How to File a GST/HST Return in Canada: Step-by-Step
Written by Sampsa Vainio
Filing a GST/HST return means telling the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) how much GST/HST you collected on your sales, subtracting the tax you paid on business purchases, and remitting the difference. This guide walks through how to file a GST/HST return in Canada step by step: what each line on the return reports, when your return is due, how to file it online, a worked example with real numbers, and the instalment rule that surprises annual filers. It assumes you are already registered for GST/HST; if you are not, register first, because you cannot file a return without a GST/HST (RT) account.
What a GST/HST return reports
A GST/HST return is a settlement, not an income statement. It reports one number the CRA cares about: your net tax for the reporting period. Net tax is the GST/HST you were required to charge on your taxable sales, minus the input tax credits (ITCs) you can claim for the GST/HST you paid on business purchases.
The CRA calculates net tax as line 105 (tax collected plus adjustments) minus line 108 (ITCs plus adjustments). If you collected more than you paid, you remit the difference. If your ITCs were larger, which happens in a start-up year or after a big equipment purchase, you claim a refund. Either way, you file a return, and you file even in a period with no sales at all. A period with nothing to report is a nil return, and skipping it still counts as a missed filing.
When your GST/HST return is due
Your reporting period is not something you pick freely. The CRA assigns it based on your annual taxable supplies, and you can elect a more frequent period but not a less frequent one.
| Annual taxable supplies | Assigned reporting period | You may elect |
|---|---|---|
| $1,500,000 or less | Annual | Quarterly or monthly |
| More than $1,500,000 up to $6,000,000 | Quarterly | Monthly |
| More than $6,000,000 | Monthly | Not applicable |
Those thresholds come from the CRA's general information for registrants. Most sole proprietors and small suppliers land in the first row and file once a year.
The deadline then depends on the period. For monthly and quarterly filers, the filing and payment deadline is one month after the end of the reporting period. For most annual filers, it is three months after the fiscal year-end.
One exception matters for self-employed people. If you are a sole proprietor with a December 31 fiscal year-end and business income to report, your GST/HST payment is due April 30 but your return is not due until June 15. Read that split carefully: the June 15 date is the filing deadline, and the April 30 date is the payment deadline. Pay a day after April 30 and the CRA charges interest on the balance, even though your return is not late. Line up your GST/HST payment with the same April 30 date you already know from personal tax.
How to file your GST/HST return
Paper is no longer the default. Since January 1, 2024, almost all GST/HST registrants have to file electronically, with narrow exceptions for selected listed financial institutions and most charities. For a sole proprietor or small corporation, electronic filing is mandatory.
You have several electronic routes:
- GST/HST NETFILE is the CRA's online form. You do not need a CRA account to use it, but you do need the four-digit access code the CRA prints on the return or notice it sends you (you can also get one through My Business Account).
- My Business Account lets you file from inside your CRA profile, where the access code is already tied to your account.
- Represent a Client is the same, filed by your accountant or bookkeeper on your behalf.
- Your financial institution's business banking often files and pays in one step.
- Third-party accounting software certified for NETFILE can submit directly.
- GST/HST TELEFILE files by phone for eligible registrants.
Whichever route you use, the numbers you enter are the same. What changes is where the arithmetic happens: file electronically and lines like 105, 108, and 109 are calculated for you from the figures you type in.
The GST/HST return line by line
The return looks intimidating until you see that only a handful of lines do the work. Here is what each one holds, in the CRA's own instructions for preparing a return.
| Line | What goes on it |
|---|---|
| 101 | Total sales and other revenue for the period. Enter the revenue itself, not the GST/HST you charged on top of it. |
| 103 | All the GST/HST you collected or were required to collect on your sales. |
| 104 | Adjustments that increase your net tax, such as a recovered bad debt. |
| 105 | Line 103 plus line 104. Your total tax and additions. |
| 106 | Input tax credits: the GST/HST you paid on eligible business purchases. |
| 107 | Adjustments that decrease your net tax. |
| 108 | Line 106 plus line 107. Your total ITCs and deductions. |
| 109 | Net tax: line 105 minus line 108. |
| 110 | Instalment payments you already made during the year (annual filers). |
| 205 / 405 | GST/HST you self-assess, such as on a real-property purchase or imported services. |
| 114 / 115 | Your refund (114) if the balance is negative, or the amount you owe (115) if it is positive. |
Line 101 trips people up most. It is your revenue, with the GST/HST stripped out. The tax you charged belongs on line 103, not rolled into line 101.
A worked example: an annual return
Maria runs a one-person design studio in Ontario. She registered for GST/HST, files annually, and has a December 31 year-end. Here is her return for the year.
| Line | Item | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 101 | Taxable design revenue (tax excluded) | $80,000 |
| 103 | HST collected at 13% ($80,000 × 13%) | $10,400 |
| 106 / 108 | ITCs on software, supplies, a laptop, and professional fees | $1,300 |
| 109 | Net tax ($10,400 − $1,300) | $9,100 |
Maria remits $9,100. Her design work is taxed at Ontario's 13% HST because that is where her clients receive the service; the rate depends on the province of supply, not where she sits. Her ITCs came straight from the receipts she kept through the year: every business purchase that carried GST or HST reduced what she owed dollar for dollar.
Because her net tax for the year is $9,100, she is now on the hook for instalments next year. More on that below.
Regular method or the Quick Method
The example above uses the regular method: track every ITC and claim it. There is a shortcut worth knowing about.
| Regular method | Quick Method | |
|---|---|---|
| How you calculate | Tax collected minus every eligible ITC | A flat percentage of your GST/HST-included sales |
| ITCs on operating costs | Claimed in full | Not claimed (built into the rate) |
| ITCs on capital assets | Claimed | Still claimed separately |
| Extra benefit | None | 1% credit on your first $30,000 of eligible supplies each year |
| Who can use it | Any registrant | Taxable supplies of $400,000 or less (GST/HST included) |
| How to start | Default | Elect with Form GST74 |
Under the Quick Method, you remit a set percentage of your tax-included sales and keep the rest, instead of adding up ITCs on every coffee and cab fare. You cannot claim ITCs on operating expenses because the lower remittance rate already accounts for them, but you can still claim ITCs on capital purchases like a computer or a vehicle. The remittance rate depends on your province and whether you sell services or resell goods, so check the rate tables in the CRA guide before you elect. For a service business with modest expenses, the Quick Method often remits less than the regular method; for a business with heavy taxable costs, the regular method usually wins.
GST/HST instalments for annual filers
Here is the rule Maria walks into. If you file annually and your net tax is $3,000 or more in a fiscal year, you have to make equal quarterly instalment payments during the following year, rather than paying the whole amount at filing time.
Each instalment is one-quarter of your prior-year net tax, due one month after the end of each fiscal quarter. Maria's $9,100 means four payments of $2,275 next year. When she files that year's return, she reports the instalments she paid on line 110 and settles any difference. Pay each instalment in full and on time and the CRA charges no instalment interest, even if her actual net tax ends up higher.
This is separate from the income tax instalments you may already pay on your personal return. They run on different thresholds and different accounts, so do not assume one covers the other.
Common mistakes when filing a GST/HST return
- Treating June 15 as the payment date. For a self-employed annual filer, the balance is due April 30. The June 15 filing extension does not extend the payment deadline, and interest runs from May 1.
- Rolling tax into line 101. Line 101 is revenue with GST/HST removed. The tax you charged goes on line 103.
- Claiming ITCs you cannot support. An ITC needs a receipt or invoice that shows the supplier's GST/HST number and the tax paid. Keep the records the CRA requires before you claim; if the CRA asks and you cannot produce them, the ITC is disallowed.
- Skipping a nil return. A period with no sales still needs a filed return. Silence reads as a missed filing, not as "nothing owed".
How SparkReceipt helps at filing time
Every line 106 dollar starts as a receipt. SparkReceipt reads each receipt or invoice and pulls out the vendor, total, and the GST/HST breakdown, so the tax you paid is captured the moment you spend, not reconstructed in a shoebox the week before the deadline. It keeps the original image attached to each record, which is exactly what an ITC claim needs behind it.
When the return is due, you can export a tax summary filtered to the reporting period to total your ITCs for lines 106 and 108, or publish the categorized expenses to QuickBooks Online with the tax codes intact and file from there. See pricing or Get Started to try it on this year's receipts.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to file if I had no sales this period? Yes. File a nil return with zeros on the relevant lines. A registrant is expected to file every period, and a missed nil return still counts against you.
What if my ITCs are more than the GST/HST I collected? Your net tax on line 109 is negative, and you claim the difference as a refund on line 114. This is common in a start-up year or after a large equipment purchase.
Can I still file a paper return? For most registrants, no. Since January 1, 2024, electronic filing is mandatory, with exceptions only for selected listed financial institutions and most charities.
What is the difference between the filing deadline and the payment deadline? The filing deadline is when the return is due; the payment deadline is when the money is due. For a self-employed annual filer with a December 31 year-end they differ: pay by April 30, file by June 15.
Where do I get my GST/HST access code? The four-digit NETFILE access code is printed on the personalized return or notice the CRA sends you, and it is also available in My Business Account.
Key takeaways
- A GST/HST return reports one number: net tax, which is line 105 (tax collected) minus line 108 (input tax credits).
- The CRA assigns your reporting period by revenue: annual up to $1.5 million, quarterly up to $6 million, monthly above that. You can elect a more frequent period.
- A self-employed annual filer with a December 31 year-end pays by April 30 but files by June 15. The dates are not the same.
- Almost all registrants must file electronically since January 1, 2024, through GST/HST NETFILE, My Business Account, a financial institution, or certified software.
- If your net tax is $3,000 or more in a year, you make equal quarterly instalments the following year and report them on line 110.
- Every ITC you claim needs a receipt behind it that shows the supplier's GST/HST number and the tax paid.