Small Suppliers

You are considered a small supplier if the total taxable supplies (including zero-rated supplies) made worldwide by you and your associates in the course of a given calendar quarter or in the four preceding calendar quarters do not exceed $30,000. Total taxable supplies do not include amounts from GST/HST and QST, financial services and sales of capital property (such as immovables or automobiles).

As a small supplier, you are not required to register for or collect the GST/HST and the QST.

A person is usually associated with another person if one person controls the other. For example, the following persons can be associated: two corporations, an individual and a corporation, or a person and a partnership or trust.

You generally stop being considered a small supplier at the end of the calendar month following the period comprised of four consecutive calendar quarters where supplies exceeded the $30,000 limit. However, if the limit is exceeded during a single quarter, you immediately stop being considered a small supplier and must collect tax on the supply that causes them to exceed the limit and on all subsequent supplies.

Note that the taxable supplies limit for public service bodies is different from the limit for small suppliers that are not public service bodies. For more information, see Details Concerning Public Service Bodies.

You can register for the GST/HST and the QST even if you are a small supplier. If you do, you will be required to collect the taxes on all taxable supplies (other than zero-rated supplies) and remit them to us.

Registering entitles you to claim input tax credits (ITCs) and input tax refunds (ITRs) in respect of purchases you made to make taxable supplies (including zero-rated supplies).

A business that carries on a commercial activity in Québec and registers for the QST must also register for the GST/HST. Once the business has registered, it must remain registered for at least one year.

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Small suppliers that must register for the GST/HST and QST

In certain situations, you may be required to register for the GST/HST and QST, regardless of the amount of your total taxable supplies (for example, if you operate a taxi business).

You may also be required to register for the QST if you make supplies of certain products, regardless of the amount of your total taxable supplies and whether you are registered for the GST/HST. This is the situation if you are a retail vendor of tobacco, a vendor of new tires or a vendor of new or used road vehicles other than road vehicles that are your capital property.

For more information about these situations, see Registering for the GST/HST and QST.