GST/HST Registration and the Small Supplier Threshold Explained
A new business in Canada does not always have to register for the GST/HST right away. The small supplier rule lets businesses with modest sales wait, but the threshold is easy to pass without noticing, and once you pass it, the rules decide when you must start charging tax.
Here is how the threshold works, when registering early may make sense and what changes after you register, with Alberta and Saskatchewan examples.
What the small supplier threshold measures
You generally have to register if you make taxable supplies in Canada and you are not a small supplier. At the time of writing, most businesses remain small suppliers while their revenue from taxable supplies is $30,000 or less in a single calendar quarter and over the last four consecutive calendar quarters. Charities and other public service bodies have different thresholds.
When you add up your revenue:
Use revenue before expenses, not profit.
Include worldwide taxable supplies from all your businesses, plus those of your associates (certain related persons and businesses, such as those under common control).
Leave out supplies of financial services, sales of capital property such as equipment, goodwill from selling a business and exempt supplies.
Count by calendar quarter (quarters start in January, April, July and October), not by fiscal year.
Self-employed taxi drivers and commercial ride-sharing drivers must register even below the threshold, and some non-resident businesses and sectors have their own rules.
Two tests, two different start dates
The two tests set different dates for when you must start charging GST/HST.
Single quarter. If your taxable revenue goes over $30,000 within one calendar quarter, you stop being a small supplier immediately. You must charge GST/HST on the sale that took you over, and your effective date of registration is no later than the day of that sale.
Four consecutive quarters. If you pass $30,000 over four consecutive quarters without passing it in any single quarter, you stop being a small supplier at the end of the month after the quarter in which you crossed it. Your effective date of registration is no later than the day of your first taxable sale after that.
Either way, you must register within 29 days of your effective date, and your obligations start on that date, not on the day you apply.
For example, a new Edmonton consultancy earns $12,000 from July to September and $20,000 from October to December. No single quarter passes $30,000, but the running total does in the October to December quarter, so the business stops being a small supplier at the end of January and must charge GST from its first sale after that. Had it billed one $35,000 project in a single quarter, GST would apply to that sale itself. The CRA's page on when to register for and start charging the GST/HST has more examples.
To stay ahead of the threshold:
Track taxable revenue for the current quarter and the last four, and check it before you quote or invoice a large job.
State in your quotes that GST/HST will be added where it applies.
Should you register before you have to?
Small suppliers can choose to register voluntarily. Weigh the trade-offs with your accountant.
Reasons some owners register early:
Registrants can generally claim input tax credits (ITCs) for GST/HST paid on purchases for their commercial activities, which can help in a start-up year.
New registrants may be able to claim ITCs on inventory, capital property and real property they have on hand for their commercial activities.
Registered business customers can usually claim the GST/HST you charge as their own ITCs.
Reasons some owners wait:
Consumers cannot claim ITCs, so adding GST/HST raises the price they pay.
You take on filing and payment deadlines, including returns for periods with no activity.
A small supplier that registers voluntarily generally has to stay registered for at least one year before it can ask to cancel.
How to register
Gather your personal details, including your Social Insurance Number, plus your business name, type, owners, addresses and main activities, and your Business Number if you have one.
Register online through the CRA's Business Registration Online service, or mail Form RC1, Request for a Business Number and Certain Program Accounts, to your tax centre. Since November 3, 2025, the CRA no longer accepts these registrations by phone.
Confirm your effective date; if you crossed the threshold, the rules above set the latest possible date.
Check your reporting period. At the time of writing, businesses with annual taxable supplies of $1.5 million or less are assigned an annual period and can opt to file monthly or quarterly.
At the time of writing, Alberta businesses charge 5% GST and there is no provincial sales tax. Saskatchewan businesses also charge 5% GST, but provincial sales tax (PST) is separate: businesses operating in Saskatchewan need a PST number from the province to collect and remit PST on taxable goods and services. Sales to other provinces may carry a different rate, including HST, depending on where the sale is made.
What changes once you are registered
Invoices: show your GST/HST registration number, which registered business customers need to support their ITC claims.
Records: keep the invoices and receipts behind your own ITC claims; the details required increase with the purchase amount.
Cash: set aside the tax you collect, ideally in a separate bank account.
Filing: file a return for every reporting period, even with no activity. Most registrants must file electronically.
Deadlines: monthly and quarterly filers generally file and pay within one month after the period ends; annual filers generally have three months after their fiscal year-end. Individual annual filers with business income and a December 31 year-end pay by April 30 and file by June 15.
Quick Method: at the time of writing, businesses with annual worldwide taxable supplies of up to $400,000, including GST/HST, may be able to elect this simpler method, which uses a set remittance rate and limits ITCs to certain capital purchases. Legal, accounting, bookkeeping and tax consulting businesses, among others, cannot use it.
Penalties: late returns with a balance owing can attract a penalty, and overdue balances attract interest.
How First Global Citizen can help
Through our business setup and registration support, we can build a quarterly revenue tracker so you see the threshold coming, prepare and submit your CRA and Saskatchewan PST registrations on your instructions, update your invoice templates and set up a calendar of filing and payment dates.
Each engagement is quoted as a fixed fee in a written proposal, and government or registry fees, where they apply, are passed on at cost. We do not give tax or accounting advice; when you need it, for example on voluntary registration or the Quick Method, we can bring in independent licensed professionals with your consent. To talk it through, book a free consultation or read about how we work.
This article is general information only. It is not legal, tax, accounting or financial advice. Fees and requirements can change, so confirm current details with the relevant government agency or registry. For advice about your situation, consult a qualified professional.
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