Sales tax
GST/HST registration: the $30,000 small supplier rule and how to get a GST number
When a Canadian business has to register for the GST/HST, how the $30,000 small supplier test works by calendar quarter, the 29-day deadline, voluntary registration and how to open an RT account with the CRA.
Prepared by Aldro Accounting · Updated · Sources checked
The quick answer
The Canada Revenue Agency requires a business to register for the GST/HST once it makes taxable supplies in Canada and is no longer a small supplier, meaning its worldwide taxable supplies, together with those of its associates, went over $30,000 in a single calendar quarter or over the last four consecutive calendar quarters. The business then has 29 days from its effective date of registration to register, and it gets a 15-digit GST/HST number such as 123456789 RT 0001.
Who has to register for the GST/HST
The CRA says you have to register when you make taxable supplies in Canada and you are not a small supplier. Taxable supplies are supplies made in the course of a commercial activity that are subject to the GST/HST, including zero-rated supplies.
One registration covers both taxes. The CRA says that if your business is registered for the GST, it is also registered for the HST.
You generally can't register at all if you provide only exempt supplies.
Some businesses have to register from their first sale, whatever their revenue:
- Self-employed taxi drivers and commercial ride-sharing drivers. Their effective date of registration is the day they start supplying taxable passenger transportation services.
- Non-residents who sell taxable admissions in Canada for an event, seminar or place of amusement.
- Non-residents who host a convention in Canada where more than 25% of the attendees are residents of Canada.
The $30,000 small supplier rule
The CRA defines a small supplier as a person whose revenue from worldwide taxable supplies, along with the revenue of all associated persons, was $30,000 or less in a single calendar quarter and over the last four consecutive calendar quarters. Public service bodies use $50,000 instead. Charities and public institutions are also small suppliers in their first fiscal year, or if their gross revenue is $250,000 or less.
A calendar quarter is a three-month period starting on January 1, April 1, July 1 or October 1. The test is not your fiscal year and not a fixed 12-month total. It looks back over any four consecutive calendar quarters.
For a sole proprietor, the CRA says to count all revenues before expenses from worldwide taxable supplies from all your businesses, plus those of your associates.
Scroll sideways to see all columns.
| Count it | Leave it out |
|---|---|
| Taxable sales, leases and other supplies made inside and outside Canada | Exempt supplies |
| Zero-rated supplies | Supplies of financial services |
| Taxable supplies of all your associates | Sales of capital property |
| Revenue before expenses | Goodwill from the sale of a business |
When you start charging and the 29-day deadline
How you cross $30,000 decides the date. There are two ways.
Over $30,000 in one calendar quarter: you stop being a small supplier right away. You charge the GST/HST on the sale that took you over $30,000, even if you are not yet registered. Your effective date of registration is no later than the day of that sale, and you have to register within 29 days of it.
Over $30,000 across four or fewer consecutive quarters, without going over in any one quarter: you stay a small supplier for those quarters and for the month after them. Your effective date of registration is no later than the day of your first supply after that month, and you have 29 days from that day to register.
If you were required to register, or were charging the GST/HST, for more than 30 calendar days before registering, the CRA has a separate process to backdate the registration.
Scroll sideways to see all columns.
| Sales by quarter | What happens |
|---|---|
| Jan to Mar 2024: $2,000. Apr to Jun: $10,000. Jul to Sep: $38,000, with the sale that went over $30,000 on September 23 | Small supplier status ends on September 23. GST/HST is charged on that sale. Register by October 22. |
| Apr to Jun 2024: $2,000. Jul to Sep: $10,000. Oct to Dec: $12,000. Jan to Mar 2025: $8,000. Total: $32,000 | Small supplier status ends at the end of April 2025. Start collecting GST/HST in May 2025. Register within 29 days of the first sale after that. |
| New business. Apr to Jun 2024: $25,000. Jul to Sep: $25,000. Total: $50,000 | Still a small supplier for October 2024, as long as October alone stays at $30,000 or less. Start collecting in November 2024. |
Registering voluntarily under $30,000
A small supplier that makes taxable sales, leases or other supplies in Canada may register voluntarily. The effective date is usually the date of the request, and it can generally be up to 30 days before that day. A corporation's effective date can't be before its incorporation date.
Once registered, you may be able to claim input tax credits (ITCs) to recover the GST/HST paid or payable on your purchases and operating expenses. In return, the CRA says a voluntary registrant has to:
- Charge, collect and remit the GST/HST on its taxable supplies
- File GST/HST returns on a regular basis
- Stay registered for at least one year before it can cancel, unless it stops its commercial activities
How to register and what you need
You set up a business number (BN) and a GST/HST account through Business Registration Online (BRO), or by sending Form RC1, Request for a Business Number and Certain Program Accounts. If you don't have a BN yet, you get one at the same time as the GST/HST account.
Starting July 14, 2026, BRO is only available by signing in through a CRA account. Owners, directors, partners or trustees with a temporary SIN that starts with 9 must register through BRO.
BRO doesn't mail you the BN, so you save or print it during the session. The session times out after 10 minutes of inactivity, and you can't save your progress partway through.
Scroll sideways to see all columns.
| About | What you provide |
|---|---|
| The person applying online | Last name, SIN, date of birth, postal code of home address |
| The business | Business name, BN if you have one, type of business, name and SIN of all owners, physical and mailing addresses, description of major business activity |
| The GST/HST account | Effective date of registration, GST/HST fiscal year, total annual revenue (new businesses can give a reasonable estimate) |
Your GST/HST number has 15 characters: the 9-digit BN, the letters RT for the GST/HST program, and a 4-digit account number, for example 123456789 RT 0001.
If your business is physically located in Quebec, Revenu Québec generally administers the GST/HST, and you file with Revenu Québec using its forms.
After you register: rates, returns and deadlines
The rate depends on the place of supply. The GST is 5%. The HST is 13% in Ontario, 14% in Nova Scotia and 15% in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Island. Nova Scotia's HST fell from 15% to 14% on April 1, 2025.
The CRA assigns a reporting period by annual taxable supplies. Annual is assigned at $1,500,000 or less, quarterly above $1,500,000 up to $6,000,000, and monthly above $6,000,000. Form GST20 is the election to change it.
Monthly and quarterly filers file and pay no later than one month after the end of the period. Annual filers usually have three months after their fiscal year-end. An individual with business income, a December 31 year-end and annual returns pays by April 30 and files by June 15.
You file a return for every reporting period, even with no sales. For reporting periods that begin in 2024, all registrants except selected listed financial institutions and most charities must file electronically.
Aldro's team prepares and files the T1 with T2125 or the T2 for one flat yearly price, and bookkeeping at $20 a month keeps the reconciled records your GST/HST returns are built from. Sales-tax filing itself isn't part of the bookkeeping.
Worked example
Take the CRA's second example in Guide RC4022. A business sells $2,000 from April to June 2024, $10,000 from July to September, $12,000 from October to December and $8,000 from January to March 2025. No single quarter is over $30,000, but the four quarters add up to $2,000 + $10,000 + $12,000 + $8,000 = $32,000. It stays a small supplier until the end of April 2025, the month after the fourth quarter, and starts collecting the GST/HST in May 2025. If its first sale after April is on May 2, that is its effective date of registration, and it has 29 days from that day to register. Compare the CRA's first example: $38,000 in July to September 2024 alone, with the sale that crossed $30,000 on September 23. There, the GST/HST is charged on the September 23 sale itself and registration is due by October 22.
Common questions
What is the small supplier GST threshold?
$30,000 of worldwide taxable supplies, counted with your associates, in a single calendar quarter or over the last four consecutive calendar quarters. Public service bodies use $50,000.
How do I register for a GST number?
Through Business Registration Online, which from July 14, 2026 needs a CRA account sign-in, or by sending Form RC1. You get a BN at the same time if you don't have one.
Is an HST number different from a GST number?
No. The CRA says a business registered for the GST is also registered for the HST. The number is the 9-digit BN, then RT, then a 4-digit account number, such as 123456789 RT 0001.
Do I charge GST/HST on the sale that takes me over $30,000?
Only if you went over $30,000 within one calendar quarter. If you went over across four quarters, you stay a small supplier until the end of the following month and start charging after that.
Can I register for GST/HST if I make under $30,000?
Yes, if you make taxable supplies in Canada. You then charge and remit the tax, file returns, can claim input tax credits, and stay registered for at least one year before you can cancel.
Do I file a GST/HST return if I had no sales?
Yes. The CRA says to file a return for every reporting period, even with no business transactions and nothing to remit.
Aldro
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Sources
- CRA: When to register for and start charging the GST/HST · checked October 31, 2026
- CRA: Register for a GST/HST account · checked October 31, 2026
- CRA: Register voluntarily for a GST/HST account · checked October 31, 2026
- CRA: Guide RC4022, General Information for GST/HST Registrants · checked October 31, 2026
- CRA: Guide RC4027, Doing Business in Canada, GST/HST Information for Non-Residents · checked October 31, 2026
- CRA: Charge and collect the GST/HST, which rate to charge · checked October 31, 2026
This guide explains general rules from the sources listed. It isn’t tax advice for your situation.