GST/HST and payroll program accounts
GST/HST program accounts (RT) track collection and remittance of net tax; payroll program accounts (RP) track source deductions for income tax, CPP, EI, and Quebec equivalents where applicable.
Opening the right accounts before first taxable supply or first pay day prevents painful retroactive corrections and interest.
Small supplier thresholds, zero-rated supplies, and exempt supplies confuse founders—training should use worksheet examples.
Accelerated remitter status for large payrolls changes due dates dramatically.
This article supports Business menu program-account links with operational detail for payroll certificate programs.
Registration, thresholds, and effective dates
Small supplier rules exempt many micro-businesses until worldwide taxable revenues exceed limits—track foreign taxable supplies too.
Ride-share and taxi rules may force registration regardless of revenue.
Voluntary registration can recover input tax credits on startup costs—model the cash-flow trade-off.
Effective dates on letters of authority matter for invoice presentation.
BN integrity is foundational for all program accounts—guard it like banking credentials.
Remittance cycles, penalties, and record keeping
Remitter types for payroll align with average withholding sizes; missing a threshold jump invites arrears.
Failure to remit trust monies (employee deductions) carries director liability conversations.
GST returns reconcile input credits with output tax; audits focus on exempt expense misclassification.
Digital records must be readable years later; ephemeral chat approvals are weak evidence.
Quebec Revenue integration adds bilingual filing realities.
Classroom exercises
Build a month of mock invoices and trace them to a GST return line-by-line.
Compare PDOC output (Payroll Deductions Online Calculator) to journal entries.
Simulate a missed payroll remittance weekend—calculate interest to the exam due date.
Discuss cloud payroll outages as business continuity risks.
Pair with Business number and program accounts for BN issuance stories.
Program accounts in practice
Transforms two sparse sections into payroll and GST learning arcs.
Clarifies difference between BN and program account suffixes.
Prepares students for CARM-adjacent import accounting discussions indirectly.
Supports bookkeeping micro-credential storyboards.
Encourages bilingual terminology flashcards.
Confirm remitter type and filing deadlines in current CRA publications.