GST/HST filing deadlines for annual filers

Are you an annual filer?

Probably. When you register, the CRA generally assigns an annual reporting period. It's the default for businesses with $1,500,000 or less in annual taxable sales, which covers nearly every Etsy shop. You can choose to file quarterly or monthly instead, through My Business Account or form GST20.

Deadlines for the 2026 year

For a fiscal year ending December 31, 2026, every date below is in 2027:

With a different fiscal year-end, the general rule applies: file and pay three months after the year ends. Quarterly and monthly filers have one month after each period.

The gap between April 30 and June 15 catches people out. The return can wait until June, but the money can't. Interest on a late payment starts after April 30 even if your return is on time. When you file in June, the April payment goes on line 110.

If a due date falls on a weekend or a public holiday the CRA recognizes, you're on time if the CRA receives it the next business day.

You have to file online

For reporting periods from 2024 on, every GST/HST registrant except charities and selected listed financial institutions has to file electronically. That's My Business Account, GST/HST NETFILE (which uses a four-digit access code) or TELEFILE.

A paper return costs $100 for the first one and $250 for each one after. The penalty applies even when the return is nil or claims a refund. For annual filers, it first applied to 2024 returns filed in 2025.

File even if you owe nothing

Once you're registered, you file a return for every period, even with no tax to remit and no sales. A slow year still needs a nil return.

Instalments once you owe $3,000 or more

If your net tax (line 109) was $3,000 or more last year and is $3,000 or more this year, you pay instalments every quarter. Each one is due one month after the end of a fiscal quarter and is usually a quarter of last year's net tax. You report what you paid on line 110 of the annual return.

Late filing and late payment

The late-filing penalty is 1% of the amount owing, plus a quarter of that 1% for each full month late, up to 12 months. Owe $1,000 and file three months late, and the penalty is $10 plus $2.50 × 3, so $17.50. There's no late-filing penalty if you owe nothing or are due a refund.

Interest on overdue amounts is the CRA's basic rate plus 4%, and the basic rate is reset every quarter. Neither the interest nor the penalties are deductible for income tax.

Fixing a mistake

Don't file a second return for the same period. Change the original through My Business Account. If you missed input tax credits, such as the GST/HST on Etsy fees, you can usually claim them on a later return's line 106 instead.