GST NETFILE: filing your GST/HST return online, screen by screen

What is GST NETFILE?

GST NETFILE is a web form on canada.ca that sends a GST/HST return straight to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). The official name is GST/HST NETFILE, and it is the same form whether your business charges 5% GST in Alberta or 13% to 15% HST in Ontario and the Atlantic provinces. There is no separate HST NETFILE service.

The form is built for registrants who do not want to, or cannot, sign in to a CRA business account. Instead of a user ID and password, the "GST NETFILE login" is simply your account number, the period you are reporting and a 4-digit access code the CRA mailed to you (CRA, File a GST/HST return using the online GST/HST NETFILE form).

Who can use GST/HST NETFILE, and who cannot

Most GST/HST registrants can file a regular return with GST/HST NETFILE, including sole proprietors, partnerships and corporations. Non-resident registrants can use it too, but the CRA requires either a Social Insurance Number or an authorized representative in Canada.

The form will not work for you in these situations:

• You do not have your 4-digit GST/HST access code.
• You need to file an election (for example, an election form that must be sent with or instead of a return).
• You want to claim a rebate the NETFILE form does not accept. The CRA lists Forms GST189, GST66, GST190 and GST106 as the ones it takes.
• Your GST account is administered by Revenu Quebec, which is the case for most businesses physically located in Quebec.

If one of those applies, file through your CRA account (My Business Account), have a representative file through Represent a Client, or use another method listed in our guide to filing a GST return.

What you need before you start a GST NETFILE session

Gather everything first. The form times out after 35 minutes without activity, and anything you have typed is lost, so working from a finished worksheet is the safest approach.

Where to find each item

Lost the code? Our page on the GST/HST access code explains how to view it online or ask for a new one. Getting it can take time, so sort it out well before your due date.

How do I file my GST return with NETFILE? Step by step

Filing through GST/HST NETFILE follows the same sequence every period. The whole session usually takes a few minutes once your numbers are ready.

1. Open the GST/HST NETFILE form from canada.ca/gst-hst-netfile. Read and accept the terms of use.
2. Enter your GST/HST account number, the reporting period "from" and "to" dates, and your 4-digit access code. If any of the four does not match the CRA's file, the form stops you here.
3. Answer the set-up questions: whether this is a nil return (no sales, no tax, no credits), whether you want email notifications, and whether you are attaching a rebate or schedule.
4. Choose whether to report your sales in detail. If you do, enter taxable sales made in Canada on line 90 and exempt sales, zero-rated exports and other revenue on line 91; line 101 then fills itself in.
5. Enter GST/HST collected or collectible on line 103, any additions on line 104, your input tax credits on line 106 and any deductions on line 107. Lines 105, 108 and 109 are calculated for you.
6. Annual filers enter instalments already paid on line 110. Enter any rebate you are applying against the balance on line 111.
7. Review the summary screen. Compare line 109 (net tax) with your working copy before going further.
8. Tick the certification box and submit. Write down or print the confirmation number the form displays.

Filing an HST NETFILE return

In Ontario, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island, you enter HST collected on line 103 exactly as a GST-only business enters GST. The form does not ask you to split the federal and provincial parts. If you brought goods into a harmonized province from a GST-only province and owe the provincial part yourself, that self-assessed amount goes on line 405.

How do I get a confirmation number, and what does it prove?

A confirmation number appears on screen the moment the CRA accepts your return for processing (CRA, GST/HST NETFILE). No email or letter follows, so print the page or save the number with your records for the period.

The number shows the return arrived on that date, which matters if you later need to prove you filed on time. It does not mean the CRA has reviewed or agreed with your figures; the return can still be adjusted after processing, and you would get a notice of assessment explaining any change.

What if no confirmation number appears?

• The session timed out or your connection dropped: start again from the first screen, because nothing was sent.
• An error message names a field: correct it and resubmit. Mismatched period dates are the most common cause.
• You are unsure whether it went through: check the return's status in your CRA business account, or wait a few days and look for it there, before filing a second time, so you do not send two returns for the same period.

Paying the balance after you file with GST NETFILE

Submitting the NETFILE form does not move any money. If line 109, less any instalments and rebates, leaves an amount owing, you pay it separately by the same due date as the return.

Monthly and quarterly filers must file and pay within one month after the period ends. Individuals with business income and a December 31 year end file by June 15 but pay by April 30. The full set of dates is on our GST/HST filing deadlines page.

Worked example: a quarter that ends on a weekend

A quarterly filer's July 1 to September 30, 2026 period is due October 31, 2026, which is a Saturday. Because the CRA moves weekend due dates to the next business day, both the NETFILE return and the payment are on time if received by Monday, November 2, 2026.

Refunds and nil periods filed through NETFILE

When your input tax credits exceed the tax you collected, the NETFILE return shows a refund. The CRA aims to process 95% of electronically filed GST/HST returns within four weeks, compared with eight weeks for paper returns (CRA guide RC4022). Refunds go by direct deposit if you have set up banking details for the business account.

A period with no sales, no tax collected and no credits still needs a return. NETFILE has a nil return option for this, and our page on filing a nil GST return covers when a period truly qualifies as nil.

Annual filers whose net tax reaches $3,000 or more should also check whether they owe quarterly instalments, explained on our GST/HST instalments page. For the wider picture of registering, charging and paying, start at our GST/HST small business hub.