tax preparers cannot use it.

What about QST and provincial sales taxes?

Quebec's QST is 9.975%, uses the same $30,000 test and is administered with the GST by Revenu Quebec; our Quebec compliance guide has the details. Since July 15, 2026 certain food and hygiene products are zero-rated for QST. British Columbia PST is 7%, with reporting frequency set by the PST you collect. Saskatchewan PST is 6% and Manitoba RST is 7%, with registration required unless a small-trader rule applies; see our Prairies compliance guide. None of these are collected through a CRA GST/HST account.

Worked example: a Mississauga bookkeeper

Aanya is a sole proprietor in Mississauga. Her taxable revenue for four consecutive quarters is $6,500, $8,200, $9,000 and $9,800, a total of $33,500, with no single quarter over $30,000. After the fourth quarter she stops being a small supplier at the end of the following month and must register within 29 days of her effective date. She bills $20,000 in the next period and charges 13% HST, or $2,600. She paid $6,000 plus $780 of HST on eligible costs, so her net tax is $2,600 less $780, which is $1,820. With a December 31 year-end she pays by April 30 and files by June 15.

Penalties and mistakes to avoid

The late-filing penalty is 1% of the balance owing plus one quarter of 1% of that amount for each full month the return is late, up to 12 months. On an $8,000 balance filed four months late that is $80 plus $80, or $160. No late-filing penalty applies when you owe nothing or are due a refund. Failing to file electronically costs $100 the first time and $250 each time after that, and ignoring a demand to file adds $250.

• Registering late and then absorbing tax you should have collected.
• Missing the four-quarter test because you only watch single quarters.
• Claiming ITCs without the supplier's registration number on purchases of $100 or more.
• Skipping a nil return, which is still required.

A note for U.S.- and India-linked owners

GST/HST is a value-added tax with input credits, unlike U.S. state sales tax, which is charged at the final sale and varies by state; a U.S. seller shipping into Canada should read our U.S. sales tax registration page alongside this one. Indian businesses will recognize the credit mechanism from GST in India, but Canada's registration trigger and return cycle differ. See the three-country view in GST, sales tax and VAT compared. For trade between India and Canada, see the India-Canada business structures guide.

How we can help

We are a U.S. CPA firm in Aurora, Illinois. We handle U.S. sales tax registration and filing and coordinate with your Canadian CPA, who files the GST/HST and QST returns, so your U.S. and Canadian indirect tax positions agree. See our sales tax and GST compliance and bookkeeping and accounting services.

Frequently asked questions

General information only. It is not tax, legal, accounting or immigration advice for your situation, and rules change; confirm the current rules with the official source or a licensed professional in the relevant country.