Guides
GST/HST Registration for a Canadian Newsletter Business: Threshold, Invoices, Records
This article covers GST/HST registration for Canadian newsletter businesses: 30,000 CAD threshold, invoice disclosure, records, penalties, Ontario, BC, Quebec rates.
What to take away
- The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) administers GST/HST and requires registration once a newsletter business exceeds 30,000 Canadian dollars in worldwide taxable supplies over four consecutive calendar quarters or in one quarter.
- Registration is not about where your newsletter is hosted; the rate is set by the subscriber's province under place of supply rules.
- Compliant invoices or receipts show your GST/HST registration number and the tax charged, or state that the tax is included.
- Missing registration can lead to an assessment for uncollected tax, interest, and penalties from the date you should have registered.
- Ontario charges 13% HST, British Columbia charges 5% GST plus 7% provincial sales tax, and Quebec charges 5% GST plus 9.975% QST.
Who has jurisdiction
The Excise Tax Act gives the Canada Revenue Agency authority over GST/HST. A newsletter business with taxable sales in Canada, including subscriptions, sponsored issues, and digital advertising, falls under that jurisdiction. The registration trigger is the small supplier threshold of 30,000 Canadian dollars in worldwide taxable supplies. Once you exceed that amount, you must register for a GST/HST account. You do not need to wait for a notice from CRA. If your supplies are under the threshold, registration is voluntary, but you must monitor your total every quarter.
Register for GST/HST?
Worldwide taxable supplies over 30,000 CAD?
Must register for GST/HST account
Registration voluntary, monitor quarterly
What a compliant disclosure contains
A GST/HST registered newsletter business must show its registration number on invoices and receipts. The disclosure can be a line such as "GST/HST Registration No. 123456789 RT0001" followed by the tax amount or "GST/HST included." For a simplified receipt, CRA permits showing the total paid and a statement that GST/HST is included. Your invoice must also identify the supply, the date, and the subscriber's province if the rate varies. For subscriber data obligations under PIPEDA, see PIPEDA and Newsletter Subscriber Data.
Invoice disclosure checklist
- GST/HST registration number
- Tax amount or 'GST/HST included'
- Identify the supply
- Invoice date
- Subscriber's province if rate varies
Records to keep
Keep invoices for all taxable sales, receipts for business expenses, and documentation to support input tax credits. CRA asks for these records during a review or audit. Six years is the standard retention period, counted from the end of the tax year to which they relate. Digital records are acceptable if they are readable and backed up. A focused method appears in tracks cash flow week to week.
Records to keep
- Invoices for all taxable sales
- Receipts for business expenses
- Documentation for input tax credits
- Digital records readable and backed up
- Retain six years from tax year end
What happens if you do not
If you should have registered and did not, CRA can register you, assess the tax you should have collected, charge interest from the date it became payable, and apply a penalty.
You may also face audit attention and a requirement to file returns for past periods. Interest compounds daily on unpaid GST/HST. The penalty is 4% of the tax owed plus a tiered penalty for repeated late filing.
Do not assume a missed registration stays hidden; CRA can match information from payment processors and advertisers. A tax failure is separate from consent failures under CASL Consent for Newsletter Publishers, but both can trigger CRA or CRTC enforcement.
Where the rules differ by province
The Canada Revenue Agency lists current rates by province. For a newsletter sale to a subscriber in a province, the rate is based on that subscriber's province under place of supply rules. A useful shorthand:
GST/HST component
- Ontario
- 13% HST
- British Columbia
- 5% GST
- Quebec
- 5% GST
Provincial component
- Ontario
- Included
- British Columbia
- 7% PST, separate
- Quebec
- 9.975% QST
Total tax on taxable sale
- Ontario
- 13%
- British Columbia
- 12%
- Quebec
- 14.975%
Quebec's QST applies on the GST-included amount, so the effective total is 14.975%. British Columbia's PST is administered by the province, not CRA, and newsletter businesses may need a separate PST account if they meet BC registration requirements. For US publishers selling into Canada, sell to Canadian subscribers explains how the same place of supply rule applies.
Example: crossing the threshold mid-year
A subscription newsletter earns steady revenue below the threshold. In August, a major sponsor prepays for a six-issue campaign, pushing the publisher's worldwide taxable supplies above 30,000 Canadian dollars in that quarter. The publisher must register before the end of the month following that quarter. That means applying for a GST/HST account and starting to charge tax on taxable sales from the effective date of registration. The sponsor invoice must include the registration number and the correct rate for the sponsor's province.
