The Quick Method is a simplified GST/HST accounting option that lets eligible small businesses remit a flat percentage of tax-included sales instead of tracking every input tax credit.
The Quick Method simplifies GST/HST for eligible small businesses (generally under $400,000 in annual taxable supplies). Instead of tracking input tax credits on every purchase, you remit a flat percentage of your GST/HST-included sales, keeping the difference. You still charge customers the normal tax rate.
It benefits service businesses with few taxable purchases, where the flat remittance rate is less than the tax collected. It is a poor choice for businesses with significant input tax credits, since you give most of them up. The election generally binds you for at least a year, so the two approaches should be compared first.
A consultant using the Quick Method collects HST on her invoices but remits a lower flat percentage of her tax-included sales to the CRA, keeping the difference because she has few taxable expenses to claim credits on.
Our certified accounting firm handles this for businesses and individuals across Canada, at fixed fees with no surprises.
Book a Free 15-Minute CallQuick Method Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions regarding our compliance workflows and service guarantees.
Commonly Searched Quick Method Questions
The questions Canadians actually search on this topic, answered plainly. Browse every question in the Canadian tax answers directory.
Income tax is tax charged on the income you earn in a year, levied by both the federal government and your province or territory. Rates are graduated, so successive slices of taxable income are taxed at higher rates, and credits such as the basic personal amount reduce the tax calculated. Employment income is taxed through payroll withholding and settled on your T1 return. Quebec residents also file a separate provincial return with Revenu Quebec.
Canada runs three systems. The federal GST is 5% for 2026 and applies nationally. Five participating provinces fold a provincial share into one harmonised rate: 13% in Ontario, 15% in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island, and 14% in Nova Scotia since 1 April 2025. Others add their own tax to the 5% GST, giving 12% in British Columbia and Manitoba, 11% in Saskatchewan and 14.975% in Quebec. Alberta and the territories charge 5% only.
The age amount is a non-refundable credit for people who reach the qualifying age by the end of the tax year. It is reduced once net income passes a set threshold and disappears above a higher one, so it is aimed at lower-income retirees. Any portion you cannot use, because your tax is already nil, can be transferred to a spouse or common-law partner. The amount and both thresholds are indexed yearly and appear on the federal schedule.
Canada has no single payroll tax. The term covers the statutory amounts tied to employment income: federal and provincial income tax withheld at source, Canada Pension Plan or Quebec Pension Plan contributions, and Employment Insurance premiums, with Quebec Parental Insurance Plan premiums added in Quebec. Employers match CPP or QPP and pay a larger share of EI, and several provinces charge employers a separate health or payroll levy on total remuneration. Remittances go to the CRA, or to Revenu Quebec for Quebec employees.
Related Terms
Related Services
Reviewed and fact-checked by Udit Gupta
Ex Big 4 — Ernst & Young, Deloitte · International & cross-border tax specialist · CPA Canada (In-Depth Tax Program) · Chartered accountant, ICAI & MIA
Udit Gupta has over 15 years of experience helping corporations and business owners with corporate structuring, corporate tax filing, bookkeeping, payroll, GST/HST, cross-border tax and CRA representation. Big 4 trained at Ernst & Young and Deloitte, and qualified as a chartered accountant in India and again in Malaysia, he founded his accounting practice in 2014 to serve entrepreneurs, startups and non-resident business owners across Canada. View full member bio.
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India — member 521458 · Malaysian Institute of Accountants — member CA 44667 · Ex Big 4: Ernst & Young, Deloitte · CPA Canada (In-Depth Tax Program), completed 19 Dec 2023 · In-Depth GST/HST Part I, 12 Jul 2022 · Part II, 5 Jul 2023
Editorial policy. Every page is researched against primary sources — the Income Tax Act, CRA publications and CPA Canada guidance — and every rate or threshold is stated with the tax year it applies to.
Start in two minutes
Tell us what needs filing and we quote a fixed fee
Personal, corporate, sales tax, payroll or bookkeeping: describe it below and you get a fixed price to approve before anything starts.
- Fixed fee agreed before work starts
- Pay after the service
- Free 15-minute consultation
24/7 Helpline: +1 (416) 619-0068
Secure Fixed Quote
Fill details below to lock in pricing and get started today.
Our Partners Are Alumni of the World's Top Accounting and Tax Institutions
