Who this is for
- Sellers of goods, short-term rental hosts, and drivers or task workers paid through online platforms
- Self-employed people who left platform income off a past return or cannot tie platform totals to a return
Not covered here
- Corporations that sell through platforms
- How self-employed income is taxed, CPP and instalments
- GST/HST registration beyond how platform reporting relates to it
- Quebec provincial rules and US platform forms
Do online platforms report my sales to the CRA?
Yes, if you sell goods, rent out property, do paid work or rent out a vehicle through a platform and are not an excluded seller (see below). Part XX of the Income Tax Act requires the platform operator, the company running the site or app, to collect your details and report them to the CRA once a year, so the CRA can compare the platform's totals with your return. It covers online marketplaces, short-term rental sites and ride-sharing or delivery apps by what they do, not by their name. The first reportable period was the 2024 calendar year, and the operator files by January 31 of the following year (CRA: guidance, paragraph 6.3; CRA: filing information returns). That date has already passed for every reportable year that has ended, so the CRA may already hold the totals for those years.
The rules create no new tax. Platform income was always reportable (CRA Guide T4002); what changed is that the CRA now receives the totals from the platform, so a gap between those totals and a return can show.
A case is not simple when platform income from a reportable year is missing from a return, when the platform's totals do not match what you reported, when you are a host or driver (rental and GST/HST rules differ), or when your sales are near the GST/HST limit. A voluntary disclosure must come before an audit or investigation into that information begins (CRA: VDP eligibility), so a gap in a reportable year is worth settling before the CRA writes. Gather:
- Each platform's year-end summary and payout reports
- Bank deposits and fee statements
- The returns you filed for each reportable year
Which sales and work do the reporting rules cover?
The rules cover four kinds of paid activity on a platform: selling goods, renting out real property, personal services, and renting out a means of transport, plus any service the regulations later prescribe. Digital content and payment-only tools are outside them (Income Tax Act, section 282; CRA: guidance, paragraphs 4.2 and 4.3).
| Done through a platform | Covered by Part XX? |
|---|---|
| Selling goods (tangible property) | Yes |
| Renting out real property, residential or commercial | Yes |
| Personal services: time- or task-based work for a user, such as driving or delivery | Yes |
| Renting out a vehicle or other means of transport | Yes |
| Selling digital content, such as audiobooks | No: only tangible property counts as goods |
| Software that only processes payments, only lists or advertises, or only redirects users | Not a platform |
Income from the last two rows is still taxable; Part XX simply does not report it. Work done as an employee of the platform operator or a related entity is not a personal service under Part XX.
Who is a reportable seller, and who is excluded?
A reportable seller is a platform user who sold goods, provided a service or was paid in the year, is not excluded, and either lives in Canada or rents out property located in Canada. Buyers who only buy through a platform are not affected (Income Tax Act, section 282; CRA: who is affected).
| Excluded seller | Test, applied by each operator for each calendar year |
|---|---|
| Small seller of goods | The operator facilitated only sales of goods for the seller, fewer than 30 of them, and the total paid or credited was no more than $2,800 |
| Large rental entity | An entity with more than 2,000 rental services for one property listing |
| Government | A governmental entity |
| Listed company | An entity whose stock is regularly traded on an established securities market, or a related entity |
Three traps in the small-seller exclusion:
- Both limits must hold. Forty sales that total little are reported; ten sales that total more than the dollar limit are reported.
- "Solely" matters. The wording asks whether the operator facilitated only goods sales for you. A seller who also rents out property or does paid services on the same platform may not fit; the CRA's text does not walk through that mix, so assume the platform may report you.
- Each operator tests its own records. The test looks at what one operator facilitated for you, so small sales on several platforms are tested separately.
Being excluded changes only what the platform reports. Business income from those sales is still reportable, and the records are still needed (CRA Guide T4002; CRA: peer-to-peer).
What does the platform send the CRA about me?
The platform sends your identity details and your activity totals (CRA: what information is shared; Income Tax Act, section 292):
- Identity: name, primary address, each country where you are tax resident, your tax number and who issued it, date of birth (or the business registration number for an entity), and bank or payment account identifiers where the operator has them (the Act limits these to jurisdictions the Minister specifies).
- Activity: the total paid or credited to you for each calendar quarter, the number of activities, and the fees, commissions or taxes the platform withheld or charged, by quarter.
- Rentals: the address of each listing and, where available, the days rented and the listing type.
Four details matter when you compare this with your books. The reported amount is net of the platform's fees, commissions and taxes. It includes tips, gratuities and incentives. Refunds and cancellations are deducted (CRA: guidance, paragraphs 7.7 and 7.8). And amounts count in the quarter the platform paid or credited them, not when the sale was made, so a December sale first paid or credited in January falls in the next year's report (Income Tax Act, section 291; CRA: guidance, paragraph 7.5). Your return follows a different rule: self-employment income, other than a farmer's, fisher's or commission agent's, is reported when it is earned, whenever it is paid (CRA Guide T4002). That December sale belongs on the December return even though the platform reports it a year later, so allow for these gaps before calling a mismatch missing income.
Why does the platform want my SIN or business number, and what if I do not give it?
Part XX requires the operator to collect a tax number from each seller who is not excluded, and a reportable seller must give it when asked. For an individual the tax number is the number the CRA uses to identify you, such as your SIN; a business number also counts (Income Tax Act, section 282; section 284; CRA: guidance, paragraph 8.5).
A reportable seller who fails to give the number on request is liable to a penalty of $500 for each failure. Two exceptions apply: you applied for a number within 90 days of the request and passed it to the platform within 15 days of receiving it (for example, a newcomer without a SIN yet), or you are not eligible for a number. The platform may also end your account relationship under its agreement (Income Tax Act, section 293; CRA: guidance, paragraphs 8.7 and 8.9).
Giving the platform what it asks ends your part under these rules; your other tax obligations stay (CRA: filing information returns).
Will I get a copy of what was reported?
Yes. The operator must give each reportable seller the information about them that is in its return, by January 31 of the year after the reportable year (Income Tax Act, section 291; CRA: guidance, paragraph 6.2).
Check it against your records when it arrives. If the information is wrong, ask the platform to correct it; the CRA's guidance expects an amended information return when information about a seller is corrected (paragraph 7.7). The CRA's pages do not describe a separate process for disputing the copy.
Is platform income a new tax, and where does it go on my return?
It is not a new tax. All income must be reported (CRA Guide T4002). Where it goes depends on the activity:
| Platform income | Where it goes |
|---|---|
| Selling goods online | Self-employment income on Form T2125; eligible costs, including platform fees, are claimable (CRA: peer-to-peer) |
| Ride-sharing driving | Form T2125; report all income including tips, and claim the charges the platform keeps (CRA: sharing economy) |
| Renting out accommodation | Form T776; the part earned from other services you provide to guests is business income, on Form T2125 (CRA: sharing economy) |
Self-employed delivery and other platform task workers report all their income on Form T2125 (CRA: gig economy); for vehicle costs, see rideshare and delivery driver expenses. Whether sales are business income or a one-off sale of personal belongings depends on the facts; see selling online in Canada. For T776 or T2125 on a rental, see short-term rental income. For CPP, instalments and how much to set aside, see how self-employed income is taxed.
Hosts have one more rule: a short-term rental that is not permitted locally, or lacks a required registration, licence or permit, loses the matching share of its expenses (Income Tax Act, section 67.7); see short-term rental income for how it works.
Does platform reporting change when I must register for GST/HST?
No. Part XX sits in the Income Tax Act; the GST/HST registration test is separate. A small supplier need not register until revenues from worldwide taxable supplies, with associates, pass $30,000 in a single calendar quarter or over four consecutive calendar quarters (CRA: when to register).
A platform's quarterly totals can help you check the test, but they are not the test. They are net of the platform's fees and cover only that platform, while the limit counts revenues before expenses from all your taxable supplies, other than financial services, sales of capital property and goodwill from selling a business (Excise Tax Act, section 148). Commercial ride-sharing drivers must register whatever they earn, because the small-supplier limit does not apply to them (CRA: sharing economy).
See when to register for GST/HST for the limit and what to do after passing it, and when a platform already collected GST/HST if tax was charged on your sales.
What should I fix now?
Only the year in progress is still to be reported. Rebuild your own totals for each reportable year first, so you can compare them with the platform's copy rather than rely on it:
- List every platform you used in each reportable year, including rarely used accounts. Each operator reports separately.
- Download the year-end summary, payout reports and fee statements, and match payouts to bank deposits. Note any booking or sale paid out in a later quarter or year.
- Rebuild gross sales from the platform's detail. The reported total is net of fees, commissions, taxes and refunds, and the fees are reported separately by quarter. Report what buyers paid for your goods or services and claim the platform's fees as an expense; tips and incentives are income. If the platform collected GST/HST, see when a platform already collected GST/HST.
- Convert foreign-currency sales the same way every time. The platform reports in the currency paid. See US-dollar sales and marketplace payouts.
- Separate personal and business money. If one account or card mixes them, tag each transaction before the next totals arrive.
- Compare with each return you filed for a reportable year, allowing for sales earned in one year and paid or credited in another. If a return still shows less platform income than your own totals, read the next section before you change anything.
- Check whose name and tax number is on each account, and who else is registered on it. The platform reports the account holder's details and totals. If the account is in another person's name, or a corporation's sales run through a personal account, work out who earned the income first. Where two or more sellers are registered together, the platform reports each one separately; if it cannot reliably split the proceeds, it reports the full total for each, so two reports can overlap (CRA: guidance, paragraphs 7.11 and 7.12). Keep proof of who earned each share.
- Keep the records for six years from the end of the last tax year they relate to, or from the date you file if you file late (CRA: how long to keep records).
If the books are months behind, see catching up on overdue books.
What if I left platform income off an earlier return?
Platform income left off a return can be corrected, and the route depends on how old the year is and whether the CRA has contacted you. To change a filed return, use "Change my return" in your CRA account, ReFILE in your tax software, or mail Form T1-ADJ (CRA: change your return). The Voluntary Disclosures Program (VDP) is open only before an audit or investigation of you or a related taxpayer about the information being disclosed has begun; one by another regulated authority counts too (CRA: IC00-1R7, paragraph 17). The application must also include a tax year at least one year past its filing due date, or for GST/HST a reporting period at least one period past it (CRA: VDP eligibility; CRA: GST/HST Memorandum 16-5-1, paragraph 8).
A platform's report is information from a third party about a specific seller. The CRA treats an application made after it has already received third-party information about a specific taxpayer's possible non-compliance as prompted, with partial relief instead of general relief (CRA: VDP review and decision). That page does not name platform reports, so for a year the platform has already reported, an application may be treated as prompted.
Platform reports start with the first reportable period, but income from earlier years was just as reportable. See coming forward on unreported income for who qualifies, the relief and how to apply, and catching up on unfiled returns if a year was never filed.
Does it matter that the platform is foreign or my buyers are abroad?
No. Coverage follows where you live, or where the rented property is, not where the platform or the buyer is. A platform based in neither Canada nor a partner jurisdiction (a country with similar rules) must still report if it facilitates sales or services by sellers resident in Canada, or rentals of property in Canada. One based in a partner jurisdiction reports to the CRA if it elects to, and otherwise follows its own country's rules (Income Tax Act, section 282; CRA: who is affected; CRA: guidance, paragraph 2.28).
The CRA also receives information from partner jurisdictions about sellers resident in Canada (CRA: what information is shared). Record sales to buyers in other countries as well as in Canada (CRA: peer-to-peer). For forms a US platform sends, see US payment platform forms for Canadian sellers.
Example
All amounts are illustrative and in Canadian dollars.
A seller over the limits
An Ontario seller of handmade goods makes 45 sales in the year. Buyers pay $9,000 and the platform keeps $1,200 in fees, paying out $7,800. Forty-five is not fewer than 30, so the seller is not excluded and is reportable. The platform reports $7,800 as the amount paid and $1,200 as fees. On Form T2125 the seller reports $9,000 of sales and claims $1,200 of fees. The platform's figures are one input to the separate GST/HST small-supplier calculation.
A seller under the exclusion
A seller of used items makes 12 sales totalling $1,800 on one platform. That is fewer than 30 sales and under the dollar limit, so the seller is excluded and the platform sends nothing. If the sales are business income, they are still reportable, and the records are still needed.
A host with bookings missing from her return
A host rents out a cottage through a platform for three months and receives $14,000. The income never reached her return. The platform reports the listing address, rental days and quarterly totals, so the gap can show. Whether she changes the return or applies to the VDP depends on how long ago the return was due and what the CRA has sent. Either route needs the platform's summary, the bank deposits and the filed return side by side; a disclosure is available only before an audit or investigation into that income begins.
Different for you?
- You earned platform income in a reportable year and left it off a return, or cannot tie the platform's totals to a return: the route depends on the age of each year, what the CRA has sent, and whether GST/HST was owed, and a disclosure must come before an audit or investigation into that income begins. Get individual tax help before the CRA writes, and see coming forward on unreported income.
- Your books are behind or mix personal and business money: see catching up on overdue books and bookkeeping help.
- Years were never filed: see catching up on unfiled returns.
- You host short stays: see short-term rental income and GST/HST on short-term rentals.
- You drive or deliver and never registered for GST/HST: see drivers who never registered.
- Your sales are near the GST/HST limit: see when to register for GST/HST.
- The CRA has sent a review letter: see reviews, audits and voluntary disclosure and what triggers a CRA audit.
- You sell through a corporation, or the platform account is in someone else's name: the platform reports the account holder, who may not be the person or company that earned the income, and a corporation's sales go on its own return; see corporate tax help.
- You live in Quebec: Part XX is a federal rule, and your Quebec return is separate and not covered here; see individual tax help.
Figures on this page
| Figure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| First reportable period under the Canadian digital platform reporting rules (Part XX) The CRA states that the first reportable period is the calendar year 2024 | The 2024 calendar year | CRA: Guidance on the Reporting Rules for Digital Platform Operators, paragraph 6.3 Checked |
| Date a reporting platform operator must file its Part XX information return with the CRA Of the year following the reportable period; the first return, for the first reportable period, was due January 31 of the year after it | January 31 | Income Tax Act, subsection 291(1) Checked |
| Part XX excluded seller: the operator must have facilitated fewer than this many sales of goods in the reportable period Both this count and the consideration limit must hold, and the operator must have facilitated only sales of goods for the seller | 30 | Income Tax Act, subsection 282(1), "excluded seller" paragraph (d) Checked |
| Part XX excluded seller: most consideration for fewer than 30 sales of goods in the reportable period A seller is excluded if the platform operator solely facilitated fewer than 30 relevant activities for the sale of goods and total consideration paid or credited did not exceed this amount during the reportable period (a calendar year) | $2,800 | Income Tax Act, subsection 282(1), "excluded seller" (d) Checked |
| Part XX excluded seller: an entity with more than this many rental services for one property listing in the reportable period Applies to an entity for which the operator facilitated more than this number of relevant services for the rental of immovable property in respect of a property listing | 2,000 | Income Tax Act, subsection 282(1), "excluded seller" paragraph (a) Checked |
| Penalty on a reportable seller who fails to give a tax number to a platform operator on request, per failure Applies when the operator must file a Part XX return needing the number. No penalty if the seller applied for a number within 90 days of the request and gave it to the operator within 15 days of receiving it, or is not eligible to obtain one | $500 | Income Tax Act, subsection 293(3) Checked |
| Part XX seller tax number penalty exception: time after the operator's request to apply for a number No penalty if the application is made within this time and the number is given to the operator within the further window of 15 days after the seller receives it | 90 days | Income Tax Act, paragraph 293(3)(a) Checked |
| Part XX seller tax number penalty exception: time after receiving the number to give it to the operator Applies together with the 90-day application window | 15 days | Income Tax Act, paragraph 293(3)(a) Checked |
| Date a reporting platform operator must give a reportable seller its information Of the year following the calendar year in which the seller is identified as a reportable seller | January 31 | CRA: Guidance on the Reporting Rules for Digital Platform Operators, paragraph 6.2 Checked |
| GST/HST small supplier threshold Worldwide taxable sales, including zero-rated supplies, with associates, in one calendar quarter or over the last four consecutive calendar quarters; excludes financial services, sales of capital property and goodwill | $30,000 | CRA: When to register for and start charging the GST/HST Checked |
| General business-record retention period From the end of the last tax year to which the records and supporting documents relate; longer retention can apply | Six years | CRA: Where to keep your records, for how long and how to request permission to destroy them early Checked |
| Voluntary Disclosures Program minimum age of the omission The information must be at least this long, or one reporting period, past its filing due date | One year | CRA: Voluntary Disclosures Program eligibility Checked |
Primary sources
- CRA: Reporting rules for digital platform operators
- CRA: Who is affected by the reporting rules
- CRA: What information is shared
- CRA: Guidance on the reporting rules for digital platform operators
- CRA: Filing information returns
- Justice Laws: Income Tax Act, section 282
- Justice Laws: Income Tax Act, section 284
- Justice Laws: Income Tax Act, section 291
- Justice Laws: Income Tax Act, section 292
- Justice Laws: Income Tax Act, section 293
- Justice Laws: Income Tax Act, section 67.7
- CRA: Selling goods online, peer-to-peer
- CRA: Gig economy
- Justice Laws: Excise Tax Act, section 148
- CRA: Sharing economy
- CRA: When to register for and start charging the GST/HST
- CRA: Voluntary Disclosures Program eligibility
- CRA: Information Circular IC00-1R7, Voluntary Disclosures Program
- CRA: GST/HST Memorandum 16-5-1, Voluntary Disclosures Program
- CRA: Voluntary Disclosures Program review and decision
- CRA: Change your return
- CRA: How long to keep your records
- CRA: Guide T4002, chapter 1
About this guide
Published by Cloud Accounting under standing professional approval. This version has no separately recorded personal review. It explains general rules for the tax year shown. It is not advice for your situation.
Changes
- : First published.