Tax guides
Sales tax under Canadian federal and provincial rules.
Check tax status, place of supply, and who remits. For excess, issue a credit note or accept the client's debit note; refund or credit collected excess. For a shortfall, correct the invoice and request adjustment of a filed return. Deduct eligible excess in the note period. The supplier remits unpaid tax unless the buyer self-assesses; an elected agent may report it.
Self-employed · Partnerships · Corporations
Usually no: goods you ship to a US address and most services to a non-resident client are zero-rated. Before invoicing, confirm the customer and where goods or serviced property are, then keep export and residence proof. A Canadian pickup or service on Canadian property can be taxable; the seller owes tax it should have collected.
Corporations · Self-employed
Québec customers alone do not require QST or an enterprise number. First classify sales and test general and specified QST registration; the seller owes QST it should have collected. For a Québec worker, determine the province of employment first; the employer must handle any Québec deductions and contributions due. Sole proprietors, partnerships and corporations must separately check enterprise registration against their Québec activities and business name.
Self-employed · Partnerships · Corporations
If your business is registered for GST/HST, you generally file a return for every reporting period, even with no sales. Report revenue and GST/HST collected or collectible, then subtract eligible input tax credits for tax paid or payable on business purchases. Keep supporting invoices before claiming credits. File electronically by your assigned deadline; pay any balance separately.
Self-employed · Partnerships · Corporations
Commercial property sales are generally taxable. First check the actual buyer's registration date, the seller's residence and any exemption. A registered buyer, or a buyer of a non-resident seller, usually accounts for tax directly; otherwise the resident seller collects. Landlords registered or required to register charge GST/HST on commercial rent; unregistered small suppliers generally do not. Credits depend on commercial use.
Individuals · Partnerships · Corporations
A new or substantially renovated Canadian home is generally subject to GST/HST; a resale of an occupied home is generally exempt. An eligible owner-occupier or long-term landlord may recover part of the tax through different rebates. Assignments, newly built rentals and short-term accommodation have separate rules that can create tax even when ordinary residential rent is exempt.
Individuals · Corporations
Read the notice's period, reply date and issuing agency; match questioned amounts to sales, purchase and tax records. Support input tax credits with supplier, tax and commercial-use evidence, and rebates or exports with their separate records. The registrant owes assessed net tax; a claimant may owe a denied rebate. Sole proprietors, general partners and some directors can owe personally.
Individuals · Self-employed · Partnerships · Corporations
It depends on how you sell into Canada. If you carry on business in Canada, you must register under the normal GST/HST rules once worldwide taxable sales pass $30,000. If not, but you sell digital products or any other services to Canadian consumers, you must use simplified registration once those sales pass $30,000 in 12 months.
Self-employed · Partnerships · Corporations
You may need a separate provincial sales tax registration if you sell taxable goods, software or services in British Columbia, Saskatchewan or Manitoba. Each province has different small seller, delivery and marketplace rules. HST provinces do not have a separate PST; Quebec administers QST. Check what you sell, where customers receive it and who collects tax on marketplace sales.
Self-employed · Partnerships · Corporations
A Canadian business making taxable supplies in Canada generally must register when worldwide taxable sales, including associates' sales, exceed $30,000 in one quarter or four consecutive quarters. The first affected sale depends on which test applies. Taxi and ride-sharing drivers register from the first taxable fare. Missed registration can leave tax owing even if customers were never charged.
Self-employed · Partnerships · Corporations
Not sure which rules apply?