Contractor money starter pack: Canada
What the Canada Revenue Agency says about sole proprietors, the GST/HST, invoices and due dates.
Check with a tax adviser. This page is general information from official pages, not tax or legal advice, and it can't tell you what applies to your situation.
Last checked 25 Oct 2026 against the official pages linked under each line.
Reporting self-employment income
- The CRA describes self-employment income as income from a business you operate yourself as a sole proprietorship. It says to calculate and report business income using Form T2125, Statement of Business or Professional Activities.Source: Canada Revenue Agency, Sole proprietorships and partnerships · read 25 Oct 2026
- For the 2025 tax year, the CRA listed June 15, 2026 as the filing deadline if you or your spouse or common-law partner are self-employed. The deadline to pay was April 30, 2026. Check the CRA page for the next year's dates.Source: Canada Revenue Agency, Due dates and payment dates: personal income tax · read 25 Oct 2026
Business number and the GST/HST
- The CRA says an unincorporated business only needs a business number (BN) when it registers for CRA program accounts, such as a GST/HST account.Source: Canada Revenue Agency, When you need a business number (BN) · read 25 Oct 2026
- The CRA's small supplier rule: your taxable supplies do not exceed $30,000 over four consecutive calendar quarters (a single quarter over $30,000 also ends it). A small supplier may choose to register voluntarily.Source: Canada Revenue Agency, When to register for and start charging the GST/HST · read 25 Oct 2026
Invoice template
The CRA sets out what a GST/HST registrant's invoice must show, by the total amount of the sale, so the customer can claim input tax credits. Fields marked official come from that chart. The others are common practice.
| Field | Where it comes from |
|---|---|
| Invoice number | Common practice |
| Your business or trading name | Official list |
| Invoice date | Official list |
| Total amount paid or payable | Official list |
| Your GST/HST registration number | Official list (registrants, sales of $100 or more) |
| Total GST/HST charged (or a statement that the price includes it) | Official list (registrants, sales of $100 or more) |
| The buyer's name or trading name | Official list (sales of $500 or more) |
| A brief description of the services | Official list (sales of $500 or more) |
| Terms of payment | Official list (sales of $500 or more) |
| Your address and contact details | Common practice |
Source: Canada Revenue Agency, Input tax credits (information requirements chart) · read 25 Oct 2026
What this page doesn't cover
- Quebec's provincial tax and the QST (Revenu Québec)
- Provincial sales taxes
- CPP contributions on self-employment income
- Tax instalments
Check with a tax adviser. This page is general information from official pages, not tax or legal advice, and it can't tell you what applies to your situation.
How we checked this
Last checked 25 Oct 2026. We read each page below on the date shown and quote it rather than paraphrase where the wording matters. We read these pages again each January and April, and whenever one of them changes.
- Sole proprietorships and partnershipsCanada Revenue Agency · Page details: 2026-08-31 · read 25 Oct 2026
- Due dates and payment dates: personal income taxCanada Revenue Agency · Page details: 2026-09-17 · read 25 Oct 2026
- When you need a business number (BN)Canada Revenue Agency · Page details: 2026-06-30 · read 25 Oct 2026
- When to register for and start charging the GST/HSTCanada Revenue Agency · Page details: 2026-06-16 · read 25 Oct 2026
- Input tax credits (information requirements chart)Canada Revenue Agency · Page details: 2026-10-14 · read 25 Oct 2026
Official pages change: if a page says something different from this one, the official page is right.