Input tax credits owners forget to claim

Every dollar of GST you pay on a business purchase is a dollar you can claim back, as long as you're registered and the purchase is for your taxable business. The big purchases rarely get missed. It's the small, recurring, and mixed-use ones that do.

The categories that go unclaimed

Home office

If your home office is your principal place of business, or you use it 90% or more for the business and regularly meet clients there, you can claim ITCs on the business share of home costs that carry GST, such as utilities and maintenance.

Vehicles

Fuel, repairs, and lease payments for a vehicle you use in the business carry GST. For sole proprietors and partnerships the claim depends on business use: 90% or more claims the full GST, 10% or less claims none, and in between it follows the business share. Corporations can claim fully if the vehicle is used more than 50% in the business. For passenger vehicles, the GST you can claim on the purchase is capped at the $39,000 cost ceiling for 2026.

Meals and entertainment

Because only 50% of meals and entertainment is deductible for income tax, you can claim 50% of the GST on them. You can claim it at 50% as you go, or claim 100% during the year and adjust down at year-end.

Small recurring costs

• 01Software subscriptions and cloud services, where the supplier charges GST.
• 02Phone and internet, for the business share.
• 03Professional fees: accounting, legal, and consulting.
• 04Advertising, office supplies, and tools bought on a personal card for the business.

What you owned before you registered

If you were a small supplier just before you registered, you may be able to claim ITCs on inventory and capital property, like equipment and computers, that you already had on hand on the day you registered.

What never qualifies

• 01Anything you didn't pay GST on: salaries, insurance, interest, and purchases from suppliers who aren't registered.
• 02Exempt and zero-rated purchases, such as most residential rent and basic groceries.
• 03The personal share of anything used for both business and personal purposes.
• 04Purchases used to make exempt sales. If part of your business is GST-exempt, that portion of your costs isn't claimable.

What your receipts need to show

An ITC has to be backed by a receipt or invoice. What it needs to show depends on the total of the purchase:

Catching up on missed credits

In most cases you have up to four years to claim an ITC. A missed claim from an earlier period goes on your next GST return; there's no need to amend the old one. Going back through the last four years of receipts for the categories above is often worth an afternoon.