How to register for a GST/HST account with the CRA

Who needs to register for GST/HST in Canada?

A GST/HST account is a Canada Revenue Agency program account used by businesses and other registrants to report goods and services tax and harmonized sales tax. Whether you must register depends on the type of supplies you make, your revenues and whether special registration rules apply to your activities.

For most businesses, registration becomes mandatory when both conditions apply: you make taxable sales, leases or other supplies in Canada, subject to the CRA's exceptions, and you are no longer a small supplier.

What is the $30,000 GST/HST small supplier threshold?

For most businesses, the small supplier calculation uses revenues from worldwide taxable supplies, including zero-rated supplies, from all of your businesses and those of your associates. Revenues from exempt supplies, financial services, sales of capital property and goodwill from the sale of a business are not included in the CRA's total annual revenue calculation for registration.

The $30,000 threshold must be considered under both the single-calendar-quarter test and the consecutive-calendar-quarter test. This distinction is important because it determines when you stop being a small supplier and when you must begin charging GST/HST.

If you exceed $30,000 in one calendar quarter

If your taxable revenues exceed $30,000 in a single calendar quarter, you stop being a small supplier on the transaction that causes the total to exceed $30,000. Your GST/HST registration effective date must be no later than that day, and you must charge GST/HST on the supply that caused you to exceed the threshold. The CRA states that you must register within 29 days of your effective date of registration.

If you exceed $30,000 over consecutive calendar quarters

If you exceed $30,000 over the previous four or fewer consecutive calendar quarters but do not exceed $30,000 in a single quarter, you remain a small supplier through the month following the quarter in which the threshold was exceeded. You then cease to be a small supplier at the end of that month. Your effective registration date is no later than the date of your first taxable supply after you cease to be a small supplier, and you begin charging GST/HST from the effective date.

Can you register for GST/HST before reaching $30,000?

Yes. A small supplier can generally register voluntarily if it makes taxable sales, leases or other supplies in Canada. The effective date for voluntary registration is usually the date you request the account, but it can generally be up to 30 days before the request date. For a corporation, the GST/HST registration effective date cannot be earlier than its incorporation date.

Voluntary registration can be useful because a registered business may be eligible to claim input tax credits to recover GST/HST paid or payable on eligible purchases and operating expenses used in its commercial activities.

Voluntary registration also creates ongoing obligations. Once registered, you generally have to charge, collect and remit applicable GST/HST, file GST/HST returns regularly and remain registered for at least one year before cancelling the registration, unless you stop your commercial activities.

Who must register even below the $30,000 threshold?

The small supplier exemption does not apply in the usual way to every business. In particular, taxi operators and commercial ride-sharing drivers must register for GST/HST even if they are small suppliers. Their effective date is the day they begin supplying taxable passenger transportation services.

There are also separate rules and thresholds for charities, public institutions, other public service bodies, certain non-residents and businesses covered by Canada's digital-economy GST/HST measures. If one of these categories applies, use the CRA rules specifically applicable to that type of organization or activity rather than relying only on the standard $30,000 test.

Who generally cannot register?

A person or business that provides only exempt supplies generally cannot register for a GST/HST account. Exempt supplies are different from zero-rated supplies: zero-rated supplies are taxable at a 0% rate and can count as taxable supplies for registration purposes, while exempt supplies are generally outside the GST/HST collection system.

What information do you need to register?

The CRA asks for your effective date of registration, revenue information and basic personal and business information. Business information includes the business name, BN if one already exists, business type, required owner information, physical and mailing addresses and a description of the major business activity.

For online registration, the individual submitting the request must provide their last name, SIN, date of birth and the postal code of their home address. The exact information required can vary according to the business structure and registration circumstances.

How to register online with the CRA

Business Registration Online, commonly called BRO, is the CRA's online service for obtaining a Business Number and registering CRA program accounts such as GST/HST and payroll deductions.

Important 2026 change: as of July 14, 2026, BRO is accessible only through a CRA account. Business Number and CRA program account registrations through BRO must therefore be completed after signing in using CRA credentials, an available Sign-In Partner or an eligible provincial partner.

For a resident Canadian business, after signing in, the CRA directs users to select Add account, choose Business account and then select Register a business. Registering online is the fastest and easiest CRA method.

What is a GST/HST account number?

The CRA Business Number is a unique nine-digit identifier for a business. If you already have a BN, you use that number when adding the GST/HST program account. If you do not have a BN, the CRA can issue one when you register.

A GST/HST account has a 15-character registration number consisting of the nine-digit Business Number, the two-letter GST/HST program identifier RT, and a four-digit reference number. A typical format is 123456789 RT 0001.

What if you cannot register through BRO?

For a resident business that cannot complete registration online, the CRA provides Form RC1, Request for a Business Number and Certain Program Accounts, which can be completed and mailed to the appropriate tax centre. The form can be used to register for a Business Number and specified CRA program accounts, including GST/HST.

Special procedures apply to some applicants. For example, a sole proprietor with a temporary SIN beginning with 9 must use BRO for GST/HST registration, while directors, partners and trustees with a temporary SIN beginning with 9 can only register for the GST/HST account using Form RC1. Non-residents should use the CRA's registration procedure specifically provided for non-resident businesses.

What if your effective date is more than 30 days ago?

BRO does not allow an applicant to enter an effective GST/HST registration date more than 30 days in the past. If you were required to register or had already been regularly charging GST/HST for more than 30 calendar days before registration, you must follow the CRA procedure for requesting a registration date to be backdated by more than 30 days and provide the required supporting documentation.

What happens after you register?

Once registered, you become responsible for charging and collecting GST/HST when required, completing and filing GST/HST returns and remitting the net tax owing to the CRA. Depending on your commercial activities and expenses, you may also be eligible to claim input tax credits for GST/HST paid or payable on eligible business purchases and operating expenses.

Add your Business Number to your CRA account so you can access and manage the applicable CRA program accounts online. Keep the GST/HST account number and registration information with your business tax records.

GST/HST registration checklist

Before registering, confirm whether your supplies are taxable, zero-rated or exempt; calculate the applicable small supplier threshold correctly; determine whether registration is mandatory or voluntary; identify the correct effective date; gather your personal and business information; and confirm whether you already have a CRA Business Number. Getting the effective date right is particularly important because it determines when your obligation to collect GST/HST begins.