GST/HST on Invoices — When and How to Charge It

GST/HST is one of the most common invoicing mistakes new freelancers make in Canada — either charging it without being registered, or forgetting to charge it once they should be, or applying provincial tax to a service that's actually exempt.

Do you need to register?

You must register for a GST/HST number once your worldwide taxable revenue (before expenses) exceeds $30,000 over four consecutive calendar quarters. You also stop being a small supplier the moment you exceed $30,000 within a single calendar quarter — that trigger is immediate, and doesn't wait for the four-quarter total to catch up. Below those thresholds, you're a "small supplier" and registration is optional — you can register voluntarily even under $30,000 if you want to claim input tax credits (a refund of the GST/HST you pay on your own business purchases) on your own business expenses. See our Do I need a GST/HST number? guide for the full decision tree.

What rate applies

The rate depends on your client's province, not yours, for most services. Provinces fall into three groups, and the group determines how many tax lines your invoice needs:

GST only (5%)

One tax line at 5%: Alberta, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Yukon.

GST plus a separate provincial tax

Two separate tax lines on the invoice — the federal GST at 5%, plus the provincial tax, when the provincial tax actually applies to what you're selling (see the caveat below):

• British Columbia — GST 5% + PST 7%
• Manitoba — GST 5% + PST 7%
• Saskatchewan — GST 5% + PST 6%
• Quebec — GST 5% + QST 9.975%

HST (a single combined rate)

One tax line at the combined rate:

• New Brunswick — 15%
• Newfoundland and Labrador — 15%
• Nova Scotia — 14%
• Ontario — 13%
• Prince Edward Island — 15%

For the same rates with the combined totals worked out (BC 12%, Quebec 14.975%), see our GST/HST/PST rates by province guide.

PST doesn't apply to every service — check before you charge it

Unlike GST/HST, which applies broadly, provincial sales tax in BC, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan applies only to specific, enumerated categories of services — not to professional services in general. In British Columbia, for example, most independent consulting, writing, design, and software-development work is currently PST-exempt, while software, SaaS, telecommunication services, and (as of a change taking effect October 1, 2026) accounting, architectural, engineering/geoscience, security, and non-residential real-estate services are taxable. If you're not sure whether your specific service is taxable in your province, check that province's own sales-tax publications before defaulting to "charge it anyway" — charging PST you shouldn't have collected creates its own remittance and refund headache.

How to show it on the invoice

Once registered, show GST/HST as its own line — never bundle it into your rate. In the GST + PST/QST provinces above, that means two distinct tax lines, not one merged figure, and only for the taxes that actually apply to the specific goods or services on that invoice. Your invoice should also display your GST/HST number once you have one; clients (especially larger companies) often won't process payment without it visible on the invoice itself, since they need it to claim their own input tax credit — see our how to invoice guide for the exact documentary thresholds.

Because the right rate depends on both your registration status and your client's province, calculating it by hand invoice after invoice is where errors creep in — a tool that looks up the correct provincial rate for you removes that whole category of mistake, while still letting you toggle off a tax that doesn't apply to a particular sale.

Filing and remitting what you collect

Once registered, you file a GST/HST return and remit what you collected (minus any input tax credits you're claiming) on a schedule based on your revenue: annually if your taxable supplies are $1.5 million or less (the default for nearly every freelancer), quarterly between $1.5 million and $6 million, and monthly above that — though you can elect a more frequent period voluntarily even under $1.5 million. For an individual sole proprietor on the default annual cycle with a calendar tax year, the GST/HST filing deadline mirrors your income tax deadline: file by June 15, but pay any amount owing by April 30.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Charging GST/HST before you're registered. You cannot charge it just because you expect to cross $30,000 soon — only once you're actually registered.
• Applying PST to an exempt service. Especially in BC, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan — check whether your specific service is on the taxable list before adding the line.
• Using your own province's rate for every client. The applicable rate follows the client's province (technically, the place of supply), not yours.
• Missing the annual filing deadline because it's easy to conflate with the income-tax deadline and forget it's a separate return.

Frequently asked questions

Do I charge GST/HST if my client is a business, not an individual? Yes — registration status and place of supply determine whether tax applies, not whether the client is a business or a person.

What if I sell both PST-taxable and PST-exempt work to the same BC client on one invoice? Show them as separate line items with PST applied only to the taxable ones — don't average or apply PST to the whole invoice.

Do I need to charge GST/HST on expenses I pass through to a client (e.g., a licence fee I paid on their behalf)? Generally yes, if you're re-billing it as part of your taxable supply — but reimbursements handled correctly as a disbursement can differ; when in doubt, treat it as part of your invoice total.

Official sources: CRA – Charge and collect the GST/HST · Reporting requirements and deadlines – File your GST/HST return · Province of BC – PST expansion on professional services, effective October 1, 2026