GST/HST Quick Method Calculator

The Quick Method of Accounting is a simplified way to work out how much GST/HST you owe the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). Under the regular method you total the GST/HST you collected on sales, subtract the GST/HST you paid on purchases (your input tax credits, or ITCs), and remit the difference. The Quick Method skips almost all of that bookkeeping.

Here is the key idea: you still charge your customers the full GST/HST on every taxable sale — 13% in Ontario, 5% GST in Alberta, and so on. But instead of tracking ITCs line by line, you simply remit a flat percentage of your GST/HST-included sales. That flat rate is lower than the tax you charged, so you legally keep the difference as compensation for the input tax credits you are giving up.

The Quick Method rate is applied to your total supplies including the GST/HST you charged — not to your pre-tax revenue. That distinction is what makes the arithmetic work, and it is the single most common mistake business owners make when estimating their remittance by hand. The calculator on this page handles the tax-inclusive base automatically.

Because the flat rate already builds in an allowance for your ordinary input tax, you generally cannot also claim ITCs on your day-to-day operating expenses. You can, however, still claim ITCs on certain capital purchases such as equipment, computers and vehicles used in your business.

Suppose you run a service business in Ontario — a consultant, designer, or IT contractor. Over the fiscal year you invoice $100,000 in fees and charge Ontario HST at 13%, so you collect $13,000 in HST. Your GST/HST-included sales are therefore $113,000.

The Ontario Quick Method rate for a service business is 8.8%. The calculation runs like this:

• GST/HST-included supplies: $100,000 + $13,000 = $113,000
• Quick Method remittance: $113,000 × 8.8% = $9,944
• Less the 1% credit on the first $30,000 of eligible supplies: $30,000 × 1% = $300
• GST/HST to remit: $9,944 − $300 = $9,644

You collected $13,000 in HST from your customers but only send $9,644 to the CRA. The difference — roughly $3,356 — stays in your pocket as taxable income (you report it as revenue on your income tax return). For a service business with few taxable expenses, that is a genuine cash saving that the regular ITC method would rarely match.

The calculator reproduces this working line by line, applies the correct rate for your province and business type, and caps the 1% credit at $300 automatically.

The Quick Method rate depends on two things: the province where you make the supply, and whether you mainly sell services or goods for resale. Retailers and wholesalers who buy stock and resell it use the lower "goods" rate, because a large share of their revenue simply passes through as cost of goods. The rates below are the standard published figures for a business permanently established in the relevant province.

The calculator includes every province and both the goods and services rates, so you do not need to memorise the table — just pick your province and business type. To be eligible for the Quick Method your worldwide annual taxable supplies (including GST/HST) must be $400,000 or less in the fiscal year. Full details are in the CRA guide, RC4058 Quick Method of Accounting for GST/HST.

On top of the lower remittance rate, the Quick Method gives you a bonus: a 1% credit on your eligible supplies (including GST/HST) up to a maximum of $30,000 in each fiscal year. That works out to a credit of at most $300 per fiscal year.

The credit is applied to your first $30,000 of supplies for the year, so once your GST/HST-included revenue reaches $30,000 you have used the full $300 and it does not grow any further. In the Ontario example above, the credit reduced the remittance from $9,944 to $9,644.

The credit is available on supplies to which you apply your Quick Method rate. If you have more than one business or several branches, the $30,000 threshold and the $300 cap apply to the person as a whole, not to each business separately. The calculator applies the credit automatically and never exceeds the $300 annual cap.

The Quick Method is designed for small businesses that do not carry heavy taxable input costs. A number of professions are specifically excluded from using it, because their margins and expense profiles do not fit the model. You cannot use the Quick Method if you are one of the following (or a partnership or corporation providing these services):

• Accountants or bookkeepers
• Lawyers, notaries (or a law office)
• Financial consultants or tax consultants / tax return preparers
• Actuaries
• Listed financial institutions

There are a few other exclusions, such as charities and public-service bodies that have their own special net-tax calculations, and businesses whose taxable supplies exceed the $400,000 threshold. If you are on the excluded list, the regular ITC method (or another special method for your sector) is the route you must take. When in doubt, check RC4058 or speak to the CRA.

The right choice comes down to how much GST/HST you pay on your purchases. The two methods break even at a specific level of input tax credits, and the calculator shows you exactly where that point is for your numbers.

When the Quick Method wins: service businesses with few taxable expenses — consultants, designers, writers, trades that mostly sell labour — typically come out ahead. If you have little to claim as ITCs, keeping the spread between the tax you charge and the flat rate you remit is money in the bank.

When the regular method wins: if you buy a lot of taxable goods and services (inventory, subcontractors, materials, large equipment), your ITCs may be worth more than the Quick Method spread. Above the break-even level of ITCs shown in the calculator, the regular method leaves you with a smaller remittance.

How to elect: you join the Quick Method by filing Form GST74, Election and Revocation of an Election to Use the Quick Method of Accounting, or by electing online through your CRA My Business Account. Annual filers must elect by the first day of their second fiscal quarter; monthly and quarterly filers must elect by the due date of the return for the first reporting period the election is to cover. Once you elect, you must generally stay on the Quick Method for at least one year before revoking it.

In Québec, GST is administered by Revenu Québec rather than the CRA, and Québec also levies its own provincial sales tax, the QST. The federal Quick Method still applies to the GST side (5%), and the calculator uses the GST-only rates of 3.6% for services and 1.8% for goods for the Québec (GST) selection.

The QST has its own separate quick method of accounting, with its own rates and rules, administered by Revenu Québec. If you file both GST and QST, you would apply the federal quick method to your GST and the Québec quick method to your QST. Check Revenu Québec's guidance for the current QST quick-method rates before relying on a combined estimate.