Updated Checked by the Tax-Services.ca editorial team How we check
International e-commerce means GST/HST applies as soon as you sell to buyers in Canada and pass $30,000 in taxable sales. That holds for a Canadian business and for a seller based abroad. The threshold is $30,000 in one calendar quarter or across four quarters in a row for a Canadian small supplier, and $30,000 over any 12 months for many non-resident online sellers.
When does an online seller have to register for GST/HST?
A Canadian business stops being a small supplier when its taxable revenues, counting those of associates, go over $30,000 in a single calendar quarter or over the last four quarters combined. After that you charge GST/HST and file returns. Charities and other public service bodies have a $50,000 threshold. Once you pass the line, the CRA’s page on when to register and start charging gives you 29 days from your effective date of registration to complete the registration.
Non-resident businesses can be caught too. A non-resident carrying on business in Canada with worldwide taxable supplies over $30,000 in a quarter or four quarters must apply before the thirtieth day after first making a taxable supply in Canada. Non-residents without a permanent establishment here are generally asked for a security deposit, though the CRA says none is needed if you expect annual Canadian sales of $100,000 or less and net tax between $3,000 remittable and $3,000 refundable.
Not sure where you stand?
Add up a quarter of sales and compare it with $30,000 before you assume you’re exempt. Then do the same for the last four quarters.
Take Leila, who runs a small online shop from Winnipeg. She sold $12,000, $9,000, $8,000 and $7,000 in four quarters in a row. No quarter was anywhere near $30,000, yet the four add up to $36,000, so she’s over the line. Plenty of sellers miss this because they only watch the single-quarter number.
What’s the rule for foreign sellers shipping goods to Canada?
Since 1 July 2021, non-resident vendors and platform operators that sell qualifying goods or digital products and services to Canadian buyers must register once their threshold amount passes $30,000 CAD over any 12 months. If you sell through a registered distribution platform, the platform collects and remits the tax, and those sales don’t count toward your own threshold.
| Seller type | Registration trigger |
|---|---|
| Canadian small supplier | Over $30,000 in one quarter or four quarters |
| Non-resident carrying on business in Canada | Worldwide taxable supplies over $30,000 in one quarter or four quarters |
| Non-resident vendor of goods or digital services to Canadians | Over $30,000 CAD in any 12 months |
| Vendor selling through a registered platform | Platform handles the tax |
How much tax lands on one $200 online sale?
The rate depends on where the buyer is, not where you are. On a $200 item, the engine gives these totals.
| Buyer’s province | Tax | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Ontario (13% HST) | $26.00 | $226.00 |
| Alberta (5% GST) | $10.00 | $210.00 |
| Nova Scotia (14% HST) | $28.00 | $228.00 |
Provinces with a separate sales tax, such as British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, add their own tax to the 5% GST. The GST/HST calculator handles the province step for you, and the HST reverse calculator backs the tax out of a price that already includes it. For provinces with a PST, our GST and PST calculator is a starting point, but its BC setting applies 12% to every item, so check taxable status before relying on it.
What about customers outside Canada?
Here the answer depends on the destination. For GST/HST, goods exported from Canada can be zero-rated, meaning taxed at 0%, as long as the conditions are met and you keep satisfactory evidence of the export. The CRA explains this on its GST/HST imports and exports page.
Foreign VAT or sales tax, import duties and customs paperwork are set by the destination country, and each country has its own thresholds. Check the destination country’s revenue body, and consider an accountant if foreign sales are growing.
What you can do now is track sales by country and province from day one. A spreadsheet with order date, destination, amount and tax charged is enough. It’s boring, but it saves an ugly reconstruction later, and it makes tax time a quick job rather than a long weekend.
Can you claim back the tax you pay on business costs?
Once registered, you can claim input tax credits for the GST/HST you pay on costs for your commercial activities, such as software, packaging and shipping supplies. Keep the invoices. Your net remittance is the tax collected on sales less those credits.
Income tax is a separate matter. Profit from selling online is taxed either through your personal return as self-employment income or through a corporation. For a sole proprietor, the self-employed tax calculator gives an estimate, though it lowers income tax only and doesn’t take deductions off CPP, and it leaves EI out. A corporation can use the corporate tax calculator.
How do you register once you cross the line?
You register through the CRA, either online with Business Registration Online or My Business Account, or on paper. You’ll get a nine-digit business number with a GST/HST program account on the end, which has the letters RT. From the effective date, charge the tax on every taxable sale, show it on the invoice, and set up a system to file returns on the schedule the CRA assigns.
Don’t wait for the confirmation letter before you start charging. The tax is due from the effective date, and tax you should have collected but didn’t comes out of your own pocket.
Mistakes to avoid
Sellers often wait until sales pass the line before thinking about registration. They also forget that associates’ sales count toward the $30,000. Another slip is charging the wrong province’s rate because the seller’s home rate feels familiar. And some sellers assume a marketplace covers everything, when it only covers the tax on sales it handles.
Where this information comes from
The $30,000 and $50,000 thresholds, the non-resident rules, the security deposit conditions and the platform rules come from CRA GST/HST pages and the digital economy guidance. Provincial rates come from the CRA’s rate table. They were rechecked in October 2026. This is an independent site, and no government body is behind it.
Frequently asked questions
When must an online business register for GST/HST?
A Canadian business must register when taxable revenues pass $30,000 in a single quarter or four quarters in a row. Public service bodies have a $50,000 limit.
Do foreign sellers charge GST/HST to Canadians?
Non-resident vendors and platform operators selling goods or digital services to Canadian buyers must register if their threshold amount tops $30,000 CAD over 12 months.
Which province's rate applies to an online sale?
The buyer's province decides it. A $200 sale comes to $226 in Ontario and $210 in Alberta.
Does a marketplace handle the tax for me?
If you sell through a registered distribution platform, it handles the tax and those sales don't count toward your threshold.
What about duties and foreign VAT?
We couldn't verify those rules, so we don't quote them. Check with the CRA, the destination country and an accountant.
- Self-employed taxes in Canada: income, CPP and GST
How tax works when you are self-employed in Canada: reporting income and expenses, paying both halves of CPP, instalments and when to register for GST