Last reviewed: August 2026
- You must register for GST/HST once your worldwide taxable supplies pass $30,000 — either in a single calendar quarter, or across four consecutive calendar quarters.
- Below $30,000 you are a "small supplier" and can still register voluntarily to claim back GST/HST on business expenses (Input Tax Credits).
- You remit what you collect minus the GST/HST you paid on eligible business purchases — not everything you collected.
When founders register their first business, GST/HST confuses them more than almost anything else. Do I charge it? When? On what? Here is the plain-English version worth having up front — no jargon, just what actually applies when you are starting out in Canada.
What GST/HST Actually Is
GST (Goods and Services Tax) is a 5% federal tax on most goods and services in Canada. In some provinces it is combined with the provincial portion into a single HST (Harmonized Sales Tax) — so in Ontario you charge 13%, in Nova Scotia 14%, and in the Atlantic provinces 15%. In Alberta, there is no provincial sales tax, so it is just the 5% GST.
You are not paying this tax yourself — you are collecting it from your customers on behalf of the government, then sending it to the CRA. You are basically an unpaid tax collector, which is exactly as fun as it sounds.
Do You Even Have to Register?
Here is the number that matters: $30,000. Until your total worldwide taxable supplies — your revenue from most of the goods and services you sell, before expenses (not your profit) — stay at or below $30,000, you are considered a "small supplier" and you do not have to register for or charge GST/HST. There are two separate ways you can cross that $30,000 line, and they work differently. Single calendar quarter: if your taxable supplies go over $30,000 within one single calendar quarter, you stop being a small supplier right away — you must charge GST/HST on the sale that put you over and register within 29 days. Four consecutive quarters: if your taxable supplies over the last four (or fewer) consecutive calendar quarters add up to more than $30,000 — even if no single quarter went over on its own — you stop being a small supplier at the end of the month after that quarter, and must register within 29 days. Always confirm your own situation against the CRA’s when to register for and charge GST/HST guidance.
You can register voluntarily before you hit $30,000, and sometimes it is worth it — because once you are registered, you can claim back the GST/HST you pay on your own business expenses (called Input Tax Credits). If you are spending a lot to get started — inventory, equipment, software — those credits add up.
How Much Will You Actually Owe?
This is the part that trips people up. What you send the CRA is not everything you collected — it is what you collected on sales minus the GST/HST you paid on business expenses. There’s a free GST/HST & remittance calculator that does this math for you, including the net amount you actually owe. Plug in your numbers before you file so there are no surprises.
What to Do Next
When you are ready, you register for a GST/HST account through the CRA — it is tied to your Business Number. The official CRA pages are linked (registration, charging, and remitting) in the Resources hub so you’re always working from the source, not a random blog.
A few things worth learning early: keep every receipt (those Input Tax Credits are real money), set aside the tax you collect in a separate account so you’re not scrambling at filing time, and file on time even if the amount is zero. The CRA is far friendlier to people who file than to people who go quiet.
This is general educational information — not tax advice. Rules and rates change and vary by situation, so confirm the current details on the CRA pages or with an accountant before you rely on any of it.
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