HST first: 13 percent until the stay becomes a tenancy
Every room night in a stay shorter than a month is a taxable supply at 13 percent, which means a hotel blows through the $30,000 small-supplier threshold almost immediately and HST registration is never optional. The interesting line sits at one month: accommodation supplied for a continuous occupancy of a month or more is generally an exempt residential supply, with no HST charged. Motels that carry weekly guests who drift into monthly residents are therefore making mixed supplies, and the input tax credits on utilities, cleaning and repairs have to be apportioned between taxable and exempt revenue. A return that claims full ITCs against a wing of long-stay rooms is a reassessment waiting for its date. Filing frequency follows volume, so most properties report monthly or quarterly; we set the apportionment method for shared costs once, document it, and apply it the same way every period, which is most of what an examiner asks to see.
MAT rides on the room, and HST rides on MAT
Toronto, Mississauga, Ottawa and a growing list of Ontario municipalities levy a Municipal Accommodation Tax on short-term stays. Each municipality sets its own rate by bylaw and collects on its own return and schedule; the money goes to city hall, not to CRA, so MAT is a second compliance calendar running beside the HST one. Two details catch operators. First, CRA treats a mandatory MAT billed to the guest as part of the consideration for the room, so HST is calculated on the MAT-inclusive amount: tax on tax, by design, and a folio configured the other way is under-collecting every night. Second, MAT normally attaches to the accommodation charge alone, not to parking or room service, and most bylaws exempt long continuous stays on definitions that do not always match the HST month test. Getting each line right is a setup exercise in the PMS, done once and audited rarely.
What each folio line does at filing time
| Folio line | Treatment when you file |
|---|---|
| Room, stay under one month | 13% HST on the MAT-inclusive room charge; the MAT itself goes to the municipality on its own return. |
| Room, continuous stay of a month or more | Generally exempt residential accommodation; no HST, and ITCs on the related costs are restricted. |
| Parking, room service, laundry | 13% HST as ordinary taxable supplies; normally outside MAT. |
| No-show charge or kept deposit | Treated as HST-included under the breach-of-contract rule; the 13/113 fraction is backed out and remitted. |
| Gift card sold at the desk | No HST at sale; tax applies when it pays for a stay. |
The T2 under the building: CCA is most of the game
Few owner-managed T2s carry a capital schedule like a hotel's. The building claims Class 1 at 4 percent, and an election to place an eligible non-residential building in its own class can lift that to 6. Furniture, beds, case goods and kitchen equipment sit in Class 8 at 20 percent; parking-lot paving in Class 17; front-desk computers and PMS hardware in Class 50 at 55 percent. An initial franchise fee is amortized as an intangible, and whether it belongs in Class 14 or Class 14.1 turns on whether the agreement has a fixed term, while ongoing royalties are simply deductible. The acquisition-year allocation between land, building and furnishings sets this whole schedule for decades and writes the recapture story for the eventual sale, so we document it like the future audit exhibit it is.
The rhythm, corporate and personal
Our Corporate Tax Filing engagement runs the calendar: the T2 due six months after year-end with the balance due three months after it for most CCPCs claiming the small business deduction, HST monthly or quarterly at hotel volumes, MAT on the bylaw's schedule, and T4s for the housekeeping and front-desk team by the end of February. The owner's T1 belongs in the same conversation, because the T4 and T5 slips the corporation issues are decisions before they are documents; Personal Tax Filing keeps both sides consistent. And when an HST examiner asks for the audit packs behind a period, CRA Audit & Review Support responds from reconciliations that already tie folio to return. Fees are quoted in writing after a free 15-minute discovery call.
Source: CRA — GST/HST for businesses.
