Last checked: 2026-09-27
US fee posts treat sales tax as the platform’s problem. For a Canadian selling a PDF, a template, or a small download, GST/HST is a separate question from who remits tax on the buyer’s purchase. This page names the CRA “most businesses” small-supplier tests from “When to register for and start charging the GST/HST”, fetched 27 September 2026. It does not reprint the threshold amount, the worked rows, or the examples. It is not tax, legal, or accounting advice. Recheck that CRA page before you register or skip registration.
For most businesses, you generally have to register if you are not a small supplier and you make taxable sales, leases, or other supplies in Canada. The CRA table for most businesses uses two clocks. You stay a small supplier while you do not exceed the threshold over four consecutive calendar quarters. Exceeding it in a single calendar quarter is not the same clock as exceeding it across four quarters. Exactly meeting the line does not exceed the threshold on that table. This page does not copy the amount.
The tests add worldwide taxable supplies, not one listing. A slow CAD $9 download still counts toward the threshold. Crossing in one busy quarter is immediate. Crossing across four quieter quarters waits until the end of the following month, then the next taxable supply. Charities and public service bodies use different tests on the same CRA page; this guide is the “most businesses” table.
Merchant-of-record platforms that collect tax on the buyer’s purchase do not replace a Canadian income-tax return, and they do not answer the small-supplier tests by themselves. Stripe Payment Links leave you as the merchant. A platform that collects GST/HST or PST as a digital platform operator is still answering the checkout question, not the registration tests. Recheck the CRA page. None of that tells you whether you personally must register.
KeepCAD 2026 is a dated fee map plus an offline GST/HST two-test worksheet. The sales page keeps one Discover versus Stripe teaser. The rest of the tape is in the zip.
Source: canada.ca, “When to register for and start charging the GST/HST” (fetched 27 September 2026). Recheck it. Not tax advice.