Registration is voluntary if your annual revenues from taxable goods and services are less than a specified threshold. The threshold for charities and non-profits is $50,000; for all other organizations the threshold is $30,000.
Organizations with annual revenues from taxable goods and services above these thresholds must register for the GST, except charities with less than $250,000 per year in total revenues, which can opt not to register.
A registered organization must charge GST on any taxable goods and services it provides, regardless of the amount of revenues received from such activities.

Paying GST

Most housing providers pay GST on purchases of taxable goods and services. You may be able to recover all or part of this GST through input tax credits (ITCs) or rebates. However, some groups or organizations, such as provincial and territorial governments and Indian bands, do not always pay GST on their purchases.

Recovering GST

There are two mechanisms for recovering the GST: claiming input tax credits and claiming rebates. Generally, input tax credits can be claimed for the GST paid on costs related to providing taxable goods and services. Only organizations registered for the GST can claim input tax credits.

When input tax credits cannot be claimed, qualifying organizations can claim rebates of the GST they pay. An organization does not have to be registered for the GST in order to claim rebates. If you are not registered, you can only claim rebates annually or semi-annually. If registered, you can file rebate claims monthly or quarterly so you can recover the GST you paid more quickly.

See chapter two of the GST guide for more on input tax credits and rebates.

You cannot register for the GST if you do not provide any taxable goods and services. For example, if you only provide residential accommodation for periods of a month or more, you cannot register, as this service is GST exempt. Conversely, if you are registered because you previously provided taxable goods and services, and anticipate doing so again in future, you are not required to de-register.

See page 15 in chapter one of the GST Guide for Social Housing Providers for more information on registering for GST.

Back to the questions