The HST Quick Method, explained in plain English
You still charge 13% HST. What changes is how much of it you hand back to the CRA — and for the right business, that gap is real money.
The short answer
The Quick Method is an optional way to calculate GST/HST remittances. Instead of tracking input tax credits (ITCs) on every purchase and remitting the difference between HST collected and HST paid, you remit a flat percentage of your GST/HST-included revenue — a lower rate than 13%, because it's built to approximate what you'd have remitted anyway after ITCs. You keep the spread. For a service business with few taxable expenses, that spread can be meaningful; for one with heavy taxable purchases, it usually isn't.
Who's eligible
A GST/HST registrant, including its associates combined, can elect the Quick Method only if annual worldwide taxable supplies (including GST/HST and zero-rated supplies) don't exceed $400,000 in either of two specified 4-consecutive-fiscal-quarter measurement periods out of the last five quarters. There's also a hard carve-out regardless of revenue: bookkeeping, accounting, legal, tax-consulting, and actuarial service providers are excluded from using the Quick Method at all.
The rate, if you're an Ontario service business
For a small business providing services with its permanent establishment in Ontario (where HST is 13%), the Quick Method remittance rate is 8.8% of GST/HST-included revenue from eligible supplies. You still invoice and collect 13% HST from your customers exactly as you always have — the 8.8% only determines what you send to the CRA.
On top of that, businesses using the Quick Method can claim a 1% credit on the first $30,000 of revenue from eligible supplies each fiscal year, which trims the remittance further.
The tradeoff: why this isn't free money
The reduced rate exists because Quick Method users give something up: with limited exceptions (real property, capital assets, and GST/HST payable before the election took effect), you cannot claim input tax credits on most business purchases while using the method. The CRA sets the 8.8% rate assuming you'd otherwise be claiming ITCs — so the method is a bet on how much HST you'd actually be recovering through ITCs under the regular method.
That's the whole decision, qualitatively:
- Low-expense service businesses (consultants, freelancers, agencies buying little that carries HST) tend to win — they weren't claiming many ITCs anyway, so remitting 8.8% instead of the full spread is close to pure upside.
- Expense-heavy businesses (significant equipment, materials, subcontractors, or other HST-bearing purchases) tend to lose — the ITCs they're giving up are worth more than what the lower rate saves them.
A hypothetical worked example
Say an eligible Ontario service business bills a client $100,000 before tax and collects 13% HST on top, for $113,000 in GST/HST-included revenue. Under the regular method, it would remit the full $13,000 collected, minus whatever ITCs it claims on expenses. Under the Quick Method:
| Step | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| HST collected from client | $100,000 × 13% | $13,000 |
| Quick Method remittance | $113,000 × 8.8% | $9,944 |
| 1% credit on first $30,000 of revenue | $30,000 × 1% | −$300 |
| Net remitted to CRA | $9,944 − $300 | $9,644 |
That business keeps the $3,356 gap between what it collected and what it remitted — as long as it wasn't going to claim close to that much in ITCs under the regular method. If it's buying materials, equipment, or subcontracted labour that carries HST, run both methods before assuming the Quick Method wins.
Electing it
You elect (or revoke) the Quick Method using Form GST74, or online through My Business Account or Represent a Client. Annual filers must elect by the first day of their second fiscal quarter; monthly or quarterly filers must elect by the due date of the return for the reporting period in which they start using it. Full mechanics live on the CRA's own page: Quick Method of Accounting for GST/HST.
How we handle this for clients
Whether the Quick Method is worth electing depends entirely on your specific expense mix — not a rule of thumb. We run this comparison for clients as part of ongoing bookkeeping, HST filings included, so the decision is based on your actual numbers rather than a guess. If you're not sure whether you should even be charging HST in the first place, that's worth settling first — our HST checker is a fast way to sanity-check it.
Questions
Quick answers
Is the HST Quick Method worth it?
It depends on how expense-heavy your business is. Because you give up most input tax credits under the Quick Method, it tends to favour low-expense service businesses (consulting, freelancing, agencies with few taxable purchases) and tends to lose for businesses with significant equipment, materials, or subcontractor costs carrying HST. Run the numbers both ways before electing.
Can any business use the Quick Method?
No. Bookkeeping, accounting, legal, tax-consulting, and actuarial service providers are excluded from using the Quick Method entirely, regardless of revenue. Beyond that carve-out, eligibility comes down to the $400,000 revenue threshold described above.
Do I still charge 13% HST if I use the Quick Method?
Yes — you charge and collect HST from customers at the normal rate exactly as before. The Quick Method changes what you remit to the CRA, not what you invoice. That gap between what you collect and what you remit (plus the 1% credit) is the benefit.
How do I actually elect the Quick Method?
File Form GST74, or make the election online through My Business Account or Represent a Client. Annual filers must elect by the first day of their second fiscal quarter; monthly or quarterly filers must elect by the due date of the return for the period in which they start using the method.
The fine print: this guide is general information for Canadian businesses, current as of August 16, 2026. Rates and rules change, and your situation has details a web page can't see — so before acting on anything here, confirm it against the CRA's own pages or ask us directly.
Rather just have this handled?
A 15-minute call is enough to tell you exactly where your books stand — and what it would cost to never think about this again.