It's simple to get a GST or HST number in Canada. You can do it over the phone, or you can do it online if you're registered for CRA's My Business service. But no matter how you register, you’re going to have to provide some information and make some decisions up front.

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There are five things you need to have ready up front before registering for the GST/HST:

Your business number (if you have one) or your social insurance number if you don’t;
The date on which registration will begin
Your expected revenue;
The length of filing period you want;
And your fiscal yearend

Maybe that all sounds selfexplanatory, but some of it isn’t as obvious as it may seem, and the answers you give without understanding the point of the questions could set you up with a GST/HST account that frustrates you for as long as your business continues.

Your Social Insurance Number (SIN) or Business Number (BN)

You’ll need to know your Business Number or your social insurance number. Either one of these serves to establish the identity of the person or business opening the GST/HST account.
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The Date on Which You Want Your Registration to Start

GST/HST registrants have obligations with regard to invoicing, charging, and filing GST/HST returns, and those obligations begin on the registration start date.

If your revenues have already reached the $30,000 small supplier threshold, your options for registration may be limited to a certain span, maybe within a single month or within a single quarter. On the other hand, If your revenues haven't reached $30,000 yet, you can choose any start date you like.

But either way, if you have options it’s a good idea to pick a date that will make the transition simpler, like the beginning of a month, the beginning of a quarter, or January 1.

The Estimated Annual Revenue of Your Business

Your business’s annual revenue will determine how frequently you have to file GST/HST returns to report the GST/HST you've collected. CRA has different frequency requirements set for different revenue levels. Whatever your revenue, there’s a minimum filing frequency associated with it. you can choose to file more frequently than the mandated rate, but you can't file less frequently.

Filing period, or how frequently you want to file returns

Personal Tax Advisors recommends that nonincorporated individuals choose annual filing if their revenue permits it (requires revenue under $1.5M per year).

This is because it simplifies the process as we can calculate both your income tax and your GST/HST remittance at once. Plus, if you’re a sole proprietor rather than a partnership or a corporation, you actually get a nice perk here: annual extended filing.

A sole proprietor with an annual EXTENDED filing period gets a later filing deadline of June 15, the same date as a selfemployed person’s income tax return is due. That way, you can deal with all your tax filings in a single appointment, once a year.

Quarterly or More Frequent Filing: Of course you can choose to file more frequently, and quarterly (every three months) filing is CRA's default. If you don't express a preference you'll be set up with quarterly filing.

Your Fiscal Year End

Businesses can technically use any 365period as their year, starting on any day of the year, e.g. April 1 March 31. This is called the 'fiscal year.'

If you're a sole proprietor (i.e. not incorporated), usually the simplest thing is to use the calendar year as your fiscal year, because everything lines up: your personal income tax return (which is always based on the calendar year) and your GST/HST returns not to mention it's easier to keep track of in your head. So in most cases your fiscal year end will be December 31.

Registering Online, Using MyBusiness

If you already have a business number, you can set up an online account with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) which is called My Business.
Once you're set up, you can log into My Business and follow the links to open/create a GST/HST account.

If you don't have a My Business account, you can use CRA’s BRO or Business Registration Online service. Just google “Business Registration Online.”

Registering By Phone
It may seem like a throwback, but you can call CRA Business Services at 18009595525, get a live agent, tell them you want to register, and bam, You'll have your GST/HST account literally after a 10minute conversation.

Remember to have your SIN and your last filed tax return handy to authenticate your identity.