GST/HST Credit for Students: Do You Qualify and How Much Is It

What the Credit Is

The GST/HST credit is a quarterly, tax free payment from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), designed to offset some of the sales tax lower and modest income individuals and families pay throughout the year. You do not pay it back, and it does not count as taxable income on a future return.

The amount is calculated from your net income, adjusted for marital status and number of children, using your most recently filed return. A single student with little or no income typically receives close to the maximum amount for their situation.

Who Qualifies

You need to be a Canadian resident for income tax purposes, and at least one of the following applies to you: you are 19 or older, you have or had a spouse or common law partner, or you are a parent living with your child.

Students under 19 with no spouse or child generally do not qualify on their own yet, but get considered automatically the month after they turn 19, based on the income they already reported. This is another reason to file a return before you turn 19, even with no income, so the CRA has a return on file to assess once you become eligible.

How Much You Get

The exact payment amount changes with each new payment period, based on your income and family situation, and the CRA adjusts the maximum amounts periodically. Rather than rely on a single number that shifts from one payment year to the next, check your personalized amount through your CRA My Account after you file, or use the CRA's online calculator to estimate it before you file.

Your income determines whether you get the full amount or a reduced amount. Above a certain net income threshold, the credit phases out gradually rather than cutting off all at once, so a part-time job with modest earnings does not disqualify you outright, though it lowers the amount somewhat.

How to Get It

For most students who have lived in Canada, filing your tax return is the entire application. The CRA assesses your eligibility automatically from the information on your return, and starts payments without any separate form.

If you newly immigrated to Canada or became a resident partway through the year, file form RC151 the first time, since the CRA cannot assess a return you have not yet filed under the new resident process. After that first year, your regular tax return is enough going forward.

Payment Dates

Payments arrive four times a year, typically in January, April, July and October. Set up direct deposit through your bank or CRA My Account so payments land the same day rather than waiting on a mailed cheque.

If a payment does not arrive within about 10 business days of the expected date, contact the CRA rather than assuming it was skipped, since a missing payment is often a bank information or address update issue rather than an eligibility change.

Checking Your Specific Amount

The CRA's online GST/HST credit calculator estimates your payment before you file, using your projected income and family details. Once you file and get assessed, your CRA My Account shows the exact quarterly amount and the next payment date, more reliable than any general figure quoted elsewhere, since the amount changes with each new payment period.

Common Situations for Students

• 🎓 Living away from your parents at school does not change your eligibility, but keep your address on file current so mailed correspondence and any paper cheque reach you

• 💵 A scholarship or bursary that is fully tax exempt still needs to appear on your return in most cases, even though it does not increase your taxable income, since some calculations on the return use gross figures before exemptions apply

• 📩 Getting married or entering a common law relationship during school changes your household's combined income calculation, which raises or lowers your credit depending on your partner's income

• 🏠 Moving out of Canada for a full degree abroad affects your residency status and therefore your eligibility, so check your specific situation if you plan to study outside Canada for more than a school term

File every year without gaps, even through years with no income at all. The CRA reassesses your GST/HST credit automatically each time you file, and a missing year of filing simply means a missing quarter or year of payments you were otherwise entitled to.