Should you register for GST/HST?

You have to register for GST/HST if:

• you provide taxable supplies in Canada; and
• you are not a small supplier.

You do not have to register if:

• your only commercial activity is the sale of real property, otherwise than in the course of a business; or
• you are a non-resident who does not carry on business in Canada.
• Small supplier.

If you are a small supplier and do not have to register if you meet one of the following conditions:

• If you are a sole proprietor, your total revenues from taxable supplies (before expenses) from all your businesses are $30,000 or less in the last four consecutive calendar quarters and in any single calendar quarter.
  
• If you are a partnership or a corporation, the total revenues from taxable supplies (before expenses) of the partnership or corporation are $30,000 or less in the last four consecutive calendar quarters and in any single calendar quarter.
  
• If you are a public service body (charity, non-profit organization, municipality, university, public college, school authority, or hospital authority), the total revenues from taxable supplies from all of the activities of the organization are $50,000 or less in the last four consecutive calendar quarters and in any single calendar quarter. A gross revenue threshold of $250,000 also applies to charities and public institutions.
  

In all cases, total revenues from taxable supplies means your worldwide revenues from your supplies of goods and services that are subject to GST/HST (including zero-rated supplies), or that would be subject to the tax if supplied in Canada. However, it does not include goodwill, financial services, and sales of capital property. You also have to include the total revenues from taxable supplies of all your associates in this calculation. Call us if you need help to determine if you are associated to another person.

In summary, if your total revenues from taxable supplies exceed $30,000 ($50,000 for public service bodies) in a single calendar quarter or over four consecutive calendar quarters, you are no longer a small supplier and you have to register for GST/HST. Call us if this happens.

Exception
Taxi and limousine operators, for their taxi operations, and non-resident performers selling admissions to seminars and other events must register for GST/HST, even if they are small suppliers.

Effective date of registration
The effective date of your GST/HST registration depends on when you exceed the small supplier threshold amount of $30,000 ($50,000 if you are a public service body). If you exceed the threshold amount in one calendar quarter, you are considered a registrant and must collect GST/HST on the supply that made you exceed the threshold amount. Your effective date of registration would be the day you made the supply that made you exceed the threshold amount. You have 29 days from this day to apply for registration.

However, if you do not exceed the threshold amount in one calendar quarter, but you do over four consecutive calendar quarters, you are considered to be a small supplier for those four calendar quarters and a month following those quarters. Your effective date of registration would be the day the first supply was made after you cease being a small supplier. You have 29 days from this day to register for GST/HST.

Voluntary registration
If you are a small supplier and you are engaged in a commercial activity in Canada, you can choose to register voluntarily, even though you are not legally required to do so. If you register voluntarily, you have to charge and remit GST/HST on your taxable supplies of goods and services, and you can claim ITCs for the GST/HST you paid or owe on purchases related to these supplies. You have to stay registered for at least one year before you can ask to cancel your registration. For more information, see Canceling your registration.

If you choose not to register, you cannot charge your customers GST/HST, and the GST/HST you pay on your business purchases becomes a cost for which you cannot claim ITCs.

Submit your GST Registration online