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The Canada Revenue Agency GST return is due one month after a quarterly or monthly period ends. For an annual filer it’s usually three months after the fiscal year end, with one common exception for sole proprietors on a calendar year. Most small businesses file once a year by default, but only if their taxable supplies are $1.5 million or less.
Which reporting period will the agency give you?
The agency assigns it from your annual taxable supplies. You can choose to file more often if the default doesn’t suit you.
| Annual taxable supplies | Assigned period | Other choices |
|---|---|---|
| Up to $1,500,000 | Annual | Quarterly or monthly |
| Over $1,500,000 to $6,000,000 | Quarterly | Monthly |
| Over $6,000,000 | Monthly | None |
Annual sounds easier, and it is. But you then sit on a whole year of collected tax that isn’t yours, and if the cash gets spent along the way, the bill in March or April can hurt. Some owners pick quarterly for exactly that reason. For periods starting in 2024, registrants generally have to file online.
When is the return actually due?
Monthly and quarterly filers have one month after the period ends. A quarter ending 31 March is due 30 April, and a month ending 31 July is due 31 August. Filing and paying share the same date.
Annual filers get three months after the fiscal year end, so a business with a 31 August year end has until 30 November. The catch is for individuals. According to the CRA’s reporting requirements and deadlines page, a sole proprietor with a 31 December year end and business income for tax purposes has until 30 April to pay and 15 June to file. Say Maya runs a freelance design business in Winnipeg. She owes the money by 30 April but can send the return in June, which lines up with her income tax return.
When a due date lands on a weekend or holiday, it normally moves to the next business day. Work out your own dates from your period ends rather than copying a date off a calendar page you can’t trace.
How do you work out what to send?
Take the GST or HST you collected, and subtract the input tax credits you’re claiming on business costs. The result is what you pay. If credits are larger, the agency owes you a refund.
Here’s an Ontario example. You sell $50,000 of taxable goods before tax and collect $6,500.00 of HST at 13%. You also bought $16,000 of business supplies before tax, which carried $2,080.00 of HST. Your net to pay is $4,420.00. You can check each piece with the GST and HST calculator.
Got only tax-included receipts? Run them through the reverse HST calculator first, since the return wants the tax amount, not the total.
What can you claim as an input tax credit?
The agency’s page lists typical claims: delivery and freight, fuel and vehicle costs, professional fees, office supplies, rent, utilities and phone. It also lists what you can’t claim, including personal items, club memberships such as golf or fitness, and supplies used for exempt activity.
The claim has a time limit. Most businesses get four years from the reporting period, while larger ones get two. For purchases over $500, the invoice must show the supplier’s name, the GST/HST number, the date, the total, the tax charged and a description. Smaller purchases need less.
Does a small business have to register at all?
Not until taxable sales pass $30,000, either in one quarter or across four quarters in a row. Registration then takes effect on the day of the sale that crossed the limit, and you have 29 days to sign up. So watch your totals each quarter, because the charge starts before the paperwork does.
Below the limit you can still register on purpose. That’s worth thinking about if you buy a lot for the business and your customers are other registered businesses. They don’t mind paying the tax, since they claim it back.
Where does the agency’s GST and the province’s tax meet?
In Ontario and the Atlantic provinces, one HST return covers everything, and the agency passes the provincial share on. In BC, Saskatchewan and Manitoba you file GST with the agency and the provincial tax with the province, using the GST and PST calculator to see both parts. Quebec is different again, and you deal with Revenu Quebec for the QST.
What if you have nothing to report?
You still file. A period with no sales and no credits gets a return showing zero, and skipping it is how a quiet month turns into a notice. Put a reminder in your phone for each period end, since the agency doesn’t chase you the week before.
Mistakes that turn into interest
Skipping a filing because you collected nothing is one. Don’t. Losing the invoices behind a credit claim is another, and so is spending the tax you collected before it’s due. All three are easy to avoid. We haven’t listed penalty rates or audit triggers here because we couldn’t confirm a current figure, and the agency’s own pages are the place to read them.
What this page is based on
The reporting period table, the $30,000 limit and the 29 days come from the agency’s general guide for GST/HST registrants, RC4022. Input tax credit rules and time limits come from its input tax credits page, and the due dates from the page linked above, which we opened in October 2026. Examples use 2026 HST at 13% in Ontario and were worked through our calculator. This site has no link with the agency.
Frequently asked questions
When is the GST return due?
One month after the end of a monthly or quarterly period, and three months after year end for an annual filer.
How often do I file GST?
Annual if your taxable supplies are $1.5 million or less, unless you choose quarterly or monthly. Above $1.5 million it's quarterly, and above $6 million it's monthly.
How long do I have to claim an input tax credit?
Most businesses have four years from the reporting period. Businesses above $6 million in revenue have two.
Do I have to file online?
For reporting periods starting in 2024, most registrants must file electronically.
What if my credits are bigger than the tax I collected?
The agency owes you the difference as a refund instead of you paying it.
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