GST44: Election Concerning the Acquisition of a Business or Part of a Business
Form GST44 lets the seller and buyer of a business jointly elect so that no GST/HST applies to the sale, where the buyer acquires substantially all of what is needed to carry on the business. Download the official CRA PDF and open it in Adobe Reader to fill it in.
This is the genuine CRA PDF, unmodified. Source: CRA official page.
What is GST44?
GST44 is the Canada Revenue Agency election under section 167 of the Excise Tax Act. When a person sells a business, or a part of a business that can be operated on its own, and the buyer acquires ownership, possession or use of all or substantially all of the property reasonably needed to carry it on, the two parties can jointly elect that no GST/HST is charged on the qualifying assets. The election is available only when specific conditions are met, and in most cases the buyer must be a GST/HST registrant.
GST44 is a dynamic PDF built with Adobe XFA technology, so it will not open in a web browser or the macOS Preview app and cannot be filled in the browser here. Download it and open it in the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to complete it. The buyer, as the recipient of the supply, is the party responsible for filing the completed election with the CRA.
Who files GST44?
- A buyer acquiring a business or part of a business who wants no GST/HST charged on the assets
- A seller who is jointly making the election with the buyer of the business
- Registrants purchasing substantially all of the property needed to carry on a business
- Parties to an asset sale that qualifies under section 167 of the Excise Tax Act
How to fill out GST44
- Download the form and open it in Adobe Acrobat Reader, because this dynamic PDF will not display in a browser or preview app.
- Enter the legal names, addresses and business numbers of both the supplier (seller) and the recipient (buyer).
- Describe the business or part of the business being acquired and the effective date of the sale.
- Confirm the election conditions and have both parties sign, since the election is a joint one between seller and buyer.
- The buyer files the completed GST44 with the Canada Revenue Agency, filing it with the GST/HST return for the reporting period in which the acquisition occurred if they are a registrant.
Get GST44
This is a dynamic PDF from CRA: it only fills in correctly in Adobe Acrobat Reader, so there is no in-browser fill here. Download the genuine GST44 below and open it in the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to complete and save it.
Download the official GST44 PDFFrequently asked questions
Who has to file GST44, the buyer or the seller?
The buyer, as the recipient of the supply, files the election. Both parties sign it because it is a joint election, but the buyer sends it to the CRA with the GST/HST return for the period the business was acquired.
Does the election cover every asset in the sale?
No. Some supplies, such as a taxable supply of a service or certain sales by a non-registrant, can still be taxable even when the election is made. Review the conditions in the CRA guidance before relying on it.
Why will the form not open in my browser?
GST44 is a dynamic XFA form that browsers and the macOS Preview app cannot render, so it appears blank. Save it and open it in the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to complete the fields.