Small supplier
A small supplier is a business whose worldwide taxable supplies stay at or below $30,000 over four consecutive calendar quarters, and which is therefore not required to register for GST/QST.
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Key facts
| Category | GST, QST & HST |
|---|---|
| Tested over | Worldwide taxable supplies in the four preceding calendar quarters |
| Effect | No obligation to register, charge, or file — and no input tax credits |
| Exceeding it | Registration required; the obligation can begin immediately on the exceeding supply |
| Never applies to | Taxi and ride-share operators, and non-resident performers |
| Authority | Canada Revenue Agency; Revenu Québec |
What it means in practice
The $30,000 test looks at revenue over the last four consecutive calendar quarters, not at a calendar year. Exceeding it in a single quarter ends small-supplier status immediately; exceeding it across four quarters ends it at the start of the second month after. Small-supplier status is optional, not mandatory. Registering voluntarily lets you claim input tax credits and refunds on the tax you pay on business purchases, which is often worth more than the administrative cost — particularly for a business with significant startup spending or mostly commercial customers. Taxi and ride-share drivers must register regardless of revenue.
The threshold is a rolling test, not a calendar one
The test looks back over the four preceding calendar quarters, so it can be crossed in the middle of a year by a business whose annual revenue looks modest. A single large contract can take a business over on its own. What happens next depends on how it was crossed. Exceeding the threshold within a single quarter ends small supplier status immediately, and the supply that crossed it is itself taxable. Exceeding it across four quarters gives a short transition period before registration is required. The expensive version of this mistake is discovering it a year later: the tax was never charged to customers, but it is still owed, and it comes out of the business's margin along with interest.
FAQ
Should I register voluntarily before I have to?
Do my associated companies count toward the threshold?
Need this applied to your situation?
A definition only gets you so far. Talk to a Montréal CPA about what this means for your return — in English or French.