September 18, 2026

GST/HST for Freelancers: The $30,000 Rule and What You Actually Owe

When you have to register, what you charge in each province, which expenses earn input tax credits, and how to estimate your remittance each quarter from your bank statement — before the CRA letter arrives.

GST/HST for Freelancers: The $30,000 Rule and What You Actually Owe

GST/HST is the tax most Canadian freelancers discover late. Income tax you expected. Then a client asks for your GST number, or you realize you crossed $30,000 last spring and have been under-charging ever since.

This guide covers when you must register, what to charge where, which expenses give you tax back, when returns are due, and how to estimate what you owe from the one document you already have: your bank statement.

Estimate only — not tax advice. Registration timing, filing frequency and elections like the quick method depend on your situation. Confirm with an accountant before filing.

The $30,000 rule

You are a small supplier, and do not have to register, until your taxable revenue exceeds $30,000 — measured two ways:

Over four consecutive calendar quarters. Not a calendar year: the last four quarters, whatever quarter you are in now.
In any single quarter. Cross $30,000 in one quarter and you are a registrant from that sale onward.

Once you exceed the threshold you must register within 29 days, and you have to charge GST/HST from the point you crossed it, whether or not you added it to your invoices. That is the expensive part of finding out late: the tax comes out of your own pocket on every invoice you sent without it.

Two things people miss:

You can register voluntarily below $30,000. If you buy a lot of taxable supplies — equipment, software, contractors — registering lets you claim the tax back as input tax credits. Many freelancers register on day one for exactly this reason.
The threshold is revenue, not profit. Gross client payments, before expenses.

What you charge depends on the province

The rate follows where your client is, not where you sit. For most freelancers selling to Canadian businesses, that means the client's province.

Province	Rate	Structure
Ontario	13%	HST
New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island	15%	HST
Nova Scotia	14%	HST (cut from 15% in April 2025)
Quebec	5% + 9.975%	GST plus QST, administered by Revenu Québec
British Columbia	5% + 7%	GST plus PST
Manitoba	5% + 7%	GST plus RST
Saskatchewan	5% + 6%	GST plus PST
Alberta, Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut	5%	GST only

In the HST provinces one tax covers everything. In the others, the provincial tax is a separate system with its own rules about which services are taxable; most professional services are exempt from PST in BC, for example, but not in every province. Your GST/HST return only ever deals with the GST or HST portion.

Input tax credits: the money coming back

As a registrant you get to recover the GST/HST you paid on business expenses. These input tax credits (ITCs) are the reason registration is not simply a cost.

What earns a credit:

Software, hosting, subscriptions, equipment under the capital threshold
Office supplies, courier, advertising
Professional fees, coworking rent
Business travel and the business share of phone and internet

What does not:

Insurance premiums and bank fees and interest — financial services are exempt, there is no tax in them to recover
Salaries you pay and government licences
Meals and entertainment — only 50% of the tax, mirroring the income-tax rule
Anything personal, or the personal share of a mixed expense

Your net tax for the period is simple arithmetic: GST/HST collected on income minus ITCs on expenses. Positive, you remit. Negative, you get a refund — common in a quarter when you bought a laptop.

Estimating it from your bank statement

You do not need an invoice pile to know roughly where you stand each quarter. A bank statement shows tax-inclusive amounts, and the tax inside any amount is:

amount × rate ÷ (1 + rate)

Ontario example, one quarter:

Client payments received: $11,300 → HST collected = 11,300 × 0.13 ÷ 1.13 = $1,300
Business expenses paid: $1,130 in software and supplies → ITCs = $130
One client lunch, $113 → ITC at 50% = $6.50
Bank fees, $50 → $0, exempt

Net remittance: $1,300 − $136.50 = $1,163.50. Set it aside now.

This is what Ledger AI's Business plan does automatically for Canadian users: every flagged business deposit and expense is run through your province's rate, ITC eligibility is applied by T2125 line, and the Tax Report shows collected, credits and net owing by calendar quarter, with the return's due date. If you are not registered, it tracks your trailing four-quarter revenue against the $30,000 threshold and tells you when registration becomes mandatory.

Filing periods and deadlines

New registrants with under $1.5 million in revenue default to annual filing. You can elect quarterly or monthly, and many freelancers do, because a quarterly return keeps the remittance small and the surprise out of April.

Quarterly filers: the return and payment are due one month after the quarter ends — April 30, July 31, October 31, January 31.
Annual filers who are self-employed individuals with a December 31 year-end: the return is due June 15, but the payment is due April 30.
If your net tax for the year is $3,000 or more, the CRA expects quarterly instalments the following year.

Miss a deadline and interest starts from the due date, not from when the CRA notices.

The quick method, in one paragraph

Small businesses with revenue under $400,000 can elect the quick method: instead of tracking ITCs, you remit a fixed percentage of your tax-inclusive sales (the rate depends on province and business type) and keep the rest. It can come out ahead for service businesses with few expenses, and behind for anyone buying equipment. It is an election with rules attached — this is one to run past your accountant with a year of numbers in hand, which is exactly what the quarterly estimate above gives you.

Know your number before the return is due

Upload a quarter of statements, turn on freelancer mode, set your province, and the GST/HST panel shows what you have collected, what you can claim back, and what is left to remit.

Start Business — GST/HST by quarter →

Not ready to sign up? The free converter reads your statement in the browser without uploading it, and will tell you whether it looks like a business account.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to charge GST/HST as a freelancer in Canada? Only once your taxable revenue exceeds $30,000 over four consecutive calendar quarters or in a single quarter. Below that you are a small supplier and registration is optional, though voluntary registration lets you claim input tax credits.

What happens if I passed $30,000 and did not register? You are considered a registrant from the sale that crossed the threshold, and you owe the GST/HST on everything since — even though you did not collect it. Register now, file for the missed period, and talk to an accountant about relief options.

Do I charge my province's rate or my client's? For services, generally the rate of the province where the client is located. An Ontario freelancer billing an Alberta company charges 5% GST, not 13% HST.

Can I claim GST/HST on my phone and internet? Yes, on the business-use share, and only if you are registered. If 60% of your phone is business, 60% of the tax on the bill is an input tax credit.

Is my GST/HST payment a business expense on my T2125? No. Remittances to the CRA are not Part 4 expenses. Report income net of GST/HST on the T2125 and handle the tax on the GST/HST return.

How often should a freelancer file GST/HST? Annual is the default under $1.5 million in revenue, but quarterly filing is common because it keeps each payment small and matches how most freelancers set money aside.