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GST/HST for digital economy businesses

Platform-based short-term accommodation threshold amounts

New rules for digital economy businesses are in effect as of July 1, 2021.

Your duty to register generally depends on if your threshold amount of applicable revenues exceeds $30,000 CAD over any 12-month period beginning on or after that date.

This applies to suppliers of taxable supplies of short-term accommodation in Canada or accommodation platform operators that facilitate such supplies through their accommodation platform.

Also, generally, under the normal GST/HST, a supplier of taxable supplies of short-term accommodation that makes more than $30,000 in taxable supplies over a 12-month period continues to be required to register under the normal GST/HST. This includes any supplies of short-term accommodation in Canada made through an accommodation platform operator.

Calculating your threshold amount

Your threshold amount of applicable revenues exceeds $30,000 CAD over any 12-month period beginning on or after July 1, 2021.

Your threshold amount is equal to the total of all your revenues for a period that are, or that could reasonably be expected to be, from:

  • taxable supplies of short-term accommodation in Canada that are made during the 12-month period through your accommodation platform, and made by suppliers who are not registered under the normal GST/HST to recipients who are not registered under the normal GST/HST
  • taxable supplies of services that you make during the period to persons who are not registered under the normal GST/HST in connection with supplies of short-term accommodation in Canada that are made to them, and for which you charge a booking fee, administration fee or other similar charge (Canadian accommodation related supplies)

If your threshold amount is more than $30,000 CAD on or after July 1, 2021:

If your threshold amount is $30,000 CAD or less on July 1, 2021, you are not required to register for the simplified or the normal GST/HST on that date under this measure.

Make sure to regularly recalculate your threshold amount to determine whether it is more than $30,000 CAD in a 12-month period. If it is, you may have to register for the GST/HST.

Example

Example – Registration threshold amount of accommodation platform operator exceeded on or after July 1, 2021

An accommodation platform operator that is not currently registered for the GST/HST operates an accommodation platform through which non-registered suppliers make supplies of accommodation to customers around the world, including taxable supplies of short-term accommodation in Canada.

The total revenues of the non-registered suppliers from these supplies of short-term accommodation in Canada are $500,000,000 CAD for the 12-month period preceding July 1, 2021. The total revenues of the accommodation platform operator from Canadian accommodation related supplies in connection with the supplies of short-term accommodation are $20,000,000 CAD for the 12-month period preceding July 1, 2021.

Based on its past and projected revenues, the threshold amount of the accommodation platform operator is therefore $520,000,000 CAD on July 1, 2021. Since the threshold amount of the platform operator exceeds $30,000 CAD on July 1, 2021, the platform operator is required to be registered on that day and is required to apply for registration on that day.

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