Tax prep support
GST/HST return preparation support
Preparation support for GST/HST returns: tracking the small supplier threshold, calculating GST/HST payable and input tax credits, and building the return under your own CRA business number. We prepare the numbers; your business or its registered representative files under its own account.
Tax working papers
Illustrative client · August 2026
CAD
- Year-end books closed and reconciledDone
- Fixed asset and depreciation scheduleDone
- Book-to-tax adjustments listedDone
- Supporting schedules for the preparerIn progress
- Handed to the signer for review and filingNext
Illustrative. An example of the document, not a client's figures.
What this covers
We track when your business crosses the small supplier threshold, calculate GST/HST payable and input tax credits from your reconciled books, and prepare a filing-ready return package under your own CRA business number and GST/HST account.
When registration becomes mandatory
A business is a small supplier, not required to register for GST/HST, if worldwide taxable supply revenue stays at C$30,000 or less in a single calendar quarter and over the trailing four consecutive quarters. Once you exceed that threshold, CRA requires registration within 29 days of your effective date of registration, and you must charge GST/HST from that date, including on the sale that pushed you over.
Which rate applies
The federal GST rate is 5% in provinces and territories that do not use the Harmonized Sales Tax. In the five HST-participating provinces the combined rate is higher: Ontario at 13%, Nova Scotia at 14% (reduced from 15% effective April 1, 2025), and New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Island each at 15%. We apply the rate that matches where your customer receives the supply, not where your business is based.
How often you file
Filing frequency is set by annual taxable supply revenue: annual for C$1.5 million or less, quarterly for revenue over C$1.5 million up to C$6 million, and monthly above C$6 million. We build your close calendar around whichever frequency applies to your business.
Who files it
CRA has not confirmed a registration requirement specific to filing GST/HST returns on a client's behalf beyond the business's own GST/HST account, so we prepare the return package and you, or your registered representative, submit it under that account. We do not claim a filing authorization we have not confirmed exists.
Questions
Frequently asked questions: GST/HST return preparation support
How do I know if I need to register for GST/HST?
Once your worldwide taxable supplies exceed C$30,000 in a single quarter or over the trailing four quarters, you are no longer a small supplier and CRA requires registration within 29 days.
Which GST/HST rate applies to my sales?
The federal GST rate is 5% outside HST provinces. Ontario charges 13% HST, Nova Scotia 14%, and New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Island each charge 15%, applied based on where your customer receives the supply.
How often do I need to file?
Annually if your taxable supply revenue is C$1.5 million or less, quarterly between C$1.5 million and C$6 million, and monthly above C$6 million.
Does Finbryn submit the GST/HST return for me?
We prepare the return and reconcile the GST/HST accounts. Submission happens under your own CRA business number, by you or your registered representative.
What exactly is included in gST/HST return preparation support?
Input tax credit review by expense category, and provincial rate mapping for GST/HST/PST. This work runs inside QuickBooks Online or Xero, whichever your business already has in place, and it rolls into your regular monthly close rather than sitting off to the side as a separate, unreconciled process.
How do you handle different provincial rates?
We map each sale and expense to the correct GST, HST or PST treatment for the province it belongs to.
Do you file the return yourselves?
We prepare the workpapers; filing is completed by you or a registered filer using the figures we prepare.
What if our records for gST/HST return preparation support are not up to date?
If your records are behind, we scope a catch-up first so gST/HST return preparation support starts from a clean, reconciled base. That catch-up is priced and timed separately from the ongoing engagement, so you always know what each part costs.
Who reviews the work before it reaches us?
Every deliverable under gST/HST return preparation support is reviewed by a senior reviewer before it reaches you. You keep access to the underlying file at every stage, so nothing about the work happens somewhere you cannot see it.
Related services
- Tax prep supportT2 corporate tax preparation supportPreparation support for corporate income tax returns, built from year-end books for review and EFILE transmission by a registered filer.
- BookkeepingMonthly bookkeepingOngoing monthly bookkeeping: transactions sorted into categories, accounts reconciled and month-end reports delivered in the software you already use.
Industries
Next step
Talk to the team that would run your books
A short call covers your setup, your software and what a first month would look like. You get a written scope and price after it.