How to File Your HST Return With NETFILE

GST/HST NETFILE is the CRA’s online form for filing a regular GST/HST return without signing in to a CRA account. You type in your business number, your 4-digit access code and the dates of the reporting period, fill in the return and submit it. At the end you get a 6-digit confirmation number, and that number means the CRA has accepted your return for processing.

The form takes a few minutes once you have your figures in front of you. Most of the work happens before you open it. This article walks through the whole process for a small Ontario business, with one worked return, a nil return and a look at the errors that cause trouble.

What NETFILE is and what it is not

Since reporting periods beginning in 2024, GST/HST registrants have had to file electronically, apart from charities and selected listed financial institutions. Paper returns no longer meet the rule. NETFILE is one of the ways to comply, alongside filing in your CRA business account, through a participating financial institution or with third-party software.

The CRA says NETFILE supports regular returns, and it lists the forms it covers as GST34-2, GST62 and RC7200 (the combined GST/HST and QST return). It has limits. You cannot use it to file elections, and it will not handle certain rebates. It also cannot take a payment, so paying is a separate step.

And it is not for everyone. Accounts administered by Revenu Québec are outside NETFILE. If you file with no access code at all, NETFILE is not an option, but there is a way around that, described below.

Gathering what you need first

Doing this ahead of time is the difference between a ten-minute filing and an hour of hunting for numbers. You need four things in hand.

• Your 15-character business number, which is the nine-digit number followed by the GST/HST program account letters and digits.
• Your 4-digit GST/HST access code.
• The start and end dates of the reporting period you are filing for.
• Your totals for the period: sales, GST/HST collected and the tax you paid on business purchases.

The access code is the item people lose. It stays the same for every filing period unless you change it, so a code from years ago may still work. Where to find it or replace it is covered further down.

Working out your numbers

An HST return boils down to one comparison. You add up the tax you charged customers and subtract the tax you paid on things you bought for the business. The tax you paid and can claim back is called an input tax credit, or ITC.

Ontario’s HST rate is 13%. Take a Toronto freelance designer who files quarterly and billed $42,000 in a quarter. The HST collected is 13% of $42,000, which is $5,460. Over the same quarter the designer bought $8,000 of software, equipment and services for the business, before tax. The HST on those purchases is $1,040.

The net tax is $5,460 minus $1,040, or $4,420. That is the amount to remit with the return. To check a rate quickly for a single sale, the GST/HST calculator shows the tax and the total both ways.

Now flip the numbers. A start-up in a build-out quarter bills $10,000, so HST collected is $1,300. It buys $20,000 of equipment, so ITCs are $2,600. The net is minus $1,300, which is a refund. The return is still filed on time, and a refund position is handled the same way as a payment.

Filing the return step by step

The CRA describes the online form as a sequence. It helps to know the order before you start so nothing surprises you.

First you enter your business number, your access code and the reporting period dates. Next you choose the options that apply, such as marking a nil return, asking for email notice or adding a rebate or schedule the form allows. Then you fill in the return amounts. After that the form gives you a chance to review what you entered.

Last, you tick the certification box and submit. The CRA gives you a 6-digit confirmation number immediately. Write it down or take a screenshot, because it is your proof that the CRA accepted the return for processing.

A confirmation number does not mean you have paid. Filing and paying are two actions. If your net tax is owing, make the payment through the channel you prefer. The CRA lists online, in-person and mail payment routes, and it says payment is generally due when the return is filed.

Filing a nil return

A nil return covers a period in which you had no sales and no tax to claim. The form has an option for it, and you still have to file. Skipping a period because nothing happened is a common mistake, and the CRA can charge penalties on returns it has not received.

Not every quiet period qualifies as nil, though. If you paid tax on purchases but had no sales, you may have ITCs to claim and a refund coming. That is not a nil return in the form’s sense, and it is worth entering the amounts rather than ticking the box.

Deadlines for the return

The due date depends on your reporting period. For monthly and quarterly filers, the CRA sets both the filing and payment deadline at one month after the end of the period. Someone filing for the quarter ending March 31 has until April 30.

Most annual filers must file and pay within three months of their fiscal year-end. Sole proprietors with business income get a special arrangement when their year ends December 31. Their payment is due April 30, and their return is due June 15.

If a due date lands on a Saturday, Sunday or CRA-recognized public holiday, the return or payment is on time if it arrives the next business day. That helps in months when the 30th falls on a weekend, but do not rely on it for planning.

What a late return costs

The CRA can charge penalties and interest on returns or amounts it has not received by the due date. The late-filing penalty is 1% of the amount owing, plus 25% of that 1% for each full month overdue, up to 12 months.

Work it through with the designer’s $4,420. One percent is $44.20. A quarter of that is $11.05. If the return is three full months late, the penalty is $44.20 plus three times $11.05, which is $77.35. Interest on the unpaid balance is charged on top and runs from the day the payment was due.

The CRA says it does not charge a late-filing penalty when you owe $0 or when a refund is owed. There are separate penalties for failing to file electronically when you must: $100 for the first return and $250 for later ones. And for returns filed electronically with incorrect information, the penalty is 5% of the incorrect amount plus 1% per month of the difference until it is corrected.

In some extraordinary circumstances the CRA may cancel or waive penalties and interest, through a formal request. It is not automatic, so treat it as a fallback and not a plan.

Finding or changing a lost access code

The access code appears on the paper forms the CRA mails out for GST/HST, including the electronic filing information package and the personalized return. If you cannot find it, you have options.

You can view or change it inside your CRA business account, and the CRA says that option has been available since October 2025. You can use the online access code form if you have filed a return within the last 3 years. Or you can phone 1-800-959-5525 from Canada or the United States, or 613-940-8497 collect from elsewhere, and the CRA will change it for you.

There is also a way to skip the code altogether. When you file through your CRA business account, you do not need one. That route suits owners who already sign in for other reasons, and the CRA sign-in guide covers the account basics for individuals.

Errors worth avoiding

Typing the wrong reporting period is the most frequent slip. The dates must match your assigned period exactly, since the CRA matches the return to the period on file.

Mixing gross and net figures is another. Enter sales before tax where the form asks for sales, and the tax collected in its own field. And forgetting an ITC means paying more than you owe, which is fixable but costs you time and can cost you cash while you wait for a correction.

A last point is record keeping. Each ITC needs paperwork behind it. Keep invoices that show the supplier’s name and the tax charged, since the CRA can ask to see them.

Other tax deadlines to keep beside it

An HST filing schedule often runs alongside personal and business income tax dates. A sole proprietor’s income tax return is due June 15, with any balance due April 30. Late filing of the personal return draws a penalty of 5% of the balance plus 1% per full month up to 12 months.

Because the two systems have their own rules, it helps to keep a single calendar with both. The self-employed tax calculator gives a rough sense of the income tax side, so the HST cash you hold is not confused with money that belongs to you. Related tools: the PST / QST Sales Tax calculator, plus all our tax calculators.

Sources

• CRA: Using the online GST/HST NETFILE form
• CRA: GST/HST NETFILE, before you start
• CRA: Get a GST/HST access code
• CRA: Reporting requirements and deadlines
• CRA: GST/HST filing penalties

Common questions

Last reviewed: September 29, 2026. Figures come from the official sources listed above. How we check the numbers and our editorial policy.