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.

A worked example

Say you invoice $12,000 in Q1, $9,000 in Q2, $8,000 in Q3, and then a single $15,000 project lands in Q4. That $15,000 sale alone exceeds $30,000 within one quarter, so the single-quarter trigger applies: you stop being a small supplier the day that sale becomes due, must charge GST/HST on it, and have 29 days from that day to register. Contrast that with steadily earning $8,000 a quarter — you'd cross $30,000 cumulatively partway through the fourth quarter, but since no single quarter exceeded $30,000 on its own, the four-quarter trigger applies instead, giving you until the first day of the second month after that quarter to register.

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.

How to register

You can register for a GST/HST account (which uses your Business Number, or assigns you one if you don't have one yet) three ways: online through the CRA's Business Registration Online service or your My Business Account, by phone with the CRA's business enquiries line, or by mail. Registering online is generally fastest — you typically get your GST/HST number immediately, versus a wait for phone or mail applications.

Once you're registered

If you register voluntarily while under $30,000, you generally need to stay registered for at least one full year before the CRA will close your account — deregistering isn't something to switch on and off casually from month to month. When you do want to deregister, you can't do it online: you call the CRA's Business Enquiries line or file Form RC145, Request to Close Business Number Program Accounts, by mail or fax.

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.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Waiting for the CRA to notice. Registration is your responsibility to initiate — nothing prompts you automatically when you cross the threshold.
• Deregistering within the first year after voluntary registration, which the CRA generally won't process outside specific exceptions like the business fully closing.
• Confusing "revenue" with "profit." The $30,000 threshold is gross taxable revenue before expenses, not net income.
• Forgetting associated businesses count together. If you operate more than one business, or are associated with another person's business under the Excise Tax Act's rules, their revenue can count toward your threshold.

Frequently asked questions

Does income from a T4 job count toward the $30,000 threshold? No — the threshold is about your worldwide taxable supplies (sales) from your commercial activity, not employment income reported on a T4.

What if I only cross $30,000 briefly and drop back below it? Once you're required to register, you stay registered — dropping back under the threshold later doesn't undo the registration requirement or let you deregister immediately.

Can I register before I have any revenue at all? Yes — voluntary registration doesn't require you to have hit any revenue threshold; it just requires that you're engaged in a commercial activity.

Official source: CRA – When to register for and start charging the GST/HST