A lot of the stress GST/HST freelancers carry has nothing to do with the math. The part that actually keeps people up at night is a single question: do I even have to charge this?
That's the real fork in the road, and once you understand it, the rest falls into place fast. So here's the whole thing in plain language. When you have to register, when you don't, which rate goes on the invoice, and what the CRA expects to see. It's written for a solo freelancer in Canada rather than an accounting firm. If your situation is unusual, the last section tells you exactly when to call someone.
The $30,000 line that decides everything
Here's the rule that catches almost every new freelancer off guard.
If your gross revenue stays under $30,000 over four consecutive calendar quarters, the CRA treats you as a "small supplier." A small supplier doesn't have to register for GST/HST, doesn't charge it, and doesn't file GST/HST returns. You invoice your client for your work, full stop, no tax line.
The number is measured on a rolling basis rather than a tidy January-to-December calendar year. So you're watching any run of four straight quarters, and the moment your total revenue across them tops $30,000, the small-supplier shelter ends.
That $30,000 is gross, before expenses. It's also worldwide taxable revenue from your whole business, foreign clients included. People miss that and assume a year of mostly-US invoices keeps them under the line. It doesn't always.
What happens when you cross it
Cross $30,000 in a single calendar quarter and you stop being a small supplier immediately. The very sale that pushed you over is already taxable, and you have to register right away.
Cross it gradually, over four quarters rather than in one, and you get a short grace window. You stop being a small supplier at the end of the month following the quarter you went over, and you have 29 days from that date to register. After that, GST/HST belongs on every invoice you send.
Once you're registered, you collect the tax on behalf of the government, hold it, and remit it when you file. The tax was never your money. Treating it like income is the single most common cash-flow trap for newly registered freelancers, so park it somewhere separate the day it lands.
You can also register before you have to
Plenty of freelancers register voluntarily while they're still under $30,000. The reason is input tax credits. Once registered, you can claim back the GST/HST you pay on legitimate business expenses, the laptop, the software subscriptions, the co-working desk, against the tax you collect.
Whether that's worth it depends on how much you spend on taxable business costs versus how much tax you'd be collecting and remitting. If you buy a lot of gear and software, voluntary registration can put money back in your pocket. If your costs are tiny, it mostly adds paperwork. This is the first place a quick conversation with an accountant pays for itself.
Which rate? Go by your client, then read the table
For most services, the rate isn't set by where you live. It's set by where your client is.
A freelancer in Calgary invoicing a client in Toronto charges Ontario's rate rather than Alberta's. The "place of supply" rules point at the customer's province for the great majority of freelance service work. So the same designer can send two invoices the same afternoon at two different rates, and both are correct.
Here are the 2026 GST/HST rates by the client's province:
| Province | Rate | Tax |
|---|---|---|
| Ontario | 13% | HST |
| New Brunswick | 15% | HST |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 15% | HST |
| Prince Edward Island | 15% | HST |
| Nova Scotia | 14% | HST |
| Alberta, BC, Manitoba, Saskatchewan | 5% | GST |
| NWT, Nunavut, Yukon | 5% | GST |
| Quebec | 5% GST + 9.975% QST | see below |
Quebec is its own conversation
Quebec runs two taxes side by side. You charge the 5% federal GST and the 9.975% Quebec Sales Tax (QST) on top. Together they land around 14.975% effective.
QST is also administered separately, by Revenu Québec, with its own registration. If you're based in Quebec or you regularly invoice Quebec clients past the threshold, you're likely dealing with both a GST/HST account and a QST account. Most US-built invoicing tools simply don't handle QST, which is exactly why so many Quebec freelancers end up calculating it by hand.
Clients outside Canada
Services you provide to a client outside Canada are generally zero-rated, which means you charge 0% GST/HST. You still report the sale, and if you're registered you can still claim input tax credits on the expenses behind that work, but the client pays no Canadian sales tax. Worth confirming the specifics for your type of work, since a few service categories have exceptions.
What the invoice has to show
Once you're registered, a compliant invoice needs your GST/HST number on it. That's the piece freelancers forget. The CRA requires your registration number to appear so your client can claim their own input tax credits, and a client who can't claim will notice.
Beyond that: your business name, the client's name, the invoice date, a description of the work, the amount before tax, the tax shown as its own line (or lines, for Quebec), and the total. Keep the tax as a separate line every time. Burying it inside the total makes your bookkeeping and your client's harder, and it's the kind of thing that turns a five-minute remittance into an afternoon.
A quick word on PST
GST/HST and QST aren't the whole sales-tax picture. British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba run their own provincial sales taxes (PST or RST) separately from the federal system. Whether PST touches your specific service depends on the province and the type of work, and the rules are narrower and more particular than GST/HST. If you're billing clients in those three provinces, that's the second place an accountant earns their fee.
When to talk to a professional
This guide covers the shape of the rules, the part that's the same for everyone. Your situation has details that a blog post can't see: voluntary registration math, PST on a specific service, an unusual mix of foreign and domestic clients, or the quarter you're about to cross the line. A short session with an accountant or a CRA-registered tax preparer around those moments is cheap insurance, and it's a business expense.
Where Loot fits
The mechanical part, applying the right rate for each client's province, is the part software should just do for you. That's how we built Loot. GST, HST, and QST are on the invoice by default, the rate follows the client's province automatically, and your registration number sits where the CRA wants it. You're not Googling "does Manitoba charge GST or HST" in the middle of sending a bill.
Loot is Canadian, built for freelancers, and free to start, with up to five clients and unlimited invoices on the free tier. If you're leaving a tool that's getting pricier or holding your payments, here's our take on switching from Wave.
Get the registration question right first. The rest is just remembering to put the tax on a line of its own.
FAQ
Do I have to charge GST/HST as a freelancer in Canada? Only once you're registered. If your gross revenue is under $30,000 over four consecutive calendar quarters, you're a small supplier and you don't charge GST/HST at all. Cross that threshold and you have to register, then charge it on every invoice.
What GST/HST rate do I charge a client in another province? For most freelance services, the rate follows your client's province rather than your own. A freelancer in Alberta invoicing an Ontario client charges Ontario's 13% HST. In 2026 the HST provinces are Ontario (13%), Nova Scotia (14%), and New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and PEI (15%); the rest are 5% GST.
Do I charge tax to clients outside Canada? Generally no. Services to a client outside Canada are usually zero-rated, so you charge 0% GST/HST. You still report the sale and can still claim input tax credits if you're registered.
How does Quebec's QST work? In Quebec you charge 5% GST plus 9.975% QST, administered separately by Revenu Québec. That's roughly 14.975% combined, and it usually means a separate QST registration on top of your GST/HST account.
Should I register voluntarily before I hit $30,000? You can, and some freelancers do it to claim input tax credits on business expenses. It's worth it when your taxable business costs are high enough that the credits beat the added paperwork. Run the numbers with an accountant for your situation.
This article is general information and isn't tax advice. Rates and rules are current as of 2026; confirm your specific situation with the CRA, Revenu Québec, or a qualified accountant.