You must register for GST/HST once your worldwide taxable sales pass 30,000 dollars, and the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) tests that limit two different ways. This guide explains both tests, the exact day your registration takes effect under each one, and how to register without owing tax out of your own pocket.
Rates last reviewed: October 2026. Figures checked against the CRA’s registration guidance on canada.ca.
When do Canadian freelancers have to register for GST/HST?
You have to register for GST/HST as soon as you stop being a small supplier: when your total worldwide revenue from taxable supplies passes 30,000 dollars in a single calendar quarter, or over four consecutive calendar quarters. Registration is mandatory from that point, and you must apply within 29 days of your effective date.
Below the line, you are what the CRA calls a small supplier. Small suppliers do not charge GST/HST and do not file GST/HST returns. Registration is optional for them, not forbidden, and the voluntary route suits some freelancers, as the decision table below shows.
The test is on revenue, not profit. A freelancer who bills 32,000 dollars and spends 20,000 dollars on subcontractors and software has still crossed the threshold. Expenses do not reduce the 30,000 dollar count by a cent.
What counts toward the 30,000 dollars?
The threshold counts your total worldwide revenue from taxable supplies, including zero-rated supplies such as exports, plus the taxable supplies of your associates. It excludes exempt supplies, most financial services, and sales of capital property such as a vehicle or a block of goodwill.
Three counting rules catch freelancers out:
- Worldwide, not Canadian. A 20,000 dollar contract with a US client counts the same as a domestic one. Exported services are usually zero-rated, but zero-rated still counts toward the threshold.
- Before expenses. The figure is gross billings from taxable work, measured when the supply is made, not after costs and not when the client pays.
- Associates are pooled. If you control another business, its taxable sales join yours for the test. Running two small operations side by side does not give you two thresholds.
Exempt income stays out. If all your work is exempt, for example certain health, child care or educational services, you generally cannot register at all, however much you earn. Freelance services like design, writing, consulting and development are taxable, so the threshold applies in full.
Tip: Run the test at the end of every quarter, not once a year. Add the current quarter to the previous three and compare the total with 30,000 dollars. Two minutes with a spreadsheet beats a retroactive tax bill.
How do the two threshold tests work?
The CRA runs two separate tests, and which one you fail decides your start date. Failing the single-quarter test makes you a registrant immediately, mid-quarter. Failing the four-quarter test gives you until the end of the following month before you must start charging.
| Test | Trigger | You stop being a small supplier | When you start charging |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single calendar quarter | Taxable supplies pass 30,000 dollars inside one quarter | The day of the supply that crosses the line | On that very supply, the crossing invoice itself |
| Four consecutive calendar quarters | Taxable supplies pass 30,000 dollars across any four quarters in a row, without crossing in one | The end of the month after that quarter ends | On your first supply after that date |
In both cases you then have 29 days from your effective date of registration to actually register with the CRA. The 29 days is paperwork time. It is not a grace period for charging: the tax obligation starts on the effective date whether your account paperwork is finished or not.
Worked example: crossing the line two ways
Meet two Ontario freelancers. Both end up registered, but their start dates and first tax bills differ, and the difference is worth real money.
Scenario A, the slow build (four-quarter test). Priya, a copywriter, bills 6,200 dollars in quarter 1, 7,800 dollars in quarter 2, 8,900 dollars in quarter 3 and 8,400 dollars in quarter 4 of 2026.
- Four-quarter total: 6,200 + 7,800 + 8,900 + 8,400 = 31,300 dollars. Over the line.
- No single quarter passed 30,000 dollars, so the four-quarter test applies.
- Quarter 4 ends 31 December 2026. Priya stops being a small supplier on 31 January 2027, the end of the month after the quarter.
- Her effective date is her first supply on or after 1 February 2027. She charges 13 percent HST from that invoice onward and registers within 29 days of the effective date.
Scenario B, the big project (single-quarter test). Marc, a web developer, has a quiet first quarter, then lands one large build. By 10 June his second-quarter billings reach 24,000 dollars. On 12 June he issues an invoice for 9,000 dollars, taking the quarter to 33,000 dollars.
- The single-quarter test is failed on 12 June, the day of the crossing supply.
- Marc must charge HST on the whole 9,000 dollar invoice, not just the part above 30,000 dollars: 9,000 x 13 percent = 1,170 dollars of HST on that one bill.
- His effective date of registration is 12 June, and he must register by 11 July, 29 days later.
- If he forgets and invoices the 9,000 dollars with no tax, the 1,170 dollars still belongs to the CRA. It comes out of his own pocket.
Watch out: The most expensive GST/HST mistake is crossing the line and not noticing. The CRA treats you as registered from your effective date, so tax you never collected is still tax you owe, plus interest. Check the rolling four-quarter total every time you send a large invoice.
Should you register before you have to?
Voluntary registration is open to any small supplier making taxable supplies in Canada. It is a genuine decision, not an automatic yes, because registering brings filing duties and a price effect for consumer clients. Use this framework:
| Your situation | Register early? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Clients are mostly businesses | Usually yes | Registered clients claim the tax back as input tax credits, so charging it costs them nothing, and you look established |
| Heavy spending on tools, gear or subcontractors | Usually yes | You recover the GST/HST you pay on business costs as input tax credits from day one |
| Clients are mostly consumers | Often wait | Registration adds 5 to 15 percent to what the public pays, or eats the same share of your margin if you absorb it |
| Sales are zero-rated, such as exports | Usually yes | You charge 0 percent yet still claim credits on your costs, so registration is close to all upside |
| You will cross 30,000 dollars within a quarter or two | Yes, plan it | Registering on your own schedule beats scrambling mid-project under the single-quarter test |
Once registered, the maths per period is simple: tax collected minus input tax credits equals the net tax you remit. Say you collect 3,900 dollars of HST on 30,000 dollars of Ontario sales in a quarter and paid 520 dollars of HST on software, hosting and subcontractor invoices. Your remittance is 3,900 minus 520 = 3,380 dollars. LancerBill’s GST calculator handles the rate maths for each province when you build the invoice.
How do you register for a GST/HST account?
Registration is free and takes a few minutes. You get a Business Number (BN) if you do not already have one, then open a GST/HST program account under it, which adds the RT0001 suffix to your BN.
- Online: use the CRA’s Business Registration Online (BRO) service, the fastest route for most freelancers.
- By phone or form: call the CRA business enquiries line, or file Form RC1, Request for a Business Number and Certain Program Accounts, by mail or fax.
- Set your effective date: for mandatory registration it is fixed by the tests above. For voluntary registration you choose the start date, usually the day you apply or up to 30 days before it.
- Note your filing frequency: the CRA assigns annual filing by default at freelancer revenue levels; quarterly and monthly filing exist for larger businesses or by election.
From your effective date, every invoice must show your GST/HST account number and the tax charged. The invoice generator has fields for both, so the first invoice you send after registering is already compliant. For the wider picture of income tax, CPP and deadlines that sit alongside GST/HST, read our guide to self-employed taxes in Canada, and for the rate in each province, our Canada GST and HST rates guide keeps the current table, including Nova Scotia at 14 percent since 1 April 2025.
Tip: Keep the GST/HST you collect in a separate account from the day you register. It is the CRA’s money passing through your hands. Holding it apart makes the quarterly or annual remittance painless and stops a good month looking richer than it is. The habit pairs well with pricing work on real margins using the profit margin calculator.
Who has to register with no threshold at all?
A small group gets no 30,000 dollar allowance. Taxi operators and commercial ride-sharing drivers must register and charge GST/HST from their first fare, even as small suppliers. The same no-threshold rule covers some non-resident situations, such as selling admissions to events held in Canada. If your freelance work touches either case, register before you start, not after.
Quebec adds one more layer. GST applies in Quebec at 5 percent, but the provincial QST at 9.975 percent is a separate tax with its own registration, administered by Revenu Quebec rather than the CRA. Crossing the federal threshold in Quebec usually means setting up both accounts.
Key takeaways
- Registration is mandatory once worldwide taxable supplies pass 30,000 dollars in one calendar quarter or over four consecutive quarters, measured on revenue before expenses.
- Cross in a single quarter and you charge tax on the crossing invoice itself. Cross over four quarters and you start on your first supply after the end of the following month.
- You have 29 days from your effective date to register, but the duty to charge starts on the effective date, not when the paperwork lands.
- Voluntary registration pays off when clients are businesses, your costs carry GST/HST you can reclaim as input tax credits, or the threshold is close anyway.
- Taxi and ride-sharing drivers register from the first fare, and Quebec freelancers deal with QST separately through Revenu Quebec.
Frequently asked questions
Is the 30,000 dollars measured on profit or on revenue?
On revenue. The test uses your total worldwide revenue from taxable supplies, including zero-rated supplies and your associates’ taxable sales, before any expenses are deducted. A freelancer with 35,000 dollars of billings and 5,000 dollars of profit has crossed the threshold.
Do sales to clients outside Canada count toward the threshold?
Yes. The threshold is worldwide, so exported services and other zero-rated supplies count in full. A freelancer billing only US and European clients still has to register once worldwide taxable supplies pass 30,000 dollars in the test periods.
What happens if I cross 30,000 dollars and do not register?
The CRA treats you as registered from your effective date, so you owe the GST/HST you should have collected from that date onward, plus interest, even though clients never paid it to you. Register within 29 days of your effective date to stay clear of a backdated bill.
Can I register for GST/HST before reaching 30,000 dollars?
Yes, small suppliers making taxable supplies in Canada may register voluntarily. It makes sense when your clients are businesses that reclaim the tax, when you spend heavily on inputs and want the input tax credits, or when you sell zero-rated exports. You then file returns and charge tax like any registrant.
Does the 30,000 dollar rule reset every calendar year?
No. The four-quarter test is rolling, not a calendar-year allowance. At any point you look at the current quarter plus the previous three. Crossing the total in any such window ends small supplier status, whenever in the year it happens.
Is QST registration the same as GST/HST registration in Quebec?
No. GST is federal at 5 percent and runs through the CRA, while QST at 9.975 percent is administered separately by Revenu Quebec with its own registration. Quebec freelancers who pass the threshold generally need both accounts.
Sources: Canada Revenue Agency, “When to register for and start charging the GST/HST”, canada.ca. This guide is for general information only and is not financial, tax or legal advice.