Updated Checked by the Tax-Services.ca editorial team How we check
GST for small business starts with one number: $30,000. The CRA says you’re a small supplier, and don’t have to register, while your taxable sales stay at or under $30,000 over four consecutive calendar quarters. Go past it and you register, charge the tax and send it in. Stay under and you can still register if you choose.
Do I have to register for GST?
Count your taxable sales, not your profit. Zero-rated sales (basic groceries, for instance) count toward the $30,000, and so do sales you make through every business you run. Watch four quarters in a row, because the limit isn’t tied to the calendar year.
The deadline depends on how you crossed it. The CRA’s page on when to register and start charging splits it in two. If one single quarter takes you over $30,000, you charge the tax on the very sale that did it, your effective date is no later than that day, and you have 29 days from that date to register. If you creep over across several quarters, you stop being a small supplier at the end of the month after the quarter where you passed the limit, and your effective date is no later than your first sale after that. The 29 days run from there. The first case is the one that trips up a contractor with a big job.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Small supplier limit | $30,000 in taxable sales over four consecutive calendar quarters |
| Voluntary registration | Allowed for small suppliers with taxable sales |
| Quick method revenue cap | $400,000 a year, tax included |
| Quick method credit | 1% on the first $30,000 of eligible sales a year |
| Annual reporting period | Taxable revenue of $1,500,000 or less in the previous year |
Why would a small business register early?
Because of input tax credits. When you’re registered, the tax you pay on business purchases comes off the tax you collect. The CRA describes net tax as the GST/HST collected minus those credits, and if the credits are larger than what you collected, you get a refund.
That’s the whole case for registering under $30,000. If you’re spending heavily to get started (equipment, software, a vehicle), you could be paying GST with nothing to set it against. But registering also means you charge customers tax, and some of them, especially individuals, won’t love the higher price. Think about who buys from you.
What does the regular method cost you on a real year?
Take an Ontario sole proprietor who sells $50,000 of services. At 13% HST, that’s $6,500 collected. Suppose $12,000 of business costs carried $1,560 of HST. Your net tax is $6,500 minus $1,560, which is $4,940. Test your own figures in the GST and HST calculator, and use the reverse calculator when a receipt only shows a total.
Now the quick method, which the CRA offers to businesses with up to $400,000 of yearly taxable supplies, tax included. You still charge the full 13% to customers. But you remit a smaller percentage of your tax-included sales. For Ontario services the CRA’s example rate is 8.8%. On $56,500 of tax-included sales that’s $4,972. The 1% credit on the first $30,000 of sales takes off $300, so you’d remit $4,672, which is $268 less than the $4,940 above.
So on these numbers the quick method wins by a few bucks. It stops winning when your costs carry a lot of tax. Had the same business spent $30,000 on costs with $3,900 of HST, the regular method would leave $2,600 to remit, well under $4,672. Some professions, including lawyers and accountants, are excluded from the quick method altogether. You elect it on the GST74 form or through My Business Account, from the first day of a reporting period.
How often do I file?
The CRA sets a default. With $1,500,000 or less of taxable revenue in the previous year, you’re on an annual period. Above that, up to $6,000,000, you file quarterly. Annual filers generally file and pay within three months of year end. Sole proprietors with a December year end pay by April 30 and file by June 15. Quarterly filers have one month after each quarter. You can ask for more frequent periods, and some owners do that to get refunds sooner. Nil returns still need filing.
Although your payment is due April 30, you have until June 15 to file your GST/HST return.
General Information for GST/HST Registrants (RC4022), canada.ca
Mistakes that cost money
Registering late is the expensive one. The CRA can charge penalties and interest on returns or amounts it hasn’t received by the due date. We haven’t confirmed the exact penalty amounts, because the CRA says they vary with your filing history, so check the CRA page for your case.
The other mistakes are duller. Mixing personal and business receipts. Claiming credits without an invoice that shows the supplier’s details. And forgetting that your income tax is a separate bill, which the self-employed tax calculator estimates, though it leaves out EI. For a broader picture, run your profit through the income tax calculator as well.
What should you do with the tax you collect?
Treat it as someone else’s money. Say Lena, a freelance designer in Ottawa, invoices $1,000 plus $130 of HST. The $130 isn’t income and it isn’t hers to spend. Park it in a separate savings account the day the payment lands, and the filing deadline stops being scary. A ballpark habit, an extra line on every invoice and a weekly look at the account, is all it takes.
How we checked the figures
The threshold, quick method limits, reporting periods and due dates come from Canada Revenue Agency pages on GST/HST registration, the quick method, and filing deadlines, read in September 2026. The Ontario 8.8% rate is the CRA’s example for services. Rates differ by province and business type, so check the quick method guide before you elect. This is an independent guide, separate from any government body.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a GST number under $30,000?
No, not as a small supplier. You can still register voluntarily if you make taxable sales.
What are input tax credits?
They are the GST/HST you paid on business purchases, taken off the tax you collected. If they exceed it, you get a refund.
Who can use the quick method?
Businesses with up to $400,000 a year in taxable supplies, tax included, and some excluded professions such as lawyers and accountants can't.
When is an annual GST return due?
Generally three months after year end. Sole proprietors with a December year end pay by April 30 and file by June 15.
Do I file if I had no sales?
Yes. The CRA says nil returns must still be filed.
- GST, HST, PST and QST explained for every province
Which GST, HST, PST or QST applies where you shop or sell in Canada, the 2026 rates for every province, who must register and how to add or remove tax