Frequently Asked Questions

You have to register for the GST/HST if:

• you provide taxable supplies in Canada; and
• you are not a small supplier

You are a small supplier and do not have to register if you meet one of the following conditions:

• you are a sole proprietor and the total amount of all revenues (before expenses) from your worldwide taxable supplies from all your businesses and those of your associates (if they were associated at the beginning of the particular calendar quarter), is $30,000 or less in any single calendar quarter and in the last four consecutive calendar quarters;
• you are a partnership or a corporation and the total amount of all revenues (before expenses) from your worldwide taxable supplies and those of your associates (if they were associated at the beginning of the particular calendar quarter), is $30,000 or less in any single calendar quarter and in the last four consecutive calendar quarters; or
• you are a public service body and the total amount of all revenues (before expenses) from your worldwide taxable supplies from all of the organization’s activities and those of your associates (if they were associated at the beginning of the particular calendar quarter), is $50,000 or less in any single calendar quarter and in the last four consecutive calendar quarters. A gross revenue threshold of $250,000 also applies to charities and public institutions. For more information, see Guide RC4082, GST/HST Information for Charities.

Before you register for a GST/HST account, you need a business number (BN). Your BN will be your business identification for all your dealings with CRA. For more information, see Booklet RC2, The Business Number and Your Canada Revenue Agency Program Accounts.

If you are incorporated, you may already have a BN and a corporate income tax account.

To set up a BN, a GST/HST account, and any other account you may need; CALL ME FIRST. 

Having a business bank account provides your new business with credibility (with both customers and potential creditors) which is especially important when you're starting a business. If some of your customers use cheques to pay your invoices it is much more professional in appearance to have them writing cheques to "Acme Corp" rather than to "John Smith", as does paying your business invoices with separate business cheques or a separate business credit card. If you want customers to be able to write cheques to your business name you need a business bank account.

Having a separate business account is also important for tax purposes. One of the easiest ways to attract attention from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is to commingle business and personal expenses and bank accounts. Keeping a separate business bank account with all of your business-related financial transactions provides a clear trail of business revenue and expenses in case you are audited by the CRA.

While it is recommended to have a separate account for both sole proprietorshipsand incorporated businesses, it is particularly important for corporations. A corporation is treated as a separate entity and as such the personal assets of the owner(s) are sheltered from potential liability.

However, in certain cases (such as gross negligence by directors or owners of the company) the courts may disregard the "separate entity" concept of a corporation and hold the directors or shareholders of a company personally liable. This is known as "piercing the corporate veil", and one of the criteria which may be used to determine this is the degree of separation between the financial activities of the owner(s) and of the business. As such, a separate business bank account for an incorporated company is a must.