The GST44 Election Concerning the Acquisition of a Business is a joint election form made under subsection 167(1) of the Excise Tax Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. E-15) that allows the vendor (seller) and the purchaser (buyer) of a business to agree that no Goods and Services Tax (GST) or Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) applies to the transfer of business assets. This election is a critical tool in Canadian business transactions because, without it, the vendor would be required to collect GST/HST on the full purchase price of the business, which could represent a significant cash flow burden for the purchaser — even though the purchaser would typically be entitled to claim the full amount back as an input tax credit on their next GST/HST return.

The election applies when a vendor supplies to a purchaser all or substantially all of the property that can reasonably be regarded as being necessary for the purchaser to carry on the business or a part of the business. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has consistently interpreted "substantially all" to mean 90% or more of the relevant property. The purchaser must be a GST/HST registrant at the time of the sale, or must be in the process of applying for registration. Both parties must sign the election form, and although the form does not need to be filed with CRA, both parties are required to retain a signed copy for at least six years as part of their books and records under section 286 of the Excise Tax Act.

This election has no direct equivalent in the United States tax system. While U.S. asset sales may involve state sales tax considerations, there is no comparable federal mechanism that allows a joint election to exempt an entire business sale from sales tax.

The GST44 election is needed whenever a business or part of a business is being sold in Canada and both the vendor and purchaser want to avoid the GST/HST consequences that would otherwise apply to the transaction. This is standard practice in virtually all Canadian business acquisitions structured as asset purchases rather than share purchases (share purchases are already exempt from GST/HST as they are financial instruments).

Specific situations requiring this election include the sale of a going concern (a business that continues to operate), the sale of a division or operating unit of a larger enterprise, franchise transfers where the franchisee sells the franchise operation to a new operator, and the transfer of a sole proprietorship when the owner retires or sells. The election is also used when a partnership dissolves and its business assets are transferred to one or more of the partners who will continue the business.

Without this election, a vendor selling a business with a purchase price of $1,000,000 in Ontario would need to collect $130,000 in HST (13%), creating a significant cash flow requirement for the purchaser who would then need to wait until their next GST/HST return to claim the amount back as an ITC. In the Atlantic provinces (NS, NB, NL, PE), the HST rate of 15% would produce an even larger tax liability of $150,000 on the same purchase price. The GST44 election eliminates this interim tax burden entirely.

A valid GST44 election requires several essential elements. Both the vendor and purchaser must provide their complete legal names and CRA business numbers (BN), including the RT program identifier. The vendor must be a registrant who is making a taxable supply of business property, and the purchaser must be a registrant (or must be in the process of registering) who will use the acquired property in commercial activities.

The election must include a clear description of the business or part of the business being sold, the effective date of the transfer, and the total consideration (purchase price) in Canadian dollars. The property being transferred must constitute substantially all (90% or more) of the property reasonably necessary to carry on the business — this typically includes tangible property such as equipment, inventory, and fixtures, as well as intangible property such as goodwill, customer lists, and intellectual property.

Both parties must certify that the conditions of section 167 are satisfied and must sign the election form. The election must be made on or before the day the vendor's GST/HST return for the reporting period that includes the day of the supply is due. If the election is made after this deadline, it may be invalid, and the vendor could be assessed for failing to collect GST/HST on the supply.

Parties should also be aware of subsection 167(1.1), which provides that if the election is made but the conditions are not in fact met, both the vendor and the purchaser are jointly and severally liable for the GST/HST that should have been collected. This creates a significant risk for both parties if the substantially-all test is not clearly satisfied, and legal and tax advice should be obtained before relying on this election.