GST/HST, QST, gifted products and cross-border income

Income tax is not the only tax a creator business deals with. Once revenue passes a modest threshold, Canadian creators must register for the goods and services tax and harmonized sales tax (GST/HST), and in Quebec the Quebec sales tax (QST), charge it on many sales and remit it. Free products and trips received for content raise their own tax questions, and income from foreign platforms and brands brings withholding taxes and forms. CRE-302 introduced the $30,000 small supplier threshold; this lesson explains how registration, charging, input tax credits, filing and cross-border rules actually work.

How GST/HST works

GST/HST is a value-added tax. Registered businesses charge it on their taxable sales, called supplies, and claim back the GST/HST they pay on business purchases as input tax credits (ITCs). They remit the difference to the CRA. The tax is ultimately paid by consumers and unregistered buyers; for registered businesses it is largely a pass-through. The GST is 5 % across Canada. Five provinces have harmonized their sales taxes with the GST into a single HST: Ontario at 13 %, Nova Scotia at 14 % (reduced from 15 % on April 1, 2025), and New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island at 15 %. Quebec charges the 5 % GST plus the 9.975 % QST, administered by Revenu Québec. British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba charge separate provincial sales taxes that apply mainly to goods and certain services and have their own registration rules.

When you must register

You must register for GST/HST once you are no longer a small supplier. You are a small supplier if your total revenue from worldwide taxable supplies, including zero-rated supplies and those of associated businesses, is $30,000 or less in a single calendar quarter and over the last four consecutive calendar quarters. If you exceed $30,000 in a single quarter, you become a registrant from the supply that took you over the threshold and must charge tax on it. If you exceed $30,000 over four consecutive quarters without exceeding it in one quarter, you stop being a small supplier at the end of the month after that quarter and must register within 29 days. Quebec's QST uses the same $30,000 test. You can also register voluntarily before reaching the threshold.

Charging GST/HST: place of supply and zero-rating

Once registered, you charge GST/HST at the rate of the province where the supply is made, determined by place of supply rules. For services such as sponsored content supplied to a business, the province is generally based on the recipient's business address. A creator in Alberta billing an Ontario brand therefore usually charges 13 % HST, not 5 % GST. Services supplied to non-residents who are not registered for GST/HST, such as most US brands and foreign platforms paying ad revenue share, are generally zero-rated exports: taxable at 0 %. Zero-rated sales count toward the $30,000 threshold, and you can still claim ITCs on expenses related to them. Some supplies are exempt, meaning no tax is charged and no ITCs can be claimed, but few creator activities fall into that category.

Filing and the quick method

New registrants with annual taxable supplies of $1.5 million or less are usually assigned annual reporting periods, with the return due three months after the fiscal year-end (June 15 for individuals with a December year-end and business income, though payment is due April 30). You can choose to file quarterly or monthly, which spreads payments and can improve discipline. Small businesses with taxable supplies of up to $400,000 a year can elect the quick method: instead of tracking ITCs on most expenses, they remit a set percentage of their tax-included sales. For a service business in a non-participating province such as Alberta, the remittance rate is 3.6 % of GST-included sales; rates differ for HST provinces and for businesses that buy goods for resale. ITCs can still be claimed on capital purchases. The quick method often benefits creators with few taxable expenses, but compare both methods before electing.

Forms and slips you may receive

Canadian clients do not issue tax slips for most self-employment income, so your own records are what count. Under the CRA's reporting rules for digital platform operators, which took effect for 2024, platforms that facilitate certain services or the rental of property may report sellers' income to the CRA, and the CRA receives information from other countries under similar rules. Assume the CRA can see much of your income and report everything.

Gifted products, trips and barter

The CRA has stated that influencers who receive products or services in exchange for promotion must include their fair market value in income. That includes free products, trips, event tickets, hotel stays and services given on the understanding that you will post about them. If you are a GST/HST registrant, a barter transaction can also be a taxable supply on which you owe GST/HST. Items received with no expectation of content and no obligation are harder to classify, but if the brand expects coverage, treat them as income. Items you must return, or that are used only to make the content and handed back, are not income. Keep a log recording each item, the date, its fair market value and what you posted.

Cross-border income

Canadian residents are taxed on worldwide income, so US and other foreign income must be reported, converted to Canadian dollars. Foreign platforms and brands may withhold tax at source. Google, for example, asks creators to submit US tax information through AdSense; non-US creators who do not submit it can face withholding of up to 24 % of total earnings, while a Canadian who submits Form W-8BEN claiming benefits under the Canada–US tax treaty pays withholding only at the treaty rate on earnings from US viewers, which for many creators is low or zero. Brands in other countries rarely withhold on fees for services performed in Canada, but some countries do. Foreign tax withheld can usually be claimed as a foreign tax credit on your Canadian return. If you perform services in the US, such as appearing at an event, US withholding can apply to that income unless a treaty exemption is claimed in advance.

Paying non-residents can create obligations too. If you pay a US editor for work done in the US, no Canadian withholding usually applies. If you pay a non-resident for services performed in Canada, Regulation 105 may require you to withhold 15 % and remit it to the CRA. Payments to non-residents for rights to use content, such as royalties, may require Part XIII withholding of 25 %, often reduced by treaty. Seek advice before making such payments.

Keep sales tax records with the same care as income tax records: copies of invoices showing tax charged, receipts showing tax paid for ITC claims, and working papers for each return.