HST Year-End Checklist for Ontario Businesses (2026)

Reviewed by Bader A. Chowdry, CPA, CA, LPA on November 2, 2026

An HST year end comes down to four things: the right reporting period, the right due date, every input tax credit (ITC) claimed before its window closes, and a quick method decision made before 2027 starts. For an Ontario corporation that files annually with a December 31 year end, the 2026 GST/HST return and payment are due March 31, 2027. A sole proprietor with a December 31 year end and business income pays by April 30, 2027 and files by June 15, 2027. A worked example for a Mississauga service business follows the checklist.

Do you need to be registered, and is 13% the right rate?

Ontario HST is 13%, according to the CRA’s GST/HST rates table. The rate depends on where the supply is made, so sales to customers in other provinces may carry a different rate.

If you are not yet registered, check the small supplier test before December 31. Under CRA Guide RC4022, you remain a small supplier only while worldwide taxable revenue, with associates, is $30,000 or less in a single calendar quarter and over the last four consecutive calendar quarters (excluding sales of capital property, goodwill and financial services).

• Over $30,000 in one quarter: you stop being a small supplier immediately, must charge HST on the sale that took you over, and must register within 29 days.
• Over $30,000 across four quarters (but not in one): you remain a small supplier until the end of the month after that fourth quarter, then must start charging HST and register within 29 days.

Year-end action: total 2026 taxable revenue by calendar quarter, including associated corporations. Backdating a registration by more than 30 days requires a written request to the CRA.

What is your reporting period, and when is your 2026 HST return due?

The CRA assigns a default period based on annual taxable supplies (including associates); you can elect to file more often, not less.

Annual taxable supplies	Default reporting period	Optional (by election)
$1,500,000 or less	Annual	Quarterly or monthly
More than $1,500,000 up to $6,000,000	Quarterly	Monthly
More than $6,000,000	Monthly	None

Filing deadlines, per the CRA’s reporting requirements page:

• Monthly and quarterly filers: one month after the end of the reporting period. For the October to December 2026 quarter (or the December 2026 month), the statutory date is January 31, 2027, which is a Sunday; the CRA treats a return or payment as on time if it is received the next business day, Monday, February 1, 2027.
• Annual filers (most businesses, including corporations): three months after fiscal year end. A December 31, 2026 year end means filing and payment by March 31, 2027.
• Sole proprietors: if you are an individual with a December 31 fiscal year end and business income for the year, payment is due April 30, 2027 and the return by June 15, 2027. Miss any one of those three conditions and the three-month rule applies.

Electronic filing is mandatory for almost all registrants, and a nil return is still required with no activity. The CRA rate on overdue GST/HST is 7% for October 1 to December 31, 2026, compounded daily. For the rest of your year-end calendar, including payroll, T4 and T2 dates, see our 2026–2027 year-end tax deadlines guide.

Will you have to pay HST instalments in 2027?

Annual filing does not always mean one payment a year. The CRA states that if you are an annual filer and your net tax for your previous fiscal year is $3,000 or more, you may have to make quarterly instalment payments in the current fiscal year.

Instalments are due within one month after the end of each fiscal quarter. With a December 31 year end, the 2027 instalments fall on April 30, July 31 and October 31, 2027 and January 31, 2028, each subject to the CRA’s next-business-day rule when a date lands on a weekend or holiday. Instalments are usually one quarter of the prior year’s net tax, or a lower current-year estimate if you expect net tax to drop.

Corporations can run these alongside income tax instalments; see our guide to corporate tax instalments for 2027.

Which input tax credits can you still claim, and what paperwork do you need?

Missed ITCs are recoverable, but not forever. Guide RC4022 says most registrants must claim an ITC by the due date of the return for the last reporting period that ends within four years after the end of the reporting period in which the ITC could first have been claimed.

Applied to this year end (our reading of the rule): a December year-end annual filer that missed an ITC from fiscal 2022 can still claim it on the 2026 return filed by March 31, 2027. After that, it is gone.

The window shrinks to two years for listed financial institutions and for businesses whose threshold amounts exceed $6 million in both the current and preceding fiscal year, unless they are charities or make at least 90% taxable supplies.

RC4022 sets the minimum invoice information for an ITC:

Total sale	Supplier information you need on file
Under $100	Supplier or intermediary name, invoice date, total amount paid or payable
$100 to $499.99	Plus the GST/HST charged (or that the price includes it) and the supplier’s GST/HST registration number
$500 or more	Plus your name, a brief description and the payment terms

Meals and entertainment carry a separate rule: where the income tax deduction is limited to 50%, so is the ITC. If you claimed 100% during the year, annual filers add back the excess on the same year’s return; monthly and quarterly filers do it in the first period of the next fiscal year.

Should you elect the quick method for 2027?

The quick method lets eligible businesses remit a fixed percentage of HST-included sales instead of claiming ITCs on most purchases. Under Guide RC4058, you qualify if:

• worldwide taxable supplies, including zero-rated supplies, associates and the GST/HST itself, are $400,000 or less in the first or last four of your last five fiscal quarters;
• you have been in business for the preceding 365 days (new registrants have a separate test);
• you have a permanent establishment in Canada; and
• you are not an excluded business. Exclusions include bookkeeping, financial and tax consulting, tax preparation, legal, accounting and actuarial practices, financial institutions and charities.

For a business with its permanent establishment in Ontario making Ontario supplies, RC4058 sets the remittance rate at 8.8% for most service businesses and 4.4% for businesses buying goods for resale (cost of goods for resale at least 40% of taxable supplies). You also get a 1% credit on the first $30,000 of eligible supplies each fiscal year, if the election is in effect at the start of that year.

Timing matters. The effective date must be the first day of a reporting period. Annual filers must make the election by the first day of their second fiscal quarter; with a calendar fiscal year, a quick method election effective January 1, 2027 has to be in by April 1, 2027. Monthly and quarterly filers must elect by the due date of the return for the first period they use it. You must stay in at least a year before revoking.

How do you reconcile HST before you file?

Before you file, tie the return to your books:

Step	What to check	Why it matters
1. Sales tie-out	HST collected per the general ledger equals 13% of Ontario taxable sales (and the correct rate for out-of-province sales); zero-rated and exempt sales are coded correctly	Under-collected tax is still owed
2. Return vs. ledger	Total HST collected and total ITCs on the return agree to the HST payable and receivable accounts after year-end entries	Differences invite questions
3. ITC support	Invoices meet the RC4022 information thresholds; supplier registration numbers are present on purchases of $100 or more	Unsupported ITCs can be denied
4. Restricted ITCs	Meals and entertainment limited to 50%; personal-use items removed	Excess ITCs must be added back
5. Missed ITCs	Unclaimed credits still inside the four-year window	Credits from fiscal 2022 expire with the 2026 annual return
6. Instalments	Any instalments paid during 2026 are reported on the return so they are credited	Avoids a false balance owing
7. Payment	Balance paid by the due date, not just the return filed	Interest compounds daily

For payroll, see our payroll remittance due dates guide.

What does an HST year end look like for an Ontario service business?

Consider a Mississauga marketing agency incorporated in Ontario: a December 31 year end, an annual GST/HST filer, all sales to Ontario customers. Its 2026 figures are illustrative:

Line	2026 amount	Notes
Taxable sales (before HST)	$300,000	Under $1,500,000, so annual filing is the default
HST collected at 13%	$39,000	$300,000 × 13%
ITCs claimed during the year	($6,500)	Includes $260 of HST on $2,000 of client meals, claimed at 100%
Meals adjustment (50% add-back)	$130	Annual filers adjust on the same year’s return
Net tax for 2026	$32,630	Filed and paid by March 31, 2027
2027 quarterly instalment (if required)	$8,157.50	One quarter of $32,630, since 2026 net tax is $3,000 or more
Quick method comparison for 2027	$29,532	Sales including HST of $339,000 × 8.8% = $29,832, less the 1% credit on the first $30,000 ($300); assumes the same 2027 figures

Here the quick method remits about $3,100 less because taxable expenses are low relative to sales. A business with heavy taxable costs can come out behind, and eligibility ends once HST-included sales pass $400,000. For 2027, the election must be effective January 1, 2027 and filed by April 1, 2027.

Frequently asked questions

When is the 2026 HST return due for an Ontario corporation with a December 31 year end?

If the corporation files annually, the 2026 GST/HST return and any balance owing are due three months after year end, on March 31, 2027. Quarterly filers owe the October to December 2026 return one month after the quarter; because January 31, 2027 is a Sunday, February 1, 2027 is on time.

I am a sole proprietor with a December 31 year end. When do I pay and file HST?

If you are an individual with business income for the year and a December 31 fiscal year end, the CRA gives you until April 30, 2027 to pay and June 15, 2027 to file your 2026 annual return.

How far back can I claim input tax credits I missed?

Most registrants have until the due date of the return for the last reporting period ending within four years after the period in which the credit could first have been claimed. For a December year-end annual filer, fiscal 2022 credits must go on the 2026 return filed by March 31, 2027. Some large businesses have only two years.

Can my business use the HST quick method?

Possibly, if your annual worldwide taxable supplies, including associates and the HST itself, are $400,000 or less, you have a permanent establishment in Canada, and you are not an excluded business such as an accounting, legal, bookkeeping or tax-preparation practice. In Ontario, most service businesses remit 8.8% of HST-included sales and qualifying goods resellers remit 4.4%.

Do annual HST filers ever pay during the year?

Yes. If your net tax for the previous fiscal year was $3,000 or more, you may have to make quarterly instalments, each due one month after the end of a fiscal quarter.

Official sources

• CRA: GST/HST calculator and rates by province
• CRA Guide RC4022, General Information for GST/HST Registrants
• CRA: Reporting requirements and deadlines, GST/HST return
• CRA: Find out if you need to pay GST/HST by instalments
• CRA: GST/HST instalments, when to pay
• CRA Guide RC4058, Quick Method of Accounting for GST/HST
• CRA: Prescribed interest rates, October 1 to December 31, 2026

General information only, not tax or legal advice. Figures are current as of November 2, 2026 and can change; confirm your situation with a qualified advisor before acting. Insight Accounting CPA Professional Corporation, Mississauga, Ontario.