In short
- You must register once your taxable sales, with your associates', pass $30,000 in one calendar quarter or over four consecutive calendar quarters. Below that you are a small supplier.
- Taxi and ride-share drivers must register from the start, whatever their sales. Public service bodies have a $50,000 limit.
- Your registration takes effect no later than the sale that ends your small supplier status, and you have 29 days from that date to register.
- You may register voluntarily below $30,000 to claim input tax credits, but must then stay registered for at least a year.
- If you should have registered and did not, you still owe the tax you should have charged.
When you need to register: the $30,000 small supplier limit
The goods and services tax (GST) and the harmonized sales tax (HST) are registered for together, as one GST/HST account with the Canada Revenue Agency. Every business that makes taxable sales in Canada in the course of a commercial activity is required to register, unless it is a small supplier (section 240(1) of the Excise Tax Act). You are a small supplier while your taxable sales stay at $30,000 or less, both in any single calendar quarter and over the last four consecutive calendar quarters together. The Act sets the limit at $30,000, or $50,000 for a public service body (section 148(1)).
What counts, according to the CRA: your revenue before expenses from taxable sales anywhere in the world, zero-rated sales included, together with the sales of your associates. Financial services, sales of capital property and goodwill are left out.
- Taxi and ride-share drivers: a self-employed taxi or commercial ride-sharing driver must register even as a small supplier.
- Public service bodies: the limit is $50,000.
- Charities and public institutions: they use a $250,000 gross revenue test or a $50,000 taxable supplies test.
- Only exempt sales: a business that makes only exempt supplies generally cannot register at all.
A sole proprietor is held to the same $30,000 limit; see do I need a CRA business number as a sole proprietor? for the business number that comes with registering.
The date your registration takes effect
| Your situation | Effective date of registration |
|---|---|
| Your sales pass $30,000 in a single calendar quarter | No later than the day of the sale that took you over $30,000 |
| Your sales pass $30,000 over four calendar quarters, but not in one | No later than the day of your first sale after you stop being a small supplier, which is at the end of the month after that quarter |
| You drive a taxi or for a ride-share service | The day you start providing the rides |
| You register voluntarily as a small supplier | Usually the day you ask, or up to 30 days earlier |
You need to register within 29 days of your effective date. For example, if your sales pass $30,000 over the four quarters ending June 30, but not in any one quarter, you stop being a small supplier at the end of July, and GST/HST applies from your first sale after that. A corporation's effective date can never be before the date it was incorporated.
How to register for GST and HST with the CRA
Sign in to your CRA account
Business Registration Online (BRO) is reached only through a CRA account. If you cannot use BRO, the CRA's registration page links to the other ways to register, including Form RC1 by mail.
Open Business Registration Online
On the Welcome page, choose "+ Add account", then "Business account", then "Register a business". Give your business number (BN) if you have one; if you do not, you get one with the GST/HST account, which is a program account added to it.
Give the details asked for
You are asked for the effective date of registration, your GST/HST fiscal year, your total annual revenue and basic information about you and the business.
Save your numbers before you leave
Save or print your business number and your GST/HST account number during the session. The session times out after 10 minutes of inactivity, and nothing can be saved part way.
Quebec: registering with Revenu Québec
A business located in Quebec registers for the GST/HST with Revenu Québec, not the CRA, and for the Quebec sales tax (QST) as well. The $30,000 small supplier test is the same. See what a QST number is and how to check one.
Voluntary registration below $30,000
A small supplier that makes taxable sales in Canada may register even though it does not have to (section 240(3) of the Excise Tax Act). The reason to do it is input tax credits (ITCs): a registrant can claim back the GST/HST it pays on purchases for its business. A business that is not registered does not charge GST/HST, other than on certain sales of real property, and cannot claim input tax credits.
Once registered, you charge, collect and remit GST/HST and file returns like any registrant, and you must stay registered for at least one year before you can cancel, unless you stop your commercial activities.
What changes once you are registered
As a GST/HST registrant you charge and collect the tax on your taxable sales of goods and services, file a return and remit the tax you collected. You have to let customers know whether GST/HST applies to what they buy, and file a return for every reporting period, even when you have nothing to remit and expect no refund. You can claim input tax credits only for tax paid or payable while you were registered.
| Annual taxable sales | Period the CRA assigns | You may choose |
|---|---|---|
| $1,500,000 or less | Annual | Monthly or quarterly |
| More than $1,500,000, up to $6,000,000 | Quarterly | Monthly |
| More than $6,000,000 | Monthly | Nothing else |
Monthly and quarterly filers file their return and make their remittance within one month after the period ends. Annual filers usually have three months after the end of their fiscal year. An individual with business income who files annually with a December 31 year end pays by April 30 and has until June 15 to file. What your invoices must show for a customer's input tax credit is in what an invoice must show for an input tax credit.
If you should have registered and did not
The CRA is plain about it: "If you are required to charge the GST/HST but did not charge it, you are still liable for the tax." The tax you should have charged goes in your return for the reporting period in which you should have charged it.
The way to fix it is to register with the right effective date. Business Registration Online accepts an effective date at most 30 days back. If you had to be registered, or acted as a registrant by charging or reporting GST/HST, more than 30 days before you register, you also send a written request to backdate the registration. It gives your business number, the date you want, the name and signature of the owner or an authorized representative, and for most businesses a breakdown of your finances, with spreadsheets, sales journals or similar records, showing when your revenue first passed $30,000 ($50,000 for a public service body). Send it with "Submit documents" in your CRA business account, by mail to the Sudbury Tax Centre, or by fax.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to charge GST if I earn under $30,000?
No, unless you register voluntarily or drive a taxi or for a ride-share service. While your taxable sales stay at $30,000 or less in a calendar quarter and over four quarters together, you are a small supplier.
At what point do I need a GST number?
When your taxable sales, with your associates', pass $30,000 in one calendar quarter or over four quarters in a row. You then have 29 days from your effective date of registration to register.
What happens if I don't register for GST/HST when I should?
You are still liable for the tax you should have charged, and it goes in your return for the period in which you should have charged it. Register, and ask the CRA in writing to backdate the registration if the date is more than 30 days back.
Can I charge GST if I'm not registered?
No. A business that is not registered does not charge GST/HST, other than on certain sales of real property, and cannot claim input tax credits.
Do self-employed people have to register for GST/HST?
The same $30,000 small supplier limit applies to a self-employed person as to any business. Taxi and ride-share drivers must register from the start.
How do I get a GST/HST number?
Register online, through Business Registration Online in your CRA account, or by mail on Form RC1 if you cannot register online. Online, your GST/HST number is shown during the session, so save or print it before you leave. A business located in Quebec registers with Revenu Québec.
Official sources
- When to register for and start charging the GST/HST(opens in a new tab)
The $30,000 limit, what counts and the effective dates.
- Register for a GST/HST account(opens in a new tab)
How to register, and what you are asked for.
- Register voluntarily for a GST/HST account(opens in a new tab)
Registering as a small supplier, and staying a year.
- Request a GST/HST registration to be backdated(opens in a new tab)
Effective dates more than 30 days back.
- General information for GST/HST registrants (RC4022)(opens in a new tab)
Reporting periods, due dates, nil returns and tax not charged.
- Input tax credits(opens in a new tab)
Only registrants claim them.
- Registering for the GST and QST (Revenu Québec)(opens in a new tab)
Registering in Quebec.
This guide explains the general rules. It is not legal or tax advice for a particular situation: for that, speak to a lawyer or an accountant. It was last checked against the Excise Tax Act and the Canada Revenue Agency's own pages on Oct 29, 2026.