Prepare the property file for a new Canadian GST/HST registrant

A new Canadian GST/HST registrant needs a dated list of property held immediately before registration to support any opening input tax credit review. Begin with the confirmed effective date and the legal entity registering. Reconcile the stock and asset populations to that date, including goods held at another location and items that left the business before registration.

CRA's new-registrant rules can treat a person who was a small supplier immediately beforehand as having acquired qualifying property and paid tax equal to its basic tax content. The rules can cover inventory and capital property held for commercial activities. Eligibility and the available amount therefore need a property-specific review; an opening trial balance alone cannot supply them.

For each candidate asset or inventory group, retain the last purchase documents, subsequent improvement costs, GST/HST evidence, ownership history and relevant refunds or rebates. Show how the property is used in the registering entity's activities. Flag assets acquired from an owner or another entity for separate analysis rather than assuming their history transfers unchanged.

CRA's simplified basic-tax-content calculation considers historical tax and qualifying reductions, with a factor that can reflect a fall in fair market value. Financial-statement carrying value is not a substitute for that calculation. Ask the preparer which valuation evidence is appropriate and record the valuation date, method and source.

As a hypothetical record problem, an asset register may show equipment at CAD12,000 after depreciation while the original invoice, later improvements and current value support a different tax calculation. Provide all those facts without selecting whichever number creates the largest credit. The accountant should be able to reproduce the approved calculation from the retained papers.

CRA distinguishes certain services to be supplied after registration and prepaid rent or similar payments relating to later periods from services supplied before registration. Paying an older service bill after registration does not by itself make the earlier service eligible for an input tax credit.

Review prepaid contracts by service dates. Keep the invoice, tax amount, coverage dates and any amendment or cancellation. A subscription covering both sides of registration needs a supported allocation for the preparer's assessment; the bank payment date alone does not explain how the benefit spans the boundary.

Maintain a separate list of historical invoices excluded because the service was already supplied. That list helps a later bookkeeper avoid claiming them again when importing old payables or clearing a suspense account. Preserve the reason for exclusion alongside the document reference.

Have the reviewer approve the eligible population, calculation and reporting treatment before entering the opening claim. Label unresolved items individually, including missing tax evidence, uncertain ownership or unsupported valuation. A single unexplained opening tax journal makes those different problems difficult to revisit.

Reconcile the accepted claim to the return and the tax ledger. Keep ordinary post-registration purchase credits in their own population so an asset invoice cannot enter both the opening calculation and the current purchase report. Save the registration confirmation, reviewed schedules and final posting references together; they establish the starting point for subsequent adjustments or disposals.