Starting a Business in Quebec? Your GST and QST Both Go Through Revenu Québec, Not the CRA
· RKube Services
In Quebec, Revenu Québec runs both the GST and the QST: when to register, the $30,000 small supplier test, the 5% and 9.975% math, and filing deadlines.
Most new businesses in Canada deal with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) for the GST or HST. Quebec works differently. Under an agreement between the federal and Quebec governments, Revenu Québec administers the GST/HST in Quebec. A Montreal café, a Quebec City consultant or a Laval online shop registers for both the GST and the Quebec sales tax (QST) with Revenu Québec, files one combined return there, and deals with Revenu Québec on audits, objections and collections for both taxes.
That arrangement surprises owners who moved from another province, and US founders who opened a Quebec subsidiary and assumed the CRA would be their contact. This guide covers who administers what, when you have to register, the small supplier test, the 5% and 9.975% math, filing frequencies and deadlines, and the online filing rule. The facts come from Revenu Québec's pages on basic rules for applying the GST/HST and QST, registering for the GST and QST, small suppliers, calculating the taxes, filing frequency and filing returns, all current as of October 2026. Examples use businesses in Montreal, QC, Quebec City, QC and Laval, QC.
Who handles what
Revenu Québec says it receives and processes GST/HST registration applications from all persons carrying on commercial activities in Quebec. Once registered, those businesses keep dealing with Revenu Québec for everything GST- and HST-related, including:
- Returns and remittances
- Rebate applications
- Audits and investigations
- Interpretation of laws and regulations
- Notices of objection
- Tax collection and unfiled returns
The federal government still sets the GST/HST rules. Revenu Québec applies them. For the QST, Revenu Québec sets and applies the rules.
| Tax | Rate | Rules set by | Administered in Quebec by |
|---|---|---|---|
| GST | 5% on the selling price | Federal government | Revenu Québec |
| QST | 9.975% on the selling price excluding GST | Quebec government | Revenu Québec |
| HST (sales into participating provinces) | Varies by province | Federal government | Revenu Québec, for Quebec registrants |
When you have to register
As a rule, you register for both the GST and the QST if you carry on commercial activities in Quebec and your total worldwide taxable supplies, together with those of your associates, exceed $30,000 in a calendar quarter or in the four preceding calendar quarters. Taxable supplies include sales, rentals, exchanges, transfers and barter.
The small supplier test
You're a small supplier if your worldwide taxable supplies, including zero-rated supplies, plus those of your associates, don't exceed $30,000 in a calendar quarter or over the four preceding calendar quarters. The total leaves out GST/HST and QST collected, financial services and sales of capital property such as buildings or vehicles.
A small supplier doesn't have to register or collect GST/HST and QST. Two timing rules apply once you cross the line:
- Over four quarters: you generally stop being a small supplier at the end of the month following the four-quarter period in which you went over $30,000.
- In a single quarter: if you go over $30,000 within one quarter, you stop being a small supplier right away, and you collect tax on the sale that pushed you over and on every sale after it.
Associates count
Revenu Québec counts your associates' sales. A person is usually associated with another if one controls the other, for example two corporations, an individual and their corporation, or a person and a partnership or trust. An owner with two small companies can't run each one at $25,000 and call both small suppliers if they're associated.
When registration is mandatory regardless of sales
You must register for both taxes, whatever your sales, if you:
- Operate a taxi business, or
- Aren't resident in Quebec (or in Canada, for GST purposes) and charge admission to the public for activities or events held in Quebec.
You must register for the QST, even as a small supplier and whether or not you're registered for the GST, if you sell in Quebec:
- Tobacco at retail
- Fuel at retail
- Alcoholic beverages (unless you hold a reunion permit)
- New tires, sold or leased
- Road vehicles, other than your own capital property, or long-term leases of 12 months or more
Who can't register
An individual, personal trust or partnership made up only of individuals that runs a business without a reasonable expectation of profit, or that makes only exempt supplies, can't register.
Registering voluntarily
You can register even as a small supplier. If you do, you collect tax on all your taxable supplies other than zero-rated ones, and you can claim input tax credits (ITCs) for GST and input tax refunds (ITRs) for QST on business purchases. A business that registers for the QST must also register for the GST/HST, and once registered it has to stay registered for at least one year.
Voluntary registration often makes sense for businesses that sell mostly to other registered businesses, since those customers claim the tax back, and the business can recover tax on its own startup costs.
How and when to register
Revenu Québec lists three ways:
- The Register a New Business service, if you aren't registered with Revenu Québec yet. It also covers source deductions, corporation income tax and clicSÉQUR.
- The registration service in My Account for businesses, if you're already registered with Revenu Québec.
- Form LM-1-V, Application for Registration.
Timing differs between the two taxes:
- QST: as a rule, register before your first taxable supply in Quebec made other than as a small supplier.
- GST: as a rule, register before the 30th day after your first taxable sale in Canada made other than as a small supplier.
In practice, register for both at once, before the first sale that's no longer a small supplier sale.
The math: 5% plus 9.975%
The GST is 5% of the selling price. The QST is 9.975% of the selling price excluding the GST. Revenu Québec describes two ways a cash register can do this:
- Two-step: calculate 5% GST on the sale price, then 9.975% QST on the same sale price. The 9.975% may be rounded to 9.97% only if the register can't handle three decimals.
- One-step: apply a single combined rate of 14.975% to the sale price. That may be rounded to 14.97% only if the register can't handle three decimals.
Two more rules:
- Rounding: only fractions of half a cent ($0.005) or more round up to the next cent. For several items, you can calculate tax on the total before rounding.
- What the receipt shows: the 9.97%, 14.97% and 14.975% rates must not appear on the receipt or invoice, whichever method you use.
Example: a Montreal café sale
For example, a café in Montreal sells a catering order for $100.00.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Sale price | $100.00 |
| GST at 5% | $5.00 |
| QST at 9.975% ($9.975, rounded) | $9.98 |
| Total | $114.98 |
Using the one-step method, $100.00 x 14.975% = $14.975, which rounds to $14.98. Same total.
Filing frequency and deadlines
Revenu Québec assigns your filing frequency, monthly, quarterly or annual, based on your and your associates' expected annual taxable sales in Canada. You use the same fiscal year for the GST/HST and the QST so both returns line up, and that's usually the same as your income tax year. The frequency appears on your confirmation of registration, and you can make an election when you register.
| Frequency | Return due | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly or quarterly | One month after the end of the period | July to September 2026 quarter: October 31, 2026 |
| Annual | Generally three months after the end of the period | Fiscal year ended December 31, 2026: March 31, 2027 |
| Annual, individual with business income, December 31 year end | June 15 of the following year to file; payment by April 30 | 2026: file by June 15, 2027, pay by April 30, 2027 |
Annual filers generally pay the GST/HST and QST in four instalments, due by the last day of the month after each quarter of the fiscal year. You remit the net tax, or claim the refund, when you file the return.
Returns must be filed online
For reporting periods starting on or after January 1, 2024, GST and QST registrants other than charities must file their returns electronically. You can file through My Account for businesses or My Account for individuals, the GST/HST and QST Returns express service with a clicSÉQUR express access code, or a financial institution's online service that lets you file and pay in one transaction. If you don't file your GST/HST return online, you may face a penalty.
Since fall 2025, businesses registered for My Account for businesses get most of their communications from Revenu Québec online.
Examples
A Quebec City consultant crossing $30,000 in one quarter
A management consultant in Quebec City starts out in January 2026 with small contracts: $6,000 in the first quarter and $9,000 in the second. In the third quarter they sign a $28,000 project, invoiced in August. Their third-quarter supplies go over $30,000 with that invoice, so they stop being a small supplier immediately. They charge GST and QST on the $28,000 invoice and everything after it, and register with Revenu Québec before that invoice goes out.
A Laval online shop with an associated company
The owner of a Laval online shop also controls a second corporation that sells refurbished furniture. The shop made $22,000 in taxable sales over the last four quarters, and the furniture company made $19,000. Because the two are associated, Revenu Québec looks at the combined $41,000, which is over $30,000. Neither company qualifies as a small supplier.
A Montreal web designer with an Ontario client
A web designer in Montreal is a GST/HST and QST registrant. Revenu Québec says Quebec registrants must collect the HST on sales they make in participating provinces: New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Prince Edward Island. Whether a given sale is "made in" Ontario depends on the federal place-of-supply rules. When it is, the designer charges Ontario HST instead of GST and QST, and still reports it on the return filed with Revenu Québec.
A checklist for new Quebec businesses
- Track your and your associates' worldwide taxable supplies quarter by quarter.
- Register for both taxes before the sale that takes you out of small supplier status.
- Check whether you're in a mandatory-registration category such as taxi, tobacco, fuel, alcohol, tires or vehicles.
- Set your register or invoicing software to 5% plus 9.975%, or 14.975% in one step, and keep those combined rates off receipts.
- Note your assigned filing frequency and put the first return date on your calendar.
- File online through My Account for businesses or another approved electronic method.
Common questions
Do I register for GST with the CRA if my business is in Quebec?
No. Revenu Québec handles GST/HST registration for persons carrying on commercial activities in Quebec, and you deal with it for GST/HST returns, audits and objections.
What's the combined rate in Quebec?
5% GST plus 9.975% QST, both calculated on the price before tax, for 14.975% in total.
Can I stay unregistered if I'm under $30,000?
Yes, as a small supplier, unless you're in a mandatory category. You can also register voluntarily to claim ITCs and ITRs, but then you must stay registered for at least a year.
When is my first quarterly return due?
One month after the end of the quarter. For the quarter ending September 30, 2026, that's October 31, 2026.
Can I file on paper?
Generally no. For reporting periods starting on or after January 1, 2024, registrants other than charities must file electronically.
This guide is general information about Quebec GST and QST registration and filing for tax year 2026, not tax or legal advice for your business. Revenu Québec's rules change, so check its current pages before you register or set your filing frequency.
Each return is quicker when the books already split GST and QST collected from the ITCs and ITRs you can claim, period by period. More on our bookkeeping and payroll for Canadian businesses at rkubeservices.com.