Starting a Business in Canada: The Tax Registrations Checklist

Starting a Business in Canada: The Tax Registrations Checklist

Most tax problems trace back to a registration that should have happened earlier. Here's the full checklist for a new Canadian business — what each registration is, when it becomes necessary, and which ones can wait.

The checklist

Registration

When you need it

Where

Business number (BN)

First — everything attaches to it

CRA

GST/HST (RT)

Mandatory at $30,000 in taxable sales; voluntary earlier

CRA

Payroll (RP)

Before your first employee's first payday

CRA

Import-export (RM) + CARM

Before importing commercial goods

CRA + CBSA portal

QST

Selling to Québec past CAD $30,000

Revenu Québec

PST / RST

Selling into BC, SK, or MB (thresholds vary — some from first sale)

Each province

The one decision worth making early

Registering for GST/HST before you must lets you claim input tax credits on startup costs — often a meaningful early refund, at the price of filing every period from day one. Our voluntary registration guide runs the full cost-benefit.

Sequence matters

BN first; then the accounts as each trigger approaches — not all at once, and not after the fact. Importing without CARM or hiring without an RP account creates immediate problems; a late GST registration creates retroactive ones.

Set up once, correctly

BluTax handles the full sequence — BN, GST/HST, provincial accounts, CARM — configured right the first time, with the filings handled from your very first period.

Frequently asked questions

What tax accounts does a new business need in Canada?

A business number first, then program accounts as triggers arise: GST/HST at $30,000 (or voluntarily), payroll before hiring, import-export plus CARM before importing, and QST/PST where provincial sales require them.

Should I register for GST/HST before I have to?

Often yes — voluntary registration recovers the GST/HST on startup costs. The trade-off is filing every period from registration onward.

 

Talk to BluTax

Tell us about your business and we’ll handle the rest. Book a discovery call and we’ll confirm exactly what applies to you — no jargon, no surprises.