GST/HST Small-Supplier Threshold

Businesses with $30,000 or less in taxable revenue generally do not have to register for GST/HST; short-term rentals can push you over.

A small supplier is generally not required to register for, charge or collect GST/HST. You are a small supplier while your worldwide taxable revenue, before expenses, stays at or below $30,000. For sole proprietors, revenue from all of your businesses, and those of your associates, counts toward the limit.

For landlords, the type of rental matters. Long-term residential rent is exempt when the same individual occupies the unit continuously for one month or more. Short-term accommodation of less than one month is generally taxable when supplied by a registrant, unless the charge is $20 or less per day. Short-term rental income is what usually brings a landlord close to the threshold.

There are two tests. If you exceed $30,000 within a single calendar quarter, you stop being a small supplier on the supply that pushed you over. Your registration takes effect no later than that supply, and you must charge GST/HST on it. You then have 29 days to register.

If you pass $30,000 only over four consecutive calendar quarters, the timing is gentler. You stop being a small supplier at the end of the month after the quarter in which you crossed the line. You must then register and charge tax from your first supply after that point.

Some revenue is left out of the count, including sales of capital property and financial services. You can also register voluntarily if you make taxable supplies in Canada, but you then charge tax on them. Charities and public institutions use a $50,000 threshold. Anyone running short-term rentals should track revenue by quarter and confirm their position with CRA guidance.

General information only, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Rules change and vary by province; confirm the current details with the relevant authority before you rely on them.