How to Fill Out and File Your Canada GST/HST Return (GST34)

To file your GST/HST return, total the tax you collected on sales and the tax you paid on business purchases, enter those amounts on the numbered lines of Form GST34-2 (or Form GST62 if the CRA didn’t send you a personalized return), and submit it electronically through My Business Account, GST/HST NETFILE, or a participating financial institution by your reporting-period deadline. Electronic filing is now mandatory for almost every registrant; paper filing triggers a penalty unless you’re a charity or a selected listed financial institution. You still file a return for every reporting period even if you had no sales — that’s called a nil return, and skipping it can hold up income tax refunds and bring on penalties.¹

What to Have Ready Before You Start

Pull together two sets of numbers for the reporting period. First, your total revenue and the GST/HST you actually charged customers. Total revenue means all supplies of property and services, including zero-rated and exempt ones, without any GST, HST, or provincial sales tax added in. Second, the GST/HST you paid on business purchases. That amount becomes your input tax credits (ITCs), which offset the tax you collected.

ITC Documentation by Purchase Size

The CRA’s documentation rules tighten as the receipt gets bigger, and missing a required detail can get a credit denied in an audit.²

Under $30: supplier’s name or trade name, the invoice date (or the date tax became payable if there’s no invoice), and the total amount paid.
$30 to $149.99: everything above, plus the supplier’s GST/HST registration number and either the tax amount or a statement that tax is included.
$150 and over: everything above, plus your business name, the payment terms, and a description of each supply detailed enough to identify it.

Keep all supporting records for at least six years from the end of the calendar year they relate to.³

Filling In the Return Line by Line

On the personalized Form GST34-2, your business number, company name, reporting period, and due date are already printed. On Form GST62, you write those details in yourself. Electronic filers enter the same information in the online form, and several lines calculate automatically.⁴

Revenue and Tax Collected (Lines 101 to 105)

Line 101 is your total revenue for the period. Do not include GST, HST, or provincial sales tax in this figure.

Line 103 is the GST/HST you collected or were entitled to collect on your taxable supplies. Line 104 covers adjustments that increase your net tax. Line 105 is the total of 103 and 104. On an electronic return, Line 105 calculates for you; on paper, add the two lines yourself.⁴

Input Tax Credits and Adjustments (Lines 106 to 108)

Line 106 is where you claim your ITCs. Enter the total for the period, including eligible credits you missed on earlier returns as long as the time limit for claiming them hasn’t expired. Line 107 captures adjustments that decrease your net tax, such as credits for bad debts or, if you use the quick method, your 1% credit on the first $30,000 of eligible supplies. Line 108 totals Lines 106 and 107.⁴

Net Tax, Instalments, and Rebates (Lines 109 to 113)

Line 109 is the heart of the return: subtract Line 108 from Line 105. A positive result means you owe the CRA. A negative result means the CRA owes you a refund; on paper returns, mark that with a minus sign in the box to the left.

Line 110 records any quarterly instalment payments you already made during the year. If you’re an individual with business income and a December 31 fiscal year-end, you likely remitted your net tax by April 30; add that remittance to any instalments and enter the total here. Line 111 is for rebates. The final balance owing or refund flows from these calculations.⁴

If You Use the Quick Method

If your annual worldwide taxable supplies (including those of any associates) are $400,000 or less over four consecutive fiscal quarters, you can elect the quick method of accounting instead of tracking every ITC individually.⁵ Under this method, you apply a flat remittance rate to your tax-included revenue. The rate depends on whether your business mainly sells goods for resale or provides services, and on the province where your permanent establishment is located.⁶

You also get a 1% credit on the first $30,000 of eligible supplies (tax included) each fiscal year, entered on Line 107. The trade-off: you cannot claim ITCs on most operating expenses, only on capital purchases like vehicles, computers, and equipment for which you’d claim capital cost allowance.⁴

Submitting the Return

For reporting periods ending in 2024 and later, electronic filing is mandatory for all registrants except charities and selected listed financial institutions. Filing on paper when you’re required to file electronically triggers a penalty.¹

The most common route is through My Business Account, the CRA’s secure business portal. Once logged in, select your GST/HST account and complete the return directly, with no access code needed. If an accountant or bookkeeper files for you, they use the Represent a Client portal with their own CRA credentials.⁷

You can also use the GST/HST NETFILE form outside a CRA account, but this method requires a four-digit access code. The code appears on your personalized return if you receive one by mail, or you can view it in My Business Account. Representatives filing through Represent a Client cannot see your access code.⁷ Some businesses file electronically through a participating financial institution using Electronic Data Interchange (EDI).⁸

If you’re a charity or SLFI still permitted to file on paper, mail Form GST34-2 or GST62 to the address printed on your return. Most paper filers can also submit at a participating financial institution in person.⁹

Paying What You Owe

If Line 109 (net of instalments and rebates) shows a balance owing, you need to remit it by your filing deadline. The CRA accepts several payment methods:

Online banking. Add the CRA as a payee through your bank or credit union and pay from your account.¹⁰
My Payment. The CRA’s online service accepts Visa Debit and Debit Mastercard for one-time payments. Credit cards are not accepted through this service.¹¹
Pre-authorized debit. Set up a scheduled withdrawal through your CRA account and pick the date.¹²
At your bank or credit union. Pay at the counter with a remittance voucher so the teller can apply the payment correctly. Photocopied vouchers are not accepted.¹³

Deadlines

Your deadline depends on how frequently the CRA requires you to report.

Monthly or quarterly filers: return and payment are due one month after the end of the reporting period.¹
Annual filers with a non-December fiscal year-end (or no business income): return and payment are due three months after your fiscal year-end.¹
Individuals with business income and a December 31 year-end: the return is due June 15, but payment is due April 30. Miss April 30 and interest starts running even though the return itself isn’t late yet.⁴

If You File Late

File late with a balance owing and the CRA charges a penalty of 1% of the unpaid amount, plus one-quarter of that 1% for each complete month the return is overdue, up to a maximum of 12 months: 1% + (0.25% × number of complete months late).¹⁴ On $10,000 owing six months late, that works out to $250: $100 base plus $25 for each of the six months.

Interest runs on top of the penalty at a prescribed rate that changes quarterly. For Q2 2026 (April through June), the rate on overdue GST/HST is 7%.¹⁵ Interest compounds daily. The CRA can also impose additional civil penalties for failing to file after receiving a demand, making false statements, or failing to collect tax you were required to charge.¹⁶

Fixing a Return After You File

If you spot an error after submitting, don’t file a new return. Use the CRA’s adjustment process. The fastest route is online: sign in to My Business Account (or Represent a Client), select your GST/HST account, choose “Adjust a return,” pick the reporting period, and enter the corrected line amounts. To do it by mail, send a signed letter to your tax centre that includes your business number and RT extension, the reporting period being corrected, the revised amounts for each affected line, and a contact person’s name and phone number.¹⁷

1
Canada Revenue Agency. Reporting Requirements and Deadlines – File Your GST/HST Return
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Canada Revenue Agency. Documentary Requirements for Claiming Input Tax Credits
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Department of Justice Canada. Excise Tax Act
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Canada Revenue Agency. Instructions for Preparing a GST/HST Return
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Canada.ca. Calculate the Net GST/HST
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Canada.ca. Quick Method of Accounting for GST/HST
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Canada Revenue Agency. Get a GST/HST Access Code
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Canada Revenue Agency. How to File – File Your GST/HST Return
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Canada Revenue Agency. By Mail – File Your GST/HST Return
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Canada Revenue Agency. Make a Payment – Payments to the CRA
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Canada Revenue Agency. Payments to the CRA
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Canada Revenue Agency. Pay by Scheduled Pre-Authorized Debit (PAD) Through the CRA
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Canada Revenue Agency. Pay at the Counter (Teller) at a Bank or Credit Union
14
Justice Canada. Excise Tax Act – Section 280.1
15
Government of Canada. Interest Rates for the Second Calendar Quarter
16
Canada.ca. Penalties and Interest
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Canada Revenue Agency. After You File – File Your GST/HST Return