Ontario freelancers: the HST C$30,000 threshold

Ontario changes the rate, not the ordinary threshold

The ordinary small-supplier limit is a federal GST/HST rule. For most businesses, CRA asks whether worldwide taxable supplies exceed C$30,000 under either of two fixed-calendar-quarter tests. Being based in Ontario does not create a second provincial threshold.

Ontario matters when the applicable place-of-supply rules point to Ontario. CRA's current rate table assigns 13% HST to a supply made in Ontario. Do not apply 13% merely because the freelancer works from Ontario; determine the place of each supply from the customer's facts and the applicable rule.

Run both C$30,000 tests

A calendar quarter is one of the fixed periods beginning January 1, April 1, July 1, or October 1. The test is not a rolling 90-day period and it is not simply annual net income. Use gross revenue before expenses from the worldwide taxable supplies that the rules require, including applicable associates.

Exactly C$30,000 does not exceed the limit. Keep the underlying classifications visible because an unresolved export, exempt supply, capital-property sale, financial service, or associate can change the result.

A single-quarter crossing can affect the crossing invoice

If countable supplies exceed C$30,000 inside one calendar quarter, CRA says small-supplier status ends on the supply that caused the excess. The effective registration date is no later than that supply, and applicable GST/HST starts on that supply rather than only on the next invoice.

Register within 29 days of the effective date. The rate still depends on the crossing supply itself. A valid zero-rated export remains taxed at 0%; an ordinary taxable service made in Ontario is generally taxed at 13%.

A completed-quarter crossing usually leaves one following month

When no single quarter exceeds C$30,000 but the previous four or fewer consecutive quarters do, CRA says small-supplier status ends at the end of the month following the quarter in which the total exceeded the limit.

The effective registration date is no later than the first supply made after small-supplier status ends. Identify that supply before invoicing: its date, recipient, place of supply, and classification are all needed to decide the correct treatment.

An Ontario customer address can point to 13% HST

For ordinary services, CRA says one of three general rules usually determines the province, unless a specific rule applies. Under the first general rule, if the supplier obtains one Canadian home or business address for the recipient in the normal course of business, that province is the place of supply. If more than one address is obtained, use the one most closely connected with the supply.

CRA's own example uses a Québec supplier designing a website for an Ontario company. Because the recipient's business address obtained by the supplier is in Ontario, the place of supply is Ontario and HST applies at the Ontario rate. Advisory and consulting services are usually governed by the general service rules, but real property, goods, personal services, events, transportation, telecommunications, and other special categories can override them.

• Keep the customer's legal name and the Canadian address obtained in the ordinary course of business.
• Record which address is most closely connected when more than one address exists.
• Do not use the supplier's home province as an automatic rate selector.
• Pause when a specific place-of-supply rule may apply.

US and other foreign-client revenue can still count

CRA tells a sole proprietor to include revenue before expenses from worldwide taxable supplies across all businesses and applicable associates. Taxable supplies include zero-rated supplies. A foreign customer or a 0% invoice can therefore move the C$30,000 total even when no tax is shown.

Foreign-client services are not automatically zero-rated. CRA says certain services to non-residents may qualify, subject to conditions and exclusions. Keep the contract, recipient identity, residence and registration evidence where relevant, service description, Canadian connections, and the conclusion used. If the facts are unresolved, keep the amount visible as a separate sensitivity rather than quietly excluding it.

Worked Ontario example

Assume an Ontario sole proprietor has classified the following gross amounts as taxable or zero-rated supplies and has converted foreign invoices to Canadian dollars. No individual quarter exceeds C$30,000.

What the example means for the next invoice

Because the C$30,500 crossing occurs across completed quarters rather than within one quarter, the ordinary rule ends small-supplier status on April 30, 2026—the end of the month following Q1. If the first later supply is made May 4, the effective registration date is no later than May 4 and the registration application is due within 29 days of that date.

If that May 4 supply is an ordinary taxable service and the recipient's relevant business address is in Ontario, 13% HST generally applies. If it is a properly supported zero-rated service to a non-resident, the rate may remain 0%. The threshold result establishes timing; it does not replace the transaction-level rate analysis.