Canada GST/HST Registration for Foreign Companies

Do Foreign Businesses Need to Charge GST in Canada?

Yes. A foreign business must charge GST/HST once it passes CAD 30,000 in taxable sales and either carries on business in Canada (regular registration) or makes specified supplies to Canadian consumers (simplified registration). The table below is the whole decision in one view: who each track covers, the threshold window, ITC access, and how to register.

Source: CRA, when to register and charge GST/HST; CRA, digital economy GST/HST rules.

How Do GST, HST, PST, and QST Differ for Foreign Sellers?

GST (Goods and Services Tax) is the 5% federal tax. HST (Harmonized Sales Tax) is the combined federal and provincial tax of 13% to 15% in harmonized provinces. Both run through one CRA account. PST (Provincial Sales Tax) in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, plus Quebec’s QST (Quebec Sales Tax), are separate provincial regimes with their own registrations, outside the GST/HST account.

Nova Scotia cut its HST from 15% to 14% effective April 1, 2025, reducing the provincial portion from 10% to 9% while the 5% federal part stayed the same, per the CRA GST/HST rate guidance.

When Do You Have to Register for GST/HST?

You must register when two things are true: you are no longer a small supplier, and you make taxable supplies in Canada. That is the CRA’s two-part test. Each trigger below maps to a track and a threshold. Taxi and ride-share operators are the only group the CRA requires to register from the first dollar.

What Is the Small Supplier Threshold in Canada?

The small supplier threshold is CAD 30,000 in worldwide taxable revenues, measured for you plus all associated persons, over four consecutive calendar quarters or in a single quarter. Cross it and you must register. The CRA’s associated-person rule aggregates related entities, so you cannot split sales across companies to stay under. The figure is CAD 50,000 for public service bodies.

Zero-rated supplies count toward the threshold. Exempt supplies do not. The test excludes proceeds from goodwill, financial services, and sales of capital property, per the CRA’s general information for GST/HST registrants.

Should You Register Voluntarily Below the Threshold?

Yes. The CRA permits voluntary registration below CAD 30,000. Under the regular track it unlocks ITCs on your Canadian business costs. The trade-off is that you must charge, collect, file, and remit from your effective date. For an exporter or a seller with large Canadian input costs, voluntary registration often pays for itself.

What Is the Effective Date of Registration for GST/HST?

Your effective date depends on how you cross CAD 30,000. Exceed it in a single calendar quarter and you must charge GST/HST on the sale that put you over, effective that day. Exceed it over four consecutive quarters, and you stay a small supplier until the end of the month after that quarter, with your effective date tied to your first supply afterward.

You then have 29 days from your effective date to register with the CRA. The simplified regime uses its own CAD 30,000 test over any rolling 12-month period, so a digital supplier tracks a moving window rather than fixed quarters.

What Does “Carrying On Business in Canada” Mean for GST/HST?

The CRA decides it on the facts, not a single test. It weighs where your agents or employees sit, where contracts are made, where your inventory or warehouse is, and where you solicit and deliver. No one factor settles it. A non-resident can carry on business in Canada even without a permanent establishment here, per the CRA’s doing business in Canada guide for non-residents.

What Is the Simplified GST/HST Registration for Digital Suppliers?

Since July 1, 2021, non-resident vendors making specified supplies, meaning digital products and services, to Canadian consumers must register under the simplified regime once those supplies pass CAD 30,000 over any 12-month period. Simplified registrants cannot claim ITCs. They receive a separate simplified account, not a standard Business Number with an RT program account.

Business-to-business (B2B) sales are carved out. When a GST/HST-registered Canadian customer gives its registration number, you do not charge under the simplified regime, and that customer self-assesses. A purchaser who does not supply proof of registration cannot claim an ITC on simplified-system tax, per the CRA guidance on confirming a GST/HST account number. Simplified registrants charge the rate for the customer’s province and report in Canadian dollars or a foreign currency the CRA designates.

Does a US SaaS Company Selling to Canada Need to Register?

Yes. A US SaaS (software-as-a-service) company must register under the simplified regime once its business-to-consumer sales to Canadians pass CAD 30,000 in a 12-month period. Sales to Canadian businesses that provide their GST/HST number do not require simplified collection. The table maps common foreign sellers to the right track.

Source: CRA digital economy GST/HST rules and CRA non-resident guidance.

Who Collects GST/HST on Marketplace Sales: the Platform or the Seller?

On qualifying sales, the distribution platform operator that facilitates the sale is generally the party required to collect and remit, not the underlying seller. The seller’s own registration is a separate question, driven by its direct sales and its activities in Canada. A multi-channel seller should confirm, sale by sale, whether platform collection covers it or leaves a gap.

Amazon operates as a distribution platform operator and collects on many facilitated sales. Shopify generally does not act as a distribution platform operator, because merchants sell under their own stores, so a Shopify merchant often registers and collects itself.

What Are the Rules for Fulfillment Warehouses and Low-Value Imported Goods?

Since July 1, 2021, distribution platform operators must collect GST/HST on qualifying goods held in Canadian fulfillment warehouses and sold to Canadian buyers. Non-resident sellers that store inventory in Canadian warehouses have their own registration obligations. The old claim that goods under CAD 20 trigger registration is wrong. CAD 20 is postal import relief, not a registration trigger.

What Is the Canada GST/HST Number Format?

A regular GST/HST number is a 9-digit Business Number (BN) plus the “RT” program identifier plus a 4-digit reference, for example 123456789 RT0001. The BN is shared across your CRA program accounts. Simplified-regime registrants receive a distinct simplified account identifier instead, so they do not get an RT program account in the same way.

Common mistake: dropping the “RT” letters or the spacing. Source: CRA registration guidance.

How Do You Register for GST/HST in Canada as a Foreign Company?

Your path depends on your track. Simplified-regime registrants use the CRA’s dedicated simplified online portal, following the simplified registration steps. Regular non-resident registrants generally file Form RC1 by mail or fax, or register by phone, because Business Registration Online usually needs Canadian identifiers non-residents lack.

How Long Does GST/HST Registration Take and What Does It Cost?

No government fee applies to register. The real cost for non-residents is security. A non-resident without a permanent establishment that registers under the regular regime must generally post security equal to 50% of estimated net tax for the first year, between CAD 5,000 and CAD 1,000,000. On timing, you must register within 29 days of your effective date.

The security requirement is waived when estimated annual taxable sales are CAD 100,000 or less and net tax falls within CAD 3,000, per CRA registration guidance.

Are Exports and Zero-Rated Supplies Subject to GST/HST?

Zero-rated supplies are taxed at 0%, so you charge no tax but can still claim ITCs. Most exports from Canada, basic groceries, and certain international services are zero-rated. These sales still count toward the CAD 30,000 small supplier threshold. Exempt supplies are different: no tax, no ITCs, and if you make only exempt supplies you generally cannot register.

Can Non-Resident Businesses Claim Input Tax Credits?

Only regular GST/HST registrants can claim input tax credits (ITCs). Simplified-regime registrants cannot. To claim, the purchase must be for commercial use, and you need a valid supplier invoice showing the supplier’s GST/HST number. You have up to four years from the relevant reporting period to make the claim.

Do You Have to Self-Assess GST/HST on Imported Services?

Yes, in defined cases. A recipient may have to self-assess GST/HST on imported taxable services and intangibles used in Canada. Where the import supports commercial activity, an offsetting ITC usually applies under the regular regime, so the net cost is often nil. This is separate from import GST on goods, which the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) collects at the border.

Can You Use the Quick Method of Accounting?

Most non-residents cannot. The quick method of accounting lets eligible registrants remit a fixed percentage instead of tracking every ITC, and it is capped at CAD 400,000 in annual taxable supplies, per the CRA’s general information for registrants. It is generally closed to non-residents not carrying on business in Canada, and it never applies to simplified registrants, who have no ITCs to simplify.

What Are Your Filing Obligations After You Register?

After you register, you charge the correct provincial rate, file on your assigned frequency, remit on time, and keep records for six years. The CRA sets your reporting period from your taxable supplies, with an option to file more often.

What Are the Penalties for Not Registering for GST/HST in Canada?

The CRA can register you back-dated, then assess the tax you should have collected plus interest and penalties. You pay out of pocket because you usually cannot recover past tax from customers. The table lists the main penalties.

How Do You Cancel or Change a GST/HST Registration?

Request closure through the CRA My Business Account portal or by filing Form RC145, Request to Close Business Number Accounts. Closing your GST/HST account can affect other Business Number program accounts, such as payroll or import/export. Non-residents can also arrange closure by contacting the CRA directly.

How We Help With Canada GST/HST Registration

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