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GST/HST Post Assessing Review

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Transcript - GST/HST Post Assessing Review

Hello,  I’m Anthony, your host for today.

Let’s begin by acknowledging that the land on which I am located is the traditional unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg People.

The Algonquin peoples have lived on this land since time immemorial. We are grateful to have the opportunity to be present in this territory.

Given that we are meeting virtually, I also want to acknowledge the lands on which you are gathered from coast to coast and invite you to take a moment to acknowledge the territory in which you find yourself. 

Welcome to GST/HST Post Assessing Reviews.

For today, please click on the question icon in the tool bar at the top of the screen to ask a question related to GST/HST post assessing reviews. We’ll answer as many as we can during the webinar.

For any other tax-related questions, call the business enquiries line.

Let’s get started.

If you have been contacted for a post-assessing review or want to know about one of the ways CRA ensures accurate reporting, today’s webinar will be of interest.

Today, we’ll talk about:

A Post Assessing Review helps ensure proper reporting and compliance for GST/HST returns. It is not an audit nor a “books and records” review.

A GST/HST post assessing review reviews the GST/HST returns filed by registrants to make sure amounts have been reported properly. We do this by looking at amounts reported at different lines to uncover discrepancies.

For example, we may find a potential discrepancy between the sales reported and the GST/HST collected on those sales or when the amount reported as sales on your GST/HST return doesn’t match business income reported on your income tax return.

There are some common reporting errors made on GST/HST returns that may need to be adjusted. 

When entering amounts on your GST/HST return, be cautious of keying errors, such as:

In this example, the registrant’s place of business is in Ontario, which has an HST rate of 13%.

Since 13% of the sales equals $1,241.76, for our review, we would assume the registrant inadvertently switched the amounts to be reported at each line.

 In this example, the registrant’s place of business is in Ontario, which has an HST rate of 13%. 

Since $1,241.76 is 13% of $9,552.00, we would assume the registrant made a decimal point error.

In this example, the registrant did not have any ITCs to claim and entered the information for Line 109 into Line 108 in error or entered the amount paid as an ITC thinking it was a credit to their account.

We assume Line 109 is correct but rather than entering the HST of $1,241.76 and subtracting the ITCs of $700.00 to arrive at the net tax of $541.76 the registrant entered this amount on Line 105.

The amount on line 101 includes the total amount of revenue from:

When claiming ITCs, enter only the amount of GST/HST paid or payable on the value of property and services you acquired, imported or brought into a participating province for use, consumption or, upplies in the course of your commercial activities.

You can claim ITCs only for the GST/HST paid or payable on your supplies. 

You cannot claim ITCs for purchases and expenses bought or imported to make exempt supplies of property or services.

You cannot claim ITCs for taxable goods and services bought or imported for your personal use, consumption or enjoyment. 

If you are required to charge the GST/HST but did not charge it, you are still liable for the tax. You must include the GST/HST that should have been charged in the reporting period during which you should have collected the tax. 

Once you are registered, you have to charge and remit the GST/HST even if your revenue from taxable supplies is below the $30,000.00 small supplier threshold.

If you are a sole proprietor with multiple businesses, you must include the revenues from all of your businesses on your GST/HST return. 

A CRA validation officer may contact you.

If you are registered to receive correspondence in MyBA, you will receive an email notifying you to visit your MyBA account. Otherwise, you will receive a letter in the mail.

The officer may also follow up with a telephone call.

To verify that a CRA message is actually from the CRA, you should note the officer’s name and any case number available. Then contact the Business Enquiries Line at 1-800-959-5525. Or, if you have signed up for e-delivery, go to MyBA to see if a letter has been delivered there.

During the review, the CRA will ask you to provide a brief explanation to validate the amounts on your GST/HST return. 

Adjustments may be made to your GST/HST return, if required.

Remember that usually, you must keep your records for six years from the end of the year to which they relate.

This includes all sales and purchase invoices, and all other records related to your business operations and the GST/HST.

Some of the outcomes of a review may include:

The CRA does not administer businesses that are registered in the province of Québec. 

For information about GST for businesses operating in Québec, contact Revenu Québec.

Today we talked about:

Tax administration is as complex as life itself.

If the content today doesn’t quite fit your situation, please:

We’ve come to the end of our webinar. Please click on the survey icon in the tool bar at the top of the screen to fill out the evaluation form for this webinar.

Thanks for joining me today. I hope it’s been helpful. Stay tuned for more webinars in the coming months!

Goodbye.

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2025-12-05