GST/HST Quick Method: eligibility, rates & when to elect
The Quick Method is a CRA-authorised simplification for small businesses under $400,000 in annual worldwide taxable supplies. You remit a fixed percentage of your GST/HST-included sales instead of tracking input tax credits on every bill. Done right it saves admin time and tax; done wrong it costs you money.
Why the Quick Method exists
The standard GST/HST cycle requires you to track output GST/HST on every sale and input GST/HST on every business purchase, then remit the net. For a small service business with very little input GST/HST to recover, that's a lot of bookkeeping for a small number.
The Quick Method skips the ITC tracking. You charge GST/HST as normal — your customers still see 5% / 13% / 14% / 15% on their invoices — but at remittance you keep a fraction of what you collected as notional ITC recovery and remit the rest at a fixed industry-and-province-specific rate.
Eligibility
- Worldwide taxable supplies ≤ $400,000 in the current or previous four consecutive fiscal quarters (including GST/HST and zero-rated supplies, but excluding goodwill, financial services, and supplies of real property by way of sale).
- Continuously registered for at least 365 daysbefore the election takes effect (the first-year carve-out doesn't apply if you elect in your first full fiscal year).
- Not in an excluded business. Listed financial institutions, accountants, bookkeepers, financial consultants, tax preparers, tax consultants, lawyers, notaries, actuaries, and a few others are not eligible.
If your worldwide taxable supplies cross $400,000 partway through a year, you must stop using the Quick Method effective the first day of the following quarter and revert to the standard method.
The remittance rates
The Quick Method rate depends on (1) the kind of business you run (retail / wholesale, or services / manufacturing), and (2) the province in which you operate (or, more precisely, the place-of-supply for the sale). The rates published by the CRA range as follows (for sales taxed at your own province's rate; source: CRA RC4058, checked 30 September 2026):
- 5% GST (AB, BC, MB, NT, NU, SK, YT) — 1.8% (goods for resale) to 3.6% (services)
- 13% HST (ON) — 4.4% (goods for resale) to 8.8% (services)
- 15% HST (NB, NL, PE) — 5.0% (goods for resale) to 10.0% (services)
- 14% HST (NS, since 1 April 2025) — 4.7% (goods for resale) to 9.4% (services)
- Quebec (5% GST + 9.975% QST) — separate Quick Method rates apply for QST under Revenu Québec rules
Each rate is applied to your GST/HST-included supplies for the period. The CRA publishes the full table in GST/HST Memorandum 16-3-1. HelloBooks keeps the rate matrix in the product so the right Quick Method rate is available to your accountant per place-of-supply; automatic per-invoice application lands with the Quick Method return preview (roadmap).
The 1% credit on the first $30,000
Quick Method registrants get a 1 percentage point crediton the first $30,000 of eligible supplies in each fiscal year. Practically: the first $30K is remitted at one point lower than the table rate; everything after $30K reverts to the full rate.
For a service business in Ontario on the 8.8% HST Quick Method rate, the first $30K of GST/HST-included sales is remitted at 7.8% instead of 8.8% — that's up to $300 of tax savings every fiscal year, baked in.
When does the Quick Method actually save money?
Run this comparison before you elect:
- Under the standard method you would have collected and remitted the full GST/HST rate on sales, minus the GST/HST you paid on business purchases (your ITC pool).
- Under the Quick Method you remit the table rate against GST/HST-included sales (minus the 1% credit on the first $30K) and forfeit ongoing ITC recovery except on capital purchases.
Quick Method usually wins for businesses where input GST/HST is structurally small relative to revenue — pure service businesses, consultants, knowledge workers. It usually loses for retailers and any business with meaningful cost of goods sold. The historical-ledger head-to-head comparator lands with the CRA return preview (roadmap); today the same comparison can be run off your HelloBooks trial balance manually before filing GST74.
Compare both methods in your own books
HelloBooks keeps your sales, purchases and GST/HST on the ledger, so you and your accountant can compare the Quick Method with the regular method before you elect. Start free, no credit card.
The Quick Method content on this page is general guidance, not tax advice. Confirm eligibility and rates with the CRA or your accountant.
Estimate a Quick Method remittance
Try the numbers with the free Quick Method calculator (guidance only; rates from CRA guide RC4058).
Frequently asked questions
Who is eligible for the Quick Method?
You must be a GST/HST registrant with annual worldwide taxable supplies (including those of associated persons) of $400,000 or less, including GST/HST and zero-rated supplies. The election applies to the registrant's first full fiscal year. Listed financial institutions, accountants, bookkeepers, financial consultants, lawyers, and a handful of other specified services are not eligible.
How do I elect into the Quick Method?
File Form GST74, Election and Revocation of an Election to Use the Quick Method of Accounting, with the CRA. The election takes effect on the first day of a fiscal quarter and stays in place for at least one year unless you revoke it. The GST74 draft generator is on the HelloBooks roadmap alongside the CRA return preview — today you can pull your account profile fields from Settings and complete the form manually.
What is the 1% credit on the first $30,000?
Quick Method registrants get a 1% credit on the first $30,000 of eligible supplies in each fiscal year. The credit applies against the Quick Method remittance — so you remit 1 percentage point less on the first $30K of GST/HST-inclusive sales. After $30K, the remittance reverts to the full Quick Method rate for your category and province.
Can I still claim input tax credits under the Quick Method?
Only for capital purchases (property other than supplies you consume in everyday operations — typically real property and capital assets over $1,000). Day-to-day input GST/HST on rent, utilities, supplies, vehicle expenses, and operating costs is built into the Quick Method rate and you don't claim it separately. The arithmetic only works in your favor if your input tax credits would have been small relative to your output tax.
When does the Quick Method actually save money?
Service businesses with low input GST/HST (consultants, freelancers, agencies, software developers, taxi drivers, contractors with low material costs) typically come out ahead. Retailers, restaurants, and any business with significant cost of goods sold or input GST/HST recovery usually lose money on the Quick Method. The break-even depends on your industry's Quick Method rate and your actual ITC-to-revenue ratio — your accountant can run the comparison from your HelloBooks trial balance today; the in-app side-by-side comparator lands with the CRA return preview (roadmap).
What is the Special Quick Method?
Some public-service bodies (charities, certain non-profits, hospitals, municipalities, universities, schools) have a separate Special Quick Method with different remittance rates designed for their cost structure. The eligibility and elections are different from the standard Quick Method. HelloBooks captures entity type at setup so the right rate table can apply when the Quick Method return preview ships (roadmap).
More on Canadian compliance
Canada GST/HST: Rates, Registration & Place-of-Supply
5% GST, 13% / 14% / 15% HST, the $30,000 small-supplier rule, place-of-supply across provinces, and how HelloBooks routes every transaction to the right return line.
Read gst / hstGST/HST Place-of-Supply: Rate by Province for Every Sale
Goods, B2B services, B2C services, real property, intangibles — the address-based rules that decide whether you charge 5%, 13%, 14% or 15% on a cross-province sale.
Read place of supplyAuthoritative sources
Canadian tax rules change with each federal and provincial budget. Always verify the current position with the official CRA and provincial sources below before filing.
- Canada Revenue Agency — canada.ca/en/revenue-agencyFederal tax authority. Definitive guidance on GST/HST registration, rates, filing periods, and the rules for every input tax credit (ITC) claim.
- CRA — GST/HST for businessesThe main reference for charging, collecting and remitting GST/HST, including place-of-supply, zero-rated and exempt supplies, and bad debts.
- CRA — Place-of-supply rulesAuthoritative HST place-of-supply technical bulletin that decides which provincial rate (or just the 5% GST) applies to a sale.
- Government of Quebec — Revenu QuébecQuebec's tax authority. QST (Quebec Sales Tax) is administered separately from GST/HST and is filed with Revenu Québec, not the CRA.
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