There is no worldwide GST-registration number. The threshold depends on the country, the type of organisation, the kind of sales you make and the period used to measure taxable turnover. Australia generally uses A$75,000, Canada uses a $30,000 small-supplier test across four consecutive calendar quarters, and the United Kingdom uses a £90,000 VAT threshold. Those figures are not interchangeable: identify your jurisdiction and entity first, then calculate the correct turnover and registration date.
Start with the jurisdiction, not the number
“GST registration threshold” is a useful search phrase, but it does not describe one global rule. Australia calls its consumption tax GST, Canada applies GST or the combined GST/HST depending on place of supply, and the United Kingdom uses VAT rather than GST. Each tax authority defines taxable turnover differently and sets its own effective dates, filing duties and exceptions.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
The figures in this guide are the current official thresholds described by Australian Government, Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and GOV.UK guidance accessed on 13 October 2026. Rules can change, and provincial, territorial or cross-border facts can alter the result. Use the section for your country and confirm the current position with the relevant tax authority before charging tax or filing a registration.
Quick wins for a faster PC:
Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →What counts toward a registration threshold?
These tests normally use business turnover, not your personal income, salary or net profit. Turnover is generally the value of relevant sales before subtracting wages, rent, materials and other expenses. The exact definition matters more than the headline number.
#1 Best Overall
- Identify the measurement window. Australia tests both a current 12-month period and a projected 12-month period. Canada generally tests four consecutive calendar quarters. The United Kingdom uses both a previous-12-month test and a forward 30-day test.
- Separate taxable and excluded amounts. Exempt, input-taxed, personal-asset or otherwise excluded transactions may not count, while ordinary taxable sales usually do.
- Check where the supply is connected. Sales outside the country, exports, imported services and digital supplies can have special rules.
- Check the entity and activity. Non-profits, charities, public institutions, passenger transport operators and other special categories may have a different test or an obligation regardless of turnover.
Keep a monthly turnover schedule showing the amounts included, excluded and the reason for each exclusion. That record lets you demonstrate when you became aware that registration was required.
Australia: GST registration thresholds and timing
General threshold
Australian businesses must register for GST when their GST turnover is A$75,000 or more. The threshold for non-profit organisations is A$150,000. The test concerns GST turnover, not profit. A new business should register if it expects its GST turnover to reach A$75,000 in its first year.
Businesses that must register below the threshold
Two important activities trigger registration regardless of turnover:
What’s actually slowing this PC down?
Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.
- Providing passenger travel by taxi or limousine, including ride-sourcing services.
- Seeking fuel tax credits.
Non-resident businesses can face additional rules, particularly where they make supplies connected with Australia. A non-resident should not assume that the A$75,000 test answers every GST question.
Current and projected turnover tests
Australian guidance describes two calculations:
- Current GST turnover: the current month plus the preceding 11 months.
- Projected GST turnover: the current month plus the following 11 months.
You must consider both tests. A business may be below the previous-12-month figure but still have to register because contracts or expected sales mean the projected amount will exceed A$75,000.
Amounts that may be excluded
The Australian “working out your GST turnover” guidance lists exclusions including GST already included in sale prices, certain non-taxable payments, sales of personal assets, input-taxed sales and income not connected with Australia. Apply the exclusion only when the transaction fits the guidance; do not remove an ordinary taxable sale merely because it has a low margin or produced no profit.
Registration deadline and voluntary registration
Once you become aware that turnover will go over the threshold, register within 21 days. The obligation is tied to when you know the threshold will be exceeded, not simply to the date you later receive payment.
PC Slower Than It Used to Be?
A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11Crashes, No Sound, or Screen Glitches?
Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteRegistration below A$75,000 is optional for a business that is not in a compulsory category. Voluntary registration is a real tax election, not a label with no consequences. A registered business generally must:
- Include GST in the price of most taxable goods and services it sells.
- Claim eligible GST credits for business purchases.
- Lodge activity statements and pay any net GST due by the applicable deadlines.
Before registering voluntarily, model the effect on customer prices, bookkeeping, invoices, cash flow and the time needed to prepare activity statements. The ability to claim credits can be valuable, but collecting GST creates obligations even in a low-turnover year.
Canada: the $30,000 small-supplier test
Ordinary small-supplier threshold
For most Canadian businesses, the CRA small-supplier threshold is $30,000 measured over four consecutive calendar quarters. The test is based on taxable supplies made in Canada, subject to the CRA’s detailed rules. It is not a single annual tax-year allowance that resets whenever you choose a fiscal year.
Crossing $30,000 in one calendar quarter
If you exceed $30,000 in a single calendar quarter, you stop being a small supplier on the supply that takes you over the limit. GST/HST must be charged on that crossing supply and on subsequent taxable supplies. This rule can make the invoice that pushes turnover from $29,900 to $30,100 the point at which collection begins.
Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
Crossing the limit over several quarters
If you exceed $30,000 over the previous four or fewer consecutive calendar quarters but do not exceed it in one quarter, you generally cease to qualify as a small supplier at the end of the month following the quarter in which the threshold was crossed. Charging starts on the effective registration date. The CRA guidance gives a 29-day registration deadline from the effective date in its examples and instructions, so do not wait for a later return period before applying.
Voluntary registration
A business that remains a small supplier may register voluntarily if it makes taxable supplies in Canada. The effective date is usually the date requested and may be up to 30 days earlier, subject to CRA processing and the facts of the application. Voluntary registrants can generally claim eligible input tax credits, but they must charge and account for GST/HST, file returns and maintain supporting records. The CRA says a voluntary registrant may need to remain registered for at least one year before cancelling.
Information needed to register
The CRA registration process requires business and owner details, addresses, the business type and a description of the major business activity. The CRA provides online and alternative registration routes. Have the legal name, operating names, contact information, business-number details (if already issued), start dates and expected taxable sales ready so the account is opened with the correct effective date.
Canada’s special entity tests
The $30,000 rule is not universal. Charities, public institutions and other public service bodies have distinct tests. CRA guidance refers to a $50,000 taxable-supplies threshold and, for certain charity or public-institution cases, a $250,000 gross-revenue test. A charity or public body should identify its exact category and apply that category’s calculation rather than copying the ordinary business rule. The legal form alone may not answer the question; the organisation’s activities and supplies matter.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsUnited Kingdom comparison: VAT, not GST
The UK comparison is useful only if it is kept separate from GST rules. UK businesses register for VAT when taxable turnover for the last 12 months goes over £90,000. They must also register when they realise that taxable turnover will exceed £90,000 in the next 30 days.
Retrospective 12-month test
When the previous-12-month taxable-turnover test is exceeded, GOV.UK says to apply within 30 days after the end of the month in which the threshold was exceeded. Registration is effective on the first day of the second month after the threshold was exceeded.
Prospective 30-day test
When you know taxable turnover will exceed £90,000 in the following 30 days, the effective date is the date you realised it would cross the threshold. That can be earlier than the date on which the sales are actually completed. Do not describe £90,000 as a GST threshold: it is the UK VAT threshold and applies under UK VAT rules.
Rank #4
Side-by-side threshold and timing comparison
| Jurisdiction | General threshold | Measurement | When charging begins | Registration timing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | A$75,000 for businesses; A$150,000 for non-profit organisations | Current month plus previous 11 months, or current month plus following 11 months | Under the applicable Australian effective date; compulsory categories can apply regardless of turnover | Within 21 days of becoming aware turnover will exceed the threshold |
| Canada | $30,000 for most businesses | Four consecutive calendar quarters | On the supply that exceeds $30,000 in one quarter; otherwise generally on the effective registration date after the quarter-based test | CRA guidance uses a 29-day deadline from the effective date in its examples and instructions |
| United Kingdom (VAT) | £90,000 taxable turnover | Previous 12 months or expected next 30 days | First day of the second month after a retrospective breach, or the date the prospective breach is realised | Apply within 30 days after the month of a retrospective breach; prospective registration follows the realisation date |
The currencies, tests and tax systems are different. A conversion into another currency does not create a common international threshold.
Recommended Free Tools
A practical decision process for a small business
- Locate the tax jurisdiction. Identify where the business is established and where its supplies are connected. Note any provincial, territorial, state or non-resident rules.
- Classify the entity and activity. Record whether you are a standard business, non-profit, charity, public institution, passenger-transport operator or another special category.
- Define taxable turnover. Start with gross business sales, then apply the local authority’s exclusions for exempt, input-taxed, personal-asset, non-taxable or foreign-connected amounts.
- Run the correct time test. Use Australia’s current and projected 12-month tests, Canada’s consecutive-quarter test, or the UK’s 12-month and 30-day tests.
- Pinpoint the trigger date. Record the transaction, forecast or month that caused the duty to arise. In Canada, determine whether the $30,000 was exceeded in one quarter or across several.
- Apply before the deadline. Submit the registration with the effective date required by the authority, not merely the date convenient for your bookkeeping.
- Change your billing and records. Update invoices, contracts, price displays, accounting codes and payment terms so tax is collected only from the correct effective date.
- Plan the first return. Set aside collected tax, track input or GST credits, retain invoices and schedule the required activity statements or GST/HST/VAT returns.
Common mistakes and how to correct them
Using profit instead of turnover
A loss-making business can still exceed a registration threshold. Recalculate using relevant sales before expenses and document exclusions separately.
Applying an annual test to a non-annual rule
Canada’s four consecutive calendar quarters and Australia’s rolling 12-month windows do not necessarily match a financial year. Rebuild the calculation using the prescribed periods.
Charging tax before the effective date
Do not add GST, HST or VAT to invoices merely because registration is pending. Determine the legally effective date, correct invoices issued in error and obtain professional advice if customers have already paid the wrong amount.
Missing a special category
Australian taxi, limousine and ride-sourcing operators, and businesses seeking fuel tax credits, can have compulsory registration regardless of turnover. Canadian charities and public institutions have separate tests. Check the activity rules before relying on the general threshold.
Ignoring voluntary-registration costs
Voluntary registration can permit credit claims, but it also creates collection, return-filing, record-keeping and possible minimum-registration-period obligations. Compare the expected credits with the administrative cost and customer impact.
Records to keep
- A rolling turnover worksheet showing the applicable period and every included or excluded amount.
- Contracts, invoices, receipts and evidence of when a supply was made.
- Forecasts, signed orders and other evidence supporting the date you expected to cross a threshold.
- Registration confirmations and correspondence showing the effective date.
- Tax collected, eligible input or GST credits and filed-return calculations.
- Documents supporting special treatment for exports, exempt or input-taxed sales, non-resident supplies and special entity categories.
When the business has multiple entities, cross-border customers, mixed taxable and exempt sales or an unusual structure, a qualified local tax professional can help map each supply to the correct rule.
Bottom line for choosing the right rule
Use the threshold only after answering six questions: Which country and subnational jurisdiction applies? What is the entity or activity type? Which sales count as taxable or locally connected? What measurement window does the authority require? On what date did or will the obligation begin? What collection, return and credit duties follow registration? Those answers—not a generic GST number—determine whether and when a small business must register.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
The Tool Desk
Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →
