Missed Input Tax Credit Recovery Calculator
HST you paid on business expenses and never claimed is still recoverable, but only for about four years. Find out how much you can still get back, the exact expiry date for each period, how much has already gone, and which current return to put the claim on.
still recoverable
—
—
—
—
Where the Credits Stand
| Status | Basis | Amount |
|---|
Expiry Date for Each Period
| Period Ending | Credits Missed | Claim By | Status |
|---|
What the CRA Needs to See on Audit
| Value of the Invoice | Information You Must Hold |
|---|
Points That Decide This
What to Do Next
—
Disclaimer: Subsection 225(4) requires an input tax credit to be claimed in a return filed by the due date of the return for the last reporting period ending within four years after the end of the period in which the credit could first have been claimed. The window is two years for specified persons, being registrants whose annual taxable supplies exceeded $6,000,000 in each of the two preceding fiscal years, and for listed financial institutions. The calculator spreads the annual figure you enter evenly across the reporting periods in each year, which is an approximation and not a substitute for the actual records. Documentation requirements are set by the Input Tax Credit Information Regulations and the thresholds shown are the amounts of the supply including tax. Credits on expenses that are not for consumption, use or supply in commercial activity are not recoverable at all, and restrictions apply to meals, entertainment, club dues and passenger vehicles. This page is general information, not tax advice.
You Claim Missed Credits on a Current Return
This is the operational fact that stops most people. You do not amend the old return, you do not refile the period, and you do not write to the CRA asking for a refund. A missed input tax credit is simply included on a current return, provided the window has not closed.
That makes recovery a bookkeeping exercise rather than a dispute. Add the credits to line 108 of your next return, keep the supporting invoices, and the money comes back as a lower net tax or a refund. No amendment, no adjustment request, no negotiation.
The Window Is Four Years, and It Runs Per Period
Subsection 225(4) allows a credit to be claimed in a return filed by the due date of the return for the last reporting period ending within four years after the end of the period in which the credit could first have been claimed.
| Quarterly Period Ending | Claim By |
|---|---|
| 31 March 2021 | 30 April 2025 |
| 30 June 2021 | 31 July 2025 |
| 30 September 2021 | 31 October 2025 |
| 31 December 2021 | 31 January 2026 |
Every period has its own expiry date and they roll off one at a time. That means there is always something on the edge, and the oldest quarter is always the one to deal with first.
Two Years If You Are Large
The window halves to two years for specified persons. That means registrants whose annual taxable supplies exceeded $6,000,000 in each of the two preceding fiscal years, and listed financial institutions whatever their size. On five years of missed credits at $12,000 a year, a normal registrant can still recover $42,000 while a specified person recovers only $18,000.
Documentation Is What Survives the Audit
A claim without the prescribed information will be denied, and the requirements scale with the value of the invoice. These are the amounts including tax.
| Invoice Value | What You Must Hold |
|---|---|
| Under $30 | Supplier name or trading name, the date, and the total amount |
| $30 to $149.99 | The above, plus the supplier’s GST/HST registration number and either the amount of tax or a statement that the total includes it |
| $150 or more | The above, plus the recipient’s name, the terms of payment, and a description sufficient to identify the supply |
The registration number is the one that fails most often. A credit card slip showing a total with no supplier registration number will not support a claim of $30 or more, and the CRA does check whether the number quoted is valid and active on the date of the supply.
What Cannot Be Recovered at All
- Expenses that are not for commercial activity, including anything personal and anything relating to exempt supplies.
- Meals and entertainment beyond 50%, mirroring the income tax restriction.
- Club memberships where the main purpose is dining, recreation or sporting facilities.
- Passenger vehicles above the capital cost limit, and there are separate rules for leases.
- Supplies from unregistered suppliers, because no tax was properly charged in the first place.
- Tax paid in error, which is recovered from the supplier or by rebate rather than as a credit.
Where the Missed Credits Usually Are
- Supplier invoices paid personally by an owner and never put through the company books.
- Capital purchases coded straight to a fixed asset account with no tax split out.
- Imports, where the tax paid at the border sits on a customs document rather than a supplier invoice.
- Periods where a bookkeeper changed and the handover was incomplete.
- Startup costs incurred before registration but within the pre-registration rules.
- Large one-off transactions such as a property purchase, professional fees on a financing, or an equipment acquisition.
A Large Claim Attracts Attention
A current return showing a sudden and substantial credit balance is more likely to be reviewed. That is a reason to have the documentation organised before filing, not a reason to avoid claiming.
Where the amount is very large, it is often better to spread the recovery across several returns while staying inside each period’s window, and to prepare a schedule tying each credit to its invoice before the return goes in rather than after the letter arrives.
What This Calculator Does Not Cover
- Uneven amounts between periods, since the annual figure is spread evenly
- Pre-registration credits on inventory and capital property held at registration
- The simplified method of calculating credits, which some registrants use
- Quick method filers, who generally cannot claim credits on operating expenses at all
- Public service body rebates, which follow a different regime
- Provincial sales taxes in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Quebec
Money is leaving every quarter whether or not anyone looks for it. The oldest period is always the one about to expire, and once it does the credit is gone permanently. Our corporate tax cleanup service covers the review, the schedule and the claim.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions on recovering missed input tax credits.
Related Calculators and Guides
More tools for HST recovery and cleanup.
The Oldest Period Is Always the One About to Expire
Send us the last few years of records and we will identify what was missed, build the schedule tying every credit to its invoice, and put the claim on the right current return before anything else rolls off.