Filing annually or quarterly

When you register, CRA gives you a reporting period: how often you file a GST/HST return. Most small businesses with sales under $1.5 million a year are set to annual by default. You can ask CRA for quarterly or monthly instead.

Due dates

Annual filers who are sole proprietors with a December 31 year end:

• Pay what you owe by April 30.
• File the return by June 15.

Other annual filers, including corporations, file and pay three months after their year end. A corporation with a June 30 year end files and pays by September 30.

Quarterly filers: file and pay one month after each quarter ends. For the January to March quarter, that's April 30.

If a due date falls on a weekend or holiday, CRA accepts it on the next business day.

Annual or quarterly?

• Annual means one return a year. Less paperwork, but you must keep the tax aside all year, and you may have to pay instalments. See Instalments.
• Quarterly keeps the amounts smaller and gets refunds to you sooner if you often claim more than you charge.

Tell CollabNorth how you file

1. Open Settings and find Tax registrations.
2. Under How often you file GST/HST, pick once a year or every three months. Only the business owner can change it.

Tax time then shows one card per period with its due date, and the GST/HST worksheet for each.

• Annual periods follow your fiscal year. Sole proprietors always use the calendar year.
• Quarterly periods are three-month blocks of your fiscal year. With a December 31 year end, those are the calendar quarters. A corporation with a June 30 year end gets July to September, October to December, January to March and April to June.
• Monthly filers: coming later.

The CRA dates list and the CRA reminder emails still assume you file annually. If you file quarterly, the due date for each quarter is on its card in Tax time.

This is general information to help you keep your own records. It is not tax or legal advice.

Based on: CRA: GST/HST filing and payment deadlines

Last checked: 2026-10-13