When Do You Need to Charge GST/HST in Canada? The $30,000 Rule, Explained
You finished the work, the invoice is ready, and then the doubt creeps in: am I supposed to be adding tax to this?
If you're a freelancer, contractor, or small-business owner in Canada, the answer comes down to one number: $30,000. Here's how the rule actually works — including the part most explainers get wrong, and the deadline that catches people off guard.
The short version
- If your taxable revenue stays at or below $30,000 over any four consecutive calendar quarters, you're a "small supplier" — no need to register or charge GST/HST.
- The moment you cross $30,000, you stop being a small supplier and have 29 days to register.
- How you cross matters: crossing in a single quarter is immediate; crossing gradually across quarters gives you a short grace period.
- A few categories — taxi and rideshare drivers, some non-resident event suppliers — must register from the first dollar, threshold or not.
- You can register voluntarily before $30K — sometimes that's smart, sometimes not.
What "small supplier" means
The CRA treats you as a small supplier if your worldwide taxable revenue stays at or below $30,000 over four consecutive calendar quarters. Two words there matter.
"Worldwide" — all your taxable sales count, not just Canadian ones. A web designer in Ontario with a client in Australia counts that invoice toward the $30,000, even though exports are usually zero-rated (and so carry no GST/HST).
"Taxable" — this includes anything subject to GST/HST at any rate, including zero-rated supplies. It does not include exempt supplies (residential rent, most medical and financial services), sales of capital property, or goodwill from selling a business. So a consultant billing $28,000 plus $5,000 in residential rent is still a small supplier — the rent is exempt and doesn't count.
Note that "four consecutive calendar quarters" is a rolling test ending with the current quarter — not a fresh count every January.
The two ways you cross $30,000
This is the part most explainers blur, and it's where people get burned. There are two distinct ways to lose small-supplier status.
In a single quarter. If your revenue in one calendar quarter exceeds $30,000, you stop being a small supplier that day, and you must charge GST/HST on the very sale that pushed you over. Bill a $35,000 retainer on April 2nd, having billed nothing the previous quarter, and that invoice should have tax on it. No grace period.
Gradually, across quarters. If your cumulative revenue across four quarters crosses $30,000 but no single quarter did it alone, you stop being a small supplier at the end of the month following the quarter where you crossed. This is the common case for freelancers ramping up steadily — and it gives you a little breathing room, since you don't retroactively charge tax on the invoice that tipped you over.
Either way, you have 29 days from your effective date to register.
Two examples
The consultant with one big quarter. You bill $2,000 in Q1, $10,000 in Q2, then land a $38,000 contract in Q3. Q3 alone blows past $30,000, so the single-quarter rule applies: you're no longer a small supplier as of the day that contract crossed the line, and that invoice needs GST/HST on it. If it was one invoice dated July 15th, July 15th is your effective date.
The shop that crawls over. Your online store bills $2,000, then $10,000, then $12,000, then $8,000 across four quarters — $32,000 total, but no single quarter over $30,000. You stop being a small supplier at the end of the month after the quarter you crossed in. From your first sale after that date, every taxable sale needs GST/HST, and you have 29 days to register.
The 29-day deadline
The 29 days is for registering. The obligation to charge tax starts earlier, on your effective date. Miss the registration window and the CRA can backdate your registration and come after the tax you should have collected — even if you never charged your customers — plus penalties and interest. "I didn't know" doesn't reset the clock.
The practical move: once your year-to-date revenue gets near $30,000, track it weekly, not quarterly. If your accountant flags it in February, you may already owe tax on months of invoices.
Should you register before $30,000?
You can register voluntarily, and the decision usually comes down to one question: are your clients mostly other businesses, or mostly individual consumers?
Register early if you're B2B. You can recover the GST/HST you pay on business expenses (input tax credits), and tax you charge business clients is recoverable for them — so it doesn't hurt your competitiveness, and being registered signals you're established.
Wait if you're B2C. For individual customers, GST/HST is a real 5–15% price increase with no offset, so staying under the threshold can be a competitive edge. Registering also brings filing obligations (even nil returns) and the discipline of setting aside tax you've collected but don't yet owe.
When the $30,000 rule doesn't apply
A few categories must register from the first dollar — the small supplier threshold simply doesn't apply to them:
- Taxi and rideshare drivers. If you drive a taxi or provide commercial ride-sharing services (Uber, Lyft), you must register for GST/HST regardless of how little you earn. The rule was extended to app-based ride-sharing in 2017, which is what brought Uber and Lyft drivers in. One nuance: if you also do unrelated freelance work, the mandatory registration generally attaches to your driving income — your other work is still measured against the usual $30,000 threshold.
- Non-resident event and admission suppliers. A non-resident who comes to Canada to sell admissions to an event, seminar, or show must register before making any such sale, with no small-supplier exemption.
If either describes you, register right away rather than waiting to see whether you cross $30,000.
A few quick answers
Does the $30,000 reset every January? No — it's a rolling test across the most recent four quarters. If you crossed last August, you're over now.
Do my U.S. clients' invoices count? They count toward the threshold (they're zero-rated, not exempt), but you don't charge GST/HST on them.
Where does my GST/HST number go? On every invoice, near your business name, so clients can claim their input tax credits.
Where InvoiceCast fits
The rule isn't complicated — but tracking a rolling four-quarter total, applying the right rate per province, handling zero-rated exports, and getting your registration number on every taxable invoice is a lot to juggle in a spreadsheet.
InvoiceCast applies the correct GST/HST rate per province automatically, handles zero-rated exports, and (in Quebec) keeps QST and GST on separate lines the way Revenu Québec expects. You can try it free.
If you take one thing from this: the $30,000 threshold sneaks up on people because nobody tracks it weekly. Start now.
Source: Canada Revenue Agency, When to register for and start charging the GST/HST. This article is general information, not tax advice. For your situation, consult a Canadian tax professional or contact the CRA.