What is included in the fee for GST/HST non-resident registration?
The registration on the route that fits the business, plus the place-of-supply mapping that decides the rate on each sale and the input recovery position.
What would make GST/HST non-resident registration cost more than the standard tier?
Whether input tax recovery matters. A business with Canadian costs needs the route that permits recovery, and that route brings full compliance with it.
Is the fee really fixed?
Yes, for the scope quoted. If the scope changes — another year appears, an entity turns up, a certificate becomes necessary — we re-quote before doing the work, so there is never an invoice you have not already agreed to.
Do I need to register for GST/HST if my business is not in Canada?
Possibly, and the answer turns on what you supply and where the supply is treated as made, not on where your office is. A business with no Canadian premises and no staff in the country can still be making supplies in Canada for these purposes, which is the point most non-resident suppliers miss until a customer asks for a registration number. The first piece of work is therefore mapping what you sell, to whom, and how it reaches them. Registration follows from that analysis. It is not the starting point.
Which GST/HST rate applies when my customers are in different provinces?
The rate follows the place-of-supply rules rather than your customer's billing address alone, and those rules differ depending on whether you are supplying goods, services or something delivered electronically. The practical effect for a non-resident seller is that one product can carry different rates depending on where it is delivered or where the customer is located under the rule that applies to it. Charging a single rate across all provinces is the most common error we see, and it is expensive to unwind, because the tax you should have collected is owed whether or not you collected it.
Can a non-resident business recover GST paid on its Canadian costs?
Recovery depends on being registered, on the costs relating to your commercial activity, and — the part that surprises people — on which registration route you are on, because the routes differ in what they allow you to claim. That is why the recovery position should be worked out before you register rather than after. A business that registers on whichever route looked simplest and later finds its Canadian input tax is not recoverable has taken a decision that is awkward to reverse and costly in the meantime.
Should I register before or after my first Canadian sale?
Before, where you already know the sales are coming, because the obligation to account for tax on a supply does not wait for a registration to be processed. The risk of leaving it is that tax is owed on supplies already made while no number existed to charge it under, and the amount then comes out of your margin rather than off the customer. Where it is genuinely unclear whether your supplies fall within the Canadian net, the analysis is worth doing first, but do it before the sales start rather than after the first invoice is queried.
Does selling through a marketplace platform change my registration position?
It can, because arrangements differ in who is treated as making the supply to the end customer, and that determines who accounts for the tax on it. Read the platform agreement before assuming either way. The commercial description of the relationship and the tax treatment of it are not always the same thing, and a seller can end up registered unnecessarily, or unregistered when it should not be, depending on which it relied on. Where you sell through more than one channel the position can differ by channel, which is worth mapping once rather than answering repeatedly.
Do I charge GST/HST on services performed outside Canada for a Canadian client?
Not automatically, and not never. Where the service is performed is one input. The rules that decide where a supply is made look at a set of factors that vary by type of service, and some categories are treated quite differently from others. The answer also depends on what your customer does with the service and whether they are themselves registered. It is a mapping exercise rather than a single rule, and it is worth settling for each service line before invoices go out, because the correction afterwards falls on you rather than on the customer.
What is Part XIII withholding tax in Canada?
Part XIII is the Canadian charge on certain amounts paid to non-residents — rent, dividends, interest, royalties, pensions and similar passive income. The payer withholds and remits it, and it is a flat charge on the gross payment rather than on profit, which is why a non-resident landlord can be withheld on far more than the net rental result. Treaties reduce the rate and elective returns recover the excess. See the section 216 return.
What is the US exit tax and who actually pays it?
How much it is depends on your unrealised gains rather than on a rate, because it is the expatriation regime rather than a fee. A citizen who gives up citizenship, or a long-term permanent resident whose status ends, is tested against three conditions; meet any one and you are a covered expatriate, treated as having sold your worldwide assets the day before you left, with an exclusion for a slice of the resulting net gain — $890,000 for 2025. Deferred compensation, retirement accounts and interests in trusts are handled under separate rules rather than the deemed sale. Form 8854 reports it. See Form 8854.
