Canadian roof replacement quotes: GST/HST and Ontario, Alberta and Quebec license or coverage numbers

What to take away

Why the jobsite province sets the rate

A roof is attached to a building, and a building sits on land. That makes a re-roof a land-related service, so the CRA's place-of-supply rules point to where the land sits.

The jobsite address decides. Not your shop, not the client's head office, not the address the cheque comes from.

This catches roofers who work across a border. A Manitoba crew doing storm work in northwestern Ontario charges Ontario HST at 13%, not Manitoba GST plus RST. An Ontario crew repairing a cottage roof near Gatineau deals with GST and QST.

Keep the jobsite address identical on the quote, the work order and the invoice. If the CRA reviews the file, three matching addresses is the simplest thing you can hand them.

The rate table, province by province

The CRA sets out how to charge and collect the GST/HST at the rate for the province of the supply.

Quebec collects the federal portion through Revenu Quebec, so the label on your quote reads GST and QST even though the 5% is the same money.

British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba add a retail sales tax that can bite on materials even when the service itself carries GST only. Whether you pay it at the supplier or pass it on depends on that province's rules. Confirm with the supplier before you build it into a quote.

On a large re-roof the spread between 5% and 15% is real money to a homeowner comparing two bids. A clean quote template with pricing examples keeps the tax on its own line so the shingle price and the tax stay visible apart.

Take one re-roof priced at $12,000 before tax, as a worked example, and quote it in three provinces:

When you must register for a CRA business number

You register once taxable revenue from roofing crosses the small supplier threshold of $30,000 over four consecutive calendar quarters. That threshold is measured on a rolling window of the four most recent quarters, not on your fiscal year. A single quarter above $30,000 also ends small supplier status, even when the trailing year still looks small.

The CRA explains the timing on its page about when to register and start charging the GST/HST.

Below the threshold you may stay unregistered, and your quotes then show no tax line. That is legal and it costs you: no input tax credits on shingles, membrane, fasteners or dump fees, so the tax you pay on materials stays a cost.

A sole proprietor and a corporation register the same way. One business number, with the GST/HST account attached as a program account. The CRA covers getting a GST/HST number and managing the account, including filing frequency.

Register early if a general contractor wants your number before cutting a cheque, or if you are about to buy a season of shingles and want the input tax credit.

The number is nine digits, then RT, then a four-digit program identifier. Once registered, it goes on every quote and invoice you issue.

Licence and coverage numbers by province

Licensing is provincial, and the three largest markets do it three different ways. A homeowner checking a licence requirements page needs to know which regulator applies before signing.

Ontario regulates through consumer protection law and workplace safety. A roofing business there generally needs a WSIB account, and certain building types need a municipal business licence. Toronto Building issues permits and inspects work, but it does not license the trade.

Alberta has no provincial trade licence either. It has WCB-Alberta coverage and Alberta OHS rules. Calgary permits come from the City of Calgary. No licence number does not mean no oversight, only that oversight sits with safety and municipal bodies.

Quebec is the outlier. The RBQ licenses construction contractors, a roofing contractor must hold a valid licence number, and that number appears on the quote. A Montreal homeowner can check it against the RBQ register before work starts.

British Columbia and the Atlantic provinces each mix a workers' compensation board with municipal rules. WorkSafeBC covers injury claims in British Columbia. None mirror Quebec exactly.

What goes on the invoice, line by line

An invoice that survives both a CRA review and a homeowner dispute carries the same core facts. Build them into your template once:

In Quebec, show QST as a separate line beside the GST. In British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, show provincial sales tax on materials the way that province requires.

Registered businesses must show the GST/HST number on any invoice of $30 or more. Below it, the number still builds trust with a homeowner comparing three bids.

A quote is not an invoice, and the timing differs. Tax becomes collectible when the supply is made, which on a re-roof usually means substantial completion, not the day the quote was signed.

Checking a subcontractor before you pay

You pay a sub's invoice including their GST or HST. If the number is fake or inactive, you can lose the input tax credit and spend weeks recovering it.

The CRA runs a tool for confirming a GST/HST account number. Enter the number and it tells you whether the account is registered and what name it belongs to.

Before the first payment to any new sub, look up the number and check the name against the invoice. A mismatch is a question to ask before money moves.

Keep a dated note of the check in the job file. If the CRA later questions the credit, that note is worth more than a memory.

This is where a steady roofing contractor services routine pays off. Sub invoices, tax collected and tax paid all land in the right account, and a monthly habit beats a year-end scramble.

Remitting the tax and the cash-flow squeeze

Tax you collect is held in trust. It is not revenue. A roofer who reads the HST balance as profit comes up short at filing time.

Filing frequency follows revenue: small registrants annually, larger ones quarterly or monthly. The arithmetic is the same either way. Tax collected minus input tax credits equals what you remit.

Cash flow is the real problem on a re-roof. Shingles and crew get paid weeks before the client pays. The tax on those purchases is recoverable, but only after you file, which can be months out.

A pricing and profit guide treats tax as a pass-through, never as margin. Price labour, materials and overhead on their own, then add tax on top.

The sequence from licence, insurance, then hiring puts registration and coverage before the first quote goes out, not after the first invoice goes unpaid.

Move the tax to a separate account the day it arrives. The remittance then costs you nothing but a transfer.

Common questions

Do I charge GST or HST if my office and the jobsite are in different provinces?

Charge the tax that applies where the jobsite sits. A roof is a land-related service, so the province of the building governs the rate. Your office address never enters the calculation.

Does Alberta require a provincial roofing licence number?

No. Alberta has no provincial trade licence for roofing. Contractors there deal with WCB-Alberta coverage, Alberta OHS rules and municipal permits instead.

What number goes on a Quebec roofing quote?

The RBQ licence number issued by the Regie du batiment du Quebec. A homeowner can verify it against the RBQ register before signing. Quebec also shows GST and QST as separate lines.

Can I stay unregistered if my revenue is small?

Yes, below the small supplier threshold of $30,000 you can stay unregistered. You then cannot claim input tax credits, so the tax you pay on shingles and dump fees becomes a cost you absorb.

Is the GST/HST I collect part of my revenue?

No. Treating it as income is one of the fastest ways for a roofing business to run out of cash.