You don’t have to wait until you hit CA$30,000. Registering early can help — or hurt — depending entirely on who you sell to.
Last updated: June 2026
Any business can register for GST/HST voluntarily, even as a "small supplier" under CA$30,000, as long as you’re carrying on a commercial activity. Once registered, the same rules apply as mandatory registration — you charge GST/HST on taxable sales and file returns on your assigned reporting period, and you lose the "small supplier" exemption going forward.
The decision usually comes down to whether your customers can claim back the tax you charge them. If they’re GST/HST-registered businesses, the tax is essentially neutral to them — they claim an Input Tax Credit on their own return. If your customers are consumers, they can’t reclaim it, and the tax becomes a real added cost unless you absorb it into your pricing.
Yes, as long as the CRA is satisfied you’re genuinely carrying on or about to carry on a commercial activity.
Yes, generally after being registered for at least one year, you can apply to have your registration cancelled if you qualify as a small supplier again, subject to CRA rules.
Often positively — some larger clients and procurement processes prefer or require a GST/HST-registered supplier.
Online registration through the CRA’s Business Registration Online service is typically processed quickly, often within the same session or a few business days.
It depends on your sector and reclaimable Input Tax Credits — see our dedicated Quick Method guide for the trade-offs, which apply to voluntary registrants the same as mandatory ones.
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