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Do I Need a GST/HST Number as a Freelancer?

The mandatory threshold

You must register for a GST/HST number once your worldwide taxable revenue (before expenses, and including any associated businesses) crosses $30,000 — either all at once within a single calendar quarter, or gradually over four consecutive calendar quarters. The two triggers work differently:

  • Single-quarter trigger: you stop being a small supplier immediately, on the day of the sale that pushed you over $30,000. That same sale needs GST/HST charged on it, and you have 29 days from that day to register.
  • Four-quarter trigger: if your revenue crosses $30,000 cumulatively without exceeding it in any single quarter, you remain a small supplier until the end of the month following that quarter. Your registration deadline is effectively the first day of the second month after the quarter you crossed in, and GST/HST charging only starts once you're registered — not retroactively to when you crossed.

Below the threshold: small supplier status

Under $30,000, you're a "small supplier" and registration is optional. Not registering means you don't charge GST/HST on your invoices, which can make you marginally cheaper for individual clients who can't claim it back — but it also means you can't claim input tax credits (ITCs) to recover the GST/HST you pay on your own business expenses.

Should you register voluntarily?

Voluntary registration tends to make sense when:

  • Most of your clients are GST/HST-registered businesses themselves — they can claim back whatever you charge them, so it generally costs them nothing net for ordinary business-to-business work, while you gain the ability to claim ITCs.
  • You have meaningful business expenses (equipment, software subscriptions, a home office) where reclaiming the GST/HST paid adds up.

It tends to make less sense when your clients are mostly individuals or non-registered small businesses who feel the extra tax directly, with no offsetting ITC benefit for you.

Once you're registered

If you register voluntarily while under $30,000, you generally need to stay registered for at least one year before you can deregister — it's not something to switch on and off casually from month to month.

Whichever way you land on this decision, once you're registered our tools handle the actual tax calculation either direction — charging it forward on an invoice, or pulling it back out of a tax-included total.