Canada Revenue Agency
www.cra.gc.ca
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Public service bodies that are small suppliers
Public service bodies include charities, non-profit organizations, municipalities, universities, public colleges, school authorities, and hospital authorities.
You are a small supplier if the total taxable revenues from all the activities of the organization are $50,000 or less in the last four consecutive calendar quarters and in any single calendar quarter. A gross revenue threshold also applies to charities and public institutions. For more information, see Guide RC4082, GST/HST Information for Charities.
Total taxable revenues means your worldwide revenues from your supplies of goods and services subject to GST/HST (or that would be subject to GST/HST if supplied in Canada) including supplies that are zero-rated (taxable at the rate of 0%). However, it does not include revenues from supplies of goodwill, financial services, and sales of capital property. You also have to include the total taxable revenues of all your associates in this calculation.
Deregistering (closing) your GST/HST account
You may decide to deregister (close) your GST/HST account if the amount of your total taxable revenues falls below the Small supplier limit calculation for public service bodies or the Small supplier limit calculation for charities and public institutions. If this is the case, you must have been registered for at least one full year before we will close your account.
If your public service body meets certain criteria, it may be able to apply using Form GST31, Application by a Public Service Body to have Branches or Divisions Designated as Eligible Small Supplier Divisions to have any qualifying branch or division designated as a small supplier division. A small supplier division does not have to collect or remit tax on supplies made through that branch or division. It cannot claim input tax credits for its purchases. The branch or division will remain a small supplier division if its taxable sales and revenues do not exceed $50,000 over the previous four consecutive calendar quarters or in the current calendar quarter.
You may be holding property that was for consumption, use, or supply in your commercial activities when you close your account (cease to be a registrant). We consider that just before you close your account you have disposed of each property (see Capital property held at time of closing a GST/HST account for the specific rules applying to capital property) for an amount equal to its Basic tax content and you have collected GST/HST on that amount. You have to remit this GST/HST on your final GST/HST return.
