Catch-up
Can you still claim old HST input tax credits?
2026-10-04 · 6 min read · Tax Everyday, Vaughan
Sometimes. Input tax credits are not a junk drawer you can empty whenever you get around to filing. For many smaller businesses the time limit to claim an input tax credit is four years from the end of the reporting period in which the tax was paid. For some larger registrants, and for some financial institutions and listed institutions, the limit is two years. The safe sentence is: many small businesses have four years, some claimants have two, and the invoice has to support the claim. Do not assume a 2018 hardware receipt is still claimable in a 2026 catch-up.
The credit also has to be for a commercial activity. HST on a personal vehicle repair, a family meal, or a shareholder’s home renovation is not an input tax credit because it sat on the company card. A catch-up that claims every line of HST on the bank feed will be reassessed.
What a claim needs when the year is old
CRA does not accept “it was on the statement” as an invoice.
- An invoice showing the supplier’s GST/HST number, the amount of tax, and a description.
- Proof you paid it, if the invoice alone is thin: the card or bank line.
- A business purpose you can say out loud. “Supplies” is not a purpose.
- The reporting period you are claiming it in, inside the time limit.
- No double claim. If a prior return already took the credit, the catch-up does not take it again.
Sort the receipts by age before we claim them
Tax Everyday will claim the credits the invoices support and leave out the ones the clock has killed. That is better than a large refund that gets reversed with interest. Bring the pile. We will split it. HST support on a ready corporate year is part of the $2,000 plus HST package. A forensic receipt sort across many years is quoted.
If you are only now registering because you crossed $30,000 years ago, say that. Credits on purchases from before you were required to be registered are not a free offset against the backdated tax. The rules for those credits are tighter than people hope.
Short answers
I lost the invoices but I have the credit-card statements. Is that enough?+
Usually no. The statement shows a payment, not the supplier’s HST number or the tax amount. Ask the supplier for a copy. If they cannot produce one, expect to skip the credit.
Can I amend an old HST return to add credits?+
Yes, within the time limit, by adjusting the period. An amendment is better than burying the old credit in this month’s return. Bring the return that was filed.
Want this applied to your file?
These notes are general. A return is prepared only after we see your slips.