Tax · Business compliance
GST/HST filing frequency, determined.
A third, separate CRA rule from the site's other two GST/HST tools: the GST/HST calculator computes a dollar amount, and the registration threshold checker decides whether you must charge tax at all. This one decides how often you must file once you're registered.
Under $1.5M in taxable supplies: assigned annual filing (but instalments kick in if net tax is $3,000+). Up to $6M: quarterly. Above $6M: monthly, with no less-frequent option available.
Inputs
Result
Enter your threshold amount and press Calculate.
How the assignment works
CRA assigns your GST/HST reporting period from your threshold amount: total revenue from taxable supplies (including zero-rated supplies) made in Canada by you and any associated persons, in your immediately preceding fiscal year (or the last four fiscal quarters). You can always elect a more frequent period than assigned — a business under $1.5M can choose to file quarterly or monthly — but never a less frequent one.
If you're an annual filer (whether assigned or by election) and your net tax for the previous fiscal year is $3,000 or more, CRA requires quarterly instalment payments during the current year, each equal to one-quarter of that net tax, due one month after each fiscal quarter ends. Any remaining balance is settled when you file the annual return.
Sources, last verified 25 September 2026: CRA RC4022 — General Information for GST/HST Registrants, Canada.ca — Find out if you need to pay GST/HST by instalments (page dated 2025-06-20), Canada.ca — Calculate your instalment payments.
Frequently asked questions
Can I file less often than my assigned period?
No. You can only elect a more frequent period than the one your threshold amount assigns you — never less frequent. A business over $6M has no election available at all and must file monthly.
Is this the same $1.5M I'd use for anything else on this site?
No — it's a completely separate figure from the $30,000 small-supplier registration threshold and the $3,000 income tax instalment threshold. GST/HST filing frequency, GST/HST registration, and income tax instalments are three unrelated CRA tests using three unrelated numbers.
What if my branches or divisions file separately?
The $3,000 net-tax instalment threshold applies to the combined net tax of the whole business, including all branches and divisions that file separate returns — not to each branch individually.
Estimate only — not tax advice
Models the standard threshold-amount test and the $3,000 annual-filer instalment rule using the prior-year net tax figure you supply (the "current-year method" and CRA's blended no-calculation reminder amount are not modelled). Actual filing deadlines depend on your specific fiscal year-end. Confirm your exact reporting period and instalment obligation through your CRA My Business Account.