GST/HST is Canada's federal value-added tax on most goods and services, collected by businesses on their sales and remitted to the CRA net of input tax credits.
The Goods and Services Tax (5%) applies across Canada; in provinces that harmonised it with their provincial tax it becomes the Harmonized Sales Tax at a single combined rate (13% in Ontario, 15% in several Atlantic provinces). Registered businesses charge it on sales, claim back the GST/HST they pay on purchases as input tax credits, and remit the difference.
Registration is mandatory once taxable revenue exceeds $30,000 over four consecutive quarters, and often worthwhile voluntarily below that to recover input tax credits. Some provinces (BC, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec) also run a separate provincial sales tax that is filed apart from GST/HST.
An Ontario business sells $10,000 of services and charges $1,300 HST. It paid $260 HST on its own expenses. It remits $1,300 − $260 = $1,040 to the CRA, keeping the difference through input tax credits.
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