The short answer: no, not until your taxable sales pass $30,000. Here is the two-minute test, the worked examples that trip people up, and the case for registering early on purpose.
Applies in: across Canada
No. As a sole proprietor in Canada, you do not need a GST/HST number until your taxable sales exceed $30,000. Below that line you are what the CRA calls a small supplier, and registration is optional.
Three qualifiers change that short answer:
If you are here because the number alone doesn't tell you what to do, read on. The threshold has two tests, the timing rules matter more than the number, and there are traps that catch careful people.
Grab your last four quarters of invoices. A calendar quarter means January-March, April-June, July-September, October-December. The CRA is specific about that.
Step 1: Add up your taxable supplies. Count revenue from goods and services you sell, including zero-rated exports (sales to US or overseas clients, where you charge 0% tax). Do not include:
Step 2: Apply the two tests.
| Test | Trigger | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Single quarter | Over $30,000 of taxable supplies in one calendar quarter | You stop being a small supplier on the day of the sale that took you over. You must charge GST/HST starting on that supply, and your registration effective date is no later than that day. |
| Four quarters | Over $30,000 across the previous four consecutive quarters (but not in a single quarter) | You stop being a small supplier at the end of the month following the quarter in which you crossed. Your registration effective date is no later than the day of your first supply after that, and you start charging then. |
Step 3: Check the exceptions. Taxi and commercial ride-share drivers register from the first day, no threshold. If you supply only exempt goods or services, you generally cannot register at all.
Note the asymmetry in the single-quarter test: the day you cross, the sale that took you over already owes GST/HST. There is no grace period on that one.
Example 1: The freelancer under the line. Priya designs logos in Toronto. Her last four quarters: $6,500, $7,200, $5,800, $8,100. Total: $27,600. She is a small supplier. No registration required, though she registers voluntarily anyway because she just bought $3,000 of equipment and wants the GST back (more on that below).
Example 2: The export trap. Marcus consults from Vancouver: $24,000 in Canadian client work, $12,000 for two American clients. Total taxable supplies: $36,000, because zero-rated exports count. He must register, even though not one of his American invoices charged any tax.
Example 3: The driver. Sofia drives Uber part-time in Calgary and made $9,000 this year. The threshold is irrelevant for her. She must be registered, charge GST on her fares, and can claim input tax credits on gas, insurance, and maintenance.
Mandatory registration is one thing; voluntary registration is a strategy. Register while you are still a small supplier and:
The people it helps least: those selling mostly to consumers, with few taxable expenses. For them, charging 13% HST can make quotes look worse for no offsetting benefit, so waiting until the threshold forces the issue is rational.
Three things, in this order:
Charging GST/HST before you are actually registered is not allowed. Get the number first.
Quebec sits outside the GST/HST system. If you operate there, you deal with two taxes: the 5% federal GST plus Quebec's own QST at 9.975%, combined 14.975%. Both are administered by Revenu Québec, not the CRA, and the same $30,000 small-supplier threshold applies. Invoices show the two taxes on separate lines.
Once you have your CRA business number, open a GST/HST program account through the CRA's Business Registration Online. The same session that issued your BN can do it. You will need your effective date, your fiscal year, and a revenue estimate. Registration itself is free.
The step-by-step walkthrough — the three registration routes, what to have ready before you start, the Quebec exception, and what happens after you register — is in our guide to registering for GST/HST in Canada.
No. Under $30,000 of taxable sales in four consecutive calendar quarters you are a small supplier and registration is optional. Many people register anyway to claim back the GST/HST they pay on equipment, software, and startup costs.
Total sales means your gross taxable supplies, before expenses. A freelancer who invoices $34,000 and keeps $8,000 after costs is over the line. The CRA counts revenue, not what lands in your pocket.
Neither. It is two tests, checked against calendar quarters (January-March, April-June, July-September, October-December). Test one: over $30,000 in a single quarter. Test two: over $30,000 across the previous four quarters combined. Fail either and you are out of small-supplier status.
Yes. Zero-rated exports count as taxable supplies for threshold purposes, even though you charge 0% tax on them. A designer billing $24,000 in Canada and $10,000 to American clients is over $30,000 and must register, despite never charging tax on the American invoices.
Yes, and the threshold does not. Taxi operators and commercial ride-share drivers must register for GST/HST regardless of income. Your effective registration date is the day you start driving. Claim your input tax credits on gas, insurance, and car payments accordingly.
Register immediately, and prepare to pay out of pocket. The CRA treats you as a registrant from the day you stopped being a small supplier, meaning you owe the GST/HST on sales you never collected. Call the CRA business line at 1-800-959-5525 to sort out the back period rather than pretending it didn't happen.
Yes. If you are back under $30,000 you can ask the CRA to close the account, but only after you have been registered for at least a year. If you close the business or stop making taxable sales entirely, cancel right away; the one-year wait doesn't apply there. Closing means filing a final return and losing the right to claim input tax credits.
The business number (BN) is the nine-digit root the CRA gives you. The GST/HST account is a program account that hangs off it, usually shown as your BN plus RT0001. You get a BN when you open any CRA program account (GST/HST, payroll, or import/export). The BN alone doesn't let you charge tax; only the registered RT account does.
Probably not, and the CRA generally won't register you if you supply only exempt goods or services. Exempt supplies don't count toward the $30,000 threshold at all. If you mix exempt and taxable supplies, only the taxable part counts, so keep them tracked separately.
Your customer's, roughly speaking. GST/HST follows place-of-supply rules: services for a customer in Ontario get 13% HST; in Alberta, 5% GST; exports get 0%. Where it gets complicated is goods shipping across borders. That's where the CRA's place-of-supply guidance earns its keep.