GST/HST Credit

Will you turn 19 years of age before
April 2017?
Generally, you have to be 19 years of age or older to get the
GST/HST credit.
If you are going to turn 19 years of age before April 2017,
make sure that you file your 2015 income tax and benefit
return. The CRA will automatically determine your
eligibility for the GST/HST credit, and you may start
getting it with the first payment after the month of your
19th birthday (see “When do we pay your credit?” on
page 8).
Example
Amanda will turn 19 years of age on January 5, 2017. She
may be entitled to the quarterly GST/HST credit issued in
April 2017, if she files a 2015 income tax and benefit return.
Amanda will not be entitled to the January 2017 credit,
since she will not be 19 years of age before the first day of
January 2017.
How do we calculate your credit?
Base year and benefit year
The base year is the year of the income tax and benefit
return from which information is taken to calculate the
GST/HST credit entitlement for the benefit year.
The benefit year is the 12-month period during which the
GST/HST credits are paid. The benefit year runs from
July 1 of the year following the base year to June 30 of
the next year.
For example, GST/HST credit payments calculated on the
2015 income tax and benefit return will start being issued in
July 2016, which is the beginning of the benefit year. For
more information, see “When do we pay your credit?” on
page 8.
The following chart illustrates the link between the base
year and the benefit year.
Base year
Benefit year (payments)
(tax return) July October January April
2015 2016 2016 2017 2017
2014 2015 2015 2016 2016
2013 2014 2014 2015 2015
If the CRA determines that you are eligible for the
GST/HST credit based on your 2015 income tax and benefit
return, we will send you a GST/HST credit notice in
July 2016. It will show how much you will get and how we
calculated the amount.
For the benefit year from July 2016 to June 2017, we base
your credit on:
■ the number of children you have registered for the
GST/HST credit; and
■ your adjusted family net income (defined on page 4) for
the 2015 base year.
Example
Amir is single with no children. When he files his 2015
income tax and benefit return, the CRA will automatically
determine if he is eligible for the GST/HST credit. If Amir
is eligible, we will use the information on his 2015 income
tax and benefit return to determine what amount he is
entitled to get for the benefit year starting in July 2016.
Benefits online calculator
You can use our online service to get an estimate of your
GST/HST credit, by going to cra.gc.ca/benefits-calculator.
6
cra.gc.ca