GST20: Election for GST/HST Reporting Period
Reviewed by EverStone CPA · August 2026
Quick answer: GST20 is the election that changes how often you file GST/HST. Filing more often is always open to you. Filing less often is not — the CRA keeps you on your assigned period until you elect out of it.
What the form is
Your reporting period is assigned, not chosen. The CRA sets it from your annual taxable supplies in the previous fiscal year: $1,500,000 or less is annual, more than that up to $6,000,000 is quarterly, and above $6,000,000 is monthly. Charities are assigned annual.
Form GST20 is how you elect out of the period you were assigned. If you were assigned annual or quarterly, you can elect a more frequent period at any time.
Moving the other way is harder. If you were assigned monthly or quarterly, you can only elect a less frequent period once your taxable supplies have sat below the threshold of your assigned period for 12 months.
Who files it
Any GST/HST registrant who wants to file on a different cycle from the one the CRA assigned.
Most often it is a business regularly in a refund position electing to file monthly or quarterly, so the refunds arrive sooner instead of being held until year-end.
The form at a glance
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| $1,500,000 or less | Assigned annual |
| Over $1,500,000 up to $6,000,000 | Assigned quarterly |
| Over $6,000,000 | Assigned monthly |
| Electing more often | Available to annual and quarterly filers at any time |
| Electing less often | Only after 12 months below your assigned threshold |
What catches people out
The period does not adjust itself downward. The CRA is explicit: if your annual taxable supplies fall below the threshold of your assigned period, your reporting period will not change automatically. Without an election you keep the period you had — so a shrinking business can spend years filing monthly for no reason.
Electing to file more frequently is worth real money if you are usually claiming refunds, because input tax credits come back on each return rather than waiting for one annual filing.
The revenue figure is not simply your sales. Annual taxable supplies include zero-rated supplies and the taxable supplies of your associates, and exclude supplies made outside Canada, zero-rated exports, exempt supplies, sales of capital real property and goodwill.
A late, amended or revoked election carries a penalty of the lesser of $8,000 and $100 for each complete month from the election’s original due date to the date the request reaches the CRA in a form it finds satisfactory. The CRA will generally not process the election until it is paid.
Common questions
How do I change how often I file GST?+
Can I file less often now that my revenue has dropped?+
Why would I choose to file more often?+
What counts toward the revenue threshold?+
Where this comes from
- CRA — Make changes to your GST/HST account, reporting period
- CRA — Penalty for accepting a late, amended or revoked election
General information current as of August 2026, not advice for your situation. Elections are unforgiving about dates — confirm yours before you file. Please speak with a CPA about your circumstances.
Related reading
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