GST/HST and PST, filed from your books
Finvo prepares GST/HST returns for small businesses in BC and Alberta, and BC PST returns, from the books we keep each month. We help you register when you pass the $30,000 small-supplier limit, claim your input tax credits, and catch up on late returns. Filing is part of the business full suite, from $99 a month.
Who has to register
Alberta charges 5% GST only. BC charges 5% GST and a separate 7% PST, each with its own registration.
Over $30,000 of taxable sales
Once your taxable sales, before expenses, go over $30,000 in one calendar quarter or over the last four quarters, you are no longer a small supplier. You start charging GST/HST and register within 29 days.
Rideshare and taxi drivers
The CRA treats a self-employed rideshare driver as a taxi business, so you register and charge GST/HST from your first paid trip. Food and parcel delivery drivers follow the normal $30,000 test.
BC PST
In BC you generally register before your first taxable sale if you sell or lease taxable goods, provide software, or repair or install goods. Small sellers with $10,000 or less of sales may not need to. Alberta has no PST.
Under $30,000 you can still register voluntarily, to claim back the GST you pay on start-up costs. Whether it's worth it depends mostly on who your customers are.
How often you file
The CRA assigns your GST/HST reporting period from your annual taxable sales.
- AnnualTaxable sales of $1.5 million or less. You can choose to file more often.Due 3 months after your fiscal year-end. Sole proprietors with a 31 December year-end pay by 30 April and file by 15 June.
- QuarterlyOver $1.5 million up to $6 million.Due one month after each quarter.
- MonthlyOver $6 million.Due one month after each month.
File every period, even when you had no sales (a nil return), and file electronically. The GST you collect isn't yours: you hold it in trust for the CRA until you send it in, and you keep records for six years. Annual filers may also have to pay instalments once their net tax passes a set amount.
Your sales tax, from the books up
GST/HST is easiest when it is tracked every month, not pieced together at filing time.
- Registration helpWe look at your sales by quarter and tell you whether and when to register, and can register your account through our registrations service.
- Tax coded as we goEach sale records the GST/HST (and BC PST) you charged; each purchase records the GST/HST you paid.
- Input tax creditsThe GST/HST on your business costs is claimed from the purchases in your books.
- Reconciled to the booksThe return is built from reconciled monthly books, so the figures match your statements.
- Filed once you approveWe prepare each return on your schedule and send it for your approval before filing.
- BC PST returnsReported to the province on its own schedule, separately from GST.
A CRA letter about GST?
The CRA can review the input tax credits you claim, and GST/HST is audited separately from income tax. Send us the letter and we'll tell you what it asks for and what we'd do next.
Behind on GST filings? Start here.
A late return with a balance owing can be charged a penalty of 1% of the amount owing, plus a quarter of that for each full month late, up to 12 months, plus interest. The sooner the outstanding periods are filed, the sooner that stops growing.
We find out which periods are outstanding, bring the books up to date for them, and prepare the returns in the right order. See CRA penalties and interest for how the charges work.
Catch-up work is quoted separately, once we've seen how many periods there are and what records you have.
See what's outstanding
With your CRA authorization we see which periods are open and what the CRA has on file.
Bring the books up to date
Each month is recorded and reconciled to its statements, as in our bookkeeping catch-up.
File the late returns
Each return is prepared from the finished books and sent for your approval before filing.
Stay current
You move onto monthly books and returns on your schedule, so it doesn't build up again.
Part of the business full suite
GST/HST filing comes with bookkeeping, payroll and year-end files for one monthly price. Your price depends on your transactions, accounts and employees.
From
$99 /month
Prices in Canadian dollars, before GST. Catch-up work and corporate or personal tax returns are quoted separately.
- GST/HST filing
- Monthly bookkeeping and bank reconciliation
- Monthly profit and loss and balance sheet
- Payroll, with T4 and T4A slips
- Help with CRA letters, as needed
- Year-end files prepared
GST/HST and PST, answered
Do I have to register for GST/HST?
You have to register once your taxable sales, before expenses, go over $30,000 in a single calendar quarter or over the last four calendar quarters. You then register within 29 days of the day you started charging GST/HST. Below that you are a small supplier and registering is optional. Rideshare and taxi drivers register from their first fare.
How often do I file GST/HST returns?
The CRA assigns a reporting period from your annual taxable sales. With $1.5 million or less you file once a year, due 3 months after your fiscal year-end, and you can choose to file more often. Over $1.5 million up to $6 million you file quarterly, and over $6 million monthly, each due one month after the period. You file every period, even with no sales.
What are input tax credits?
Input tax credits are how a GST/HST registrant claims back the GST/HST it pays on business costs. Your return is the GST/HST you collected minus your input tax credits; the difference is what you owe or get back. BC PST works differently: there are no PST input tax credits, so PST on what you use in your business is a cost.
I'm behind on my GST returns. What happens now?
A late return with a balance owing can be charged a penalty of 1% of the amount owing, plus a quarter of that for each full month late, up to 12 months, plus interest. We look at which periods are outstanding, bring the books up to date for them, and prepare the returns in the right order for your approval. Catch-up work is quoted separately.
Do I need to register for BC PST?
In BC you generally register before your first taxable sale if you sell or lease taxable goods, provide software, repair or install goods, or provide legal or telecom services. Small sellers with $10,000 or less of sales may not need to. PST is a separate registration with the province. Alberta has no PST.
Sources, checked 28 Oct 2026. The facts on this page come from our GST/HST and PST guides, checked against these pages on that date. Rules have exceptions and can change. This page is general information, not legal or tax advice for your situation.
CRA, When to register for and start charging the GST/HST (canada.ca): the $30,000 small-supplier test, the 29 days, taxi and rideshare.
CRA, Reporting requirements and deadlines and GST/HST filing penalties (canada.ca): reporting periods, due dates, nil returns, electronic filing and the late-filing penalty.
CRA, Charge and collect the GST/HST (canada.ca): GST held in trust and records.
Government of BC, Register to collect PST and Bulletin PST 003, Small Sellers (gov.bc.ca).
Let's sort out your GST
Book a free 15-minute call by video or phone. Tell us roughly what you sell, whether you're registered, and which returns are outstanding, and we'll explain what we'd do and what it would cost.
15-minute calls on weekdays, 9 to 11 am and 1 to 4 pm Pacific (10 am to 12 pm and 2 to 5 pm Mountain), except holidays.
Open times vary from day to day; the next call is usually within 1 to 2 business days. The calendar shows what is open when you book.
Tell us your preferred office on the call. The calendar shows Pacific time; in Edmonton it is one hour later than shown.
Call (236) 300-3322Email contact@finvo.caMon–Fri, 9 am – 5 pm PT/MT5.0 on Google · 92 reviews