GST and QST registration in Quebec: when and how?

Most new Quebec businesses hit the same question a few months in: do I have to charge sales tax yet? The answer depends on one number, $30,000, and on how your sales fall across calendar quarters. This guide explains when GST and QST registration becomes mandatory, what "small supplier" status protects you from, why some businesses register before they have to, and how to file with Revenu Québec, using Revenu Québec's own registration pages as the source.

This article is general information, not legal or tax advice. Thresholds have exceptions and associated businesses are counted together, so if your file is anything but simple, check it with one of the tax specialists Lexstart works with.

At what point do I have to register for GST and QST in Quebec?

You must register for the GST and the QST once the total taxable supplies made worldwide by you and your associates exceed $30,000 in a single calendar quarter, or across the four preceding calendar quarters. Below that line you are a "small supplier" and registration is optional. Above it, registration and tax collection are mandatory.

Two words in that rule cause most of the confusion.

Worldwide. The $30,000 counts every taxable sale you make, not just the ones to Quebec customers. A consultant billing clients in Ontario and France still adds those invoices to the total.

Associates. Revenu Québec adds together the taxable supplies of associated persons, usually where one controls the other: two corporations, an individual and a corporation, or a person and a partnership or trust. If you own two small companies that each sell $20,000 a year, you cannot treat each one as a small supplier.

The total excludes the GST/HST and QST you collected, financial services, and sales of capital property such as a building or a business vehicle. Zero-rated supplies do count, even though the tax rate on them is zero.

Revenu Québec's page on registering for the GST and QST is the reference for the general rule.

The single-quarter case is the one that catches people. A freelance developer who lands one $35,000 contract in March crosses the line inside the first quarter, and Revenu Québec expects tax on that very invoice. The slower path, where sales creep past $30,000 over a year, gives you until the end of the following month.

Who is not required to register for GST and QST?

If your taxable supplies, worldwide and including associates, stay at or under $30,000 in every calendar quarter and every rolling four-quarter window, you are a small supplier. Revenu Québec's page on small suppliers states that a small supplier is not required to register for the GST/HST or the QST and does not have to collect either tax.

That covers many side businesses and first-year startups. If you run a small operation next to a salaried job, the rules on side hustle taxes in Canada explain how that income is taxed even when no sales tax applies yet.

A different group cannot register at all, regardless of revenue. Revenu Québec refuses registration to an individual, a personal trust, or a partnership made up only of individuals that carries on a business with no reasonable expectation of profit, or that supplies only tax-exempt property or services. Public service bodies use a separate threshold that this article does not cover.

Who has to register for QST regardless of revenue?

The $30,000 threshold is the general rule, not a universal one. Revenu Québec names situations where registration is mandatory no matter how small your sales are.

For both the GST and the QST, registration is required from the first dollar if you operate a taxi business, or if you are not resident in Quebec (or Canada, for GST purposes) and you charge the public admission to events or activities taking place in Quebec.

For the QST alone, registration is mandatory even for a small supplier, and whether or not you are registered for the GST, if you carry on any of these activities in Quebec:

• retail sale of tobacco
• retail sale of fuel
• sale of alcoholic beverages, unless you hold a reunion permit
• sale or lease of new tires
• sale of road vehicles other than a road vehicle that is your capital property, or lease of road vehicles for 12 months or more

A used-car dealer with $12,000 in sales still needs a QST number. If your business touches any item in that list, skip the threshold analysis and register.

Should a small supplier register voluntarily?

Nothing stops a small supplier from registering early. Whether it makes sense comes down to who your customers are and what you spend.

Once registered, you must collect GST and QST on every taxable supply (zero-rated supplies excepted) and remit the amounts to Revenu Québec. In exchange, you can claim input tax credits (ITCs) for the GST and input tax refunds (ITRs) for the QST paid on purchases made to produce those taxable supplies. A business buying equipment, software, or inventory recovers the tax it paid on them.

Two constraints come with the choice. A business carrying on commercial activity in Quebec that registers for the QST must also register for the GST/HST; you cannot pick one. And once registered, the business must stay registered for at least one year.

A sole proprietor and a corporation face the same $30,000 rule. If you are still deciding whether to incorporate, the comparison of federal or provincial incorporation in Quebec covers what changes when you set up a corporation.

When exactly must the registration be filed?

Crossing the threshold and filing the registration are two separate deadlines, and Revenu Québec sets them differently for each tax.

For the QST, you must apply for registration before you make your first taxable supply in Quebec other than as a small supplier. If you can see that a sale will cross the limit, register before making it. If a completed sale has already pushed the quarter over $30,000, the tax still applies to that supply.

For the GST, you must apply before the 30th day following the day you make your first taxable sale in Canada other than as a small supplier.

The QST deadline arrives earlier. A planned threshold-crossing sale should therefore prompt both applications. Revenu Québec's page on how to register for the GST and QST states both deadlines.

Track taxable supplies for each calendar quarter and for the applicable four-quarter period. If you cross unexpectedly, confirm the effective date with Revenu Québec before correcting invoices.

How do I get a GST and QST number in Quebec?

Revenu Québec handles both registrations together and issues both numbers. There are three routes, and the right one depends on whether Revenu Québec already has a file on your business.

The Quebec government's Démarrer une entreprise service also walks a new business through registrations with several departments and agencies and lets you track each application.

Before starting, calculate your taxable supplies for the relevant quarter and four-quarter period, include associated persons, and identify excluded supplies. Note whether a special activity makes registration mandatory regardless of revenue. That work tells you whether you are applying voluntarily or because the small supplier exception has ended.

What happens after registration?

Once you hold GST and QST numbers you must collect both taxes on every taxable supply, other than zero-rated ones, and file returns for each reporting period. You also gain the right to claim ITCs and ITRs on business purchases. Revenu Québec assigns the reporting periods; the notice you receive after registering is the only reliable source for yours.

If you incorporated recently, or plan to, the registration sits alongside the other post-incorporation steps such as the corporate bank account and the minute book. Lexstart's incorporation service sets up the corporation itself; tax registrations follow once the company exists and its activity is defined.

Frequently asked questions

Does the $30,000 threshold apply per year?

Not exactly. Revenu Québec applies it two ways at once: to any single calendar quarter, and to the four preceding calendar quarters combined. A business with $8,000 in each of four quarters stays under. A business with $31,000 in one quarter crosses the line immediately, even if the year's total would otherwise be small.

Do sales outside Quebec count toward the threshold?

Yes. The threshold covers taxable supplies made worldwide by you and your associates, not only supplies made to customers in Quebec. Zero-rated supplies count too. What is left out is the tax itself, financial services, and the sale of capital property such as a vehicle or building used in the business.

Can I register for the QST without registering for the GST?

Generally no. Revenu Québec states that a business carrying on commercial activity in Quebec that registers for the QST must also register for the GST/HST. The only exception runs the other way: certain products, such as tobacco or new tires, make QST registration mandatory whether or not the business is registered for the GST.

If I register voluntarily, can I cancel later?

Not right away. Revenu Québec requires a business that registers to remain registered for at least one year. That is a minimum period, not an automatic cancellation date. Until Revenu Québec confirms a cancellation, keep collecting and remitting the taxes on taxable supplies. Check the cancellation conditions before registering voluntarily.

I crossed $30,000 in a single quarter. Does tax apply to that sale?

Yes. When the limit is exceeded within one calendar quarter, small supplier status ends immediately. Tax applies to the supply that caused the excess and to every supply after it. If you crossed unexpectedly, confirm the QST effective date with Revenu Québec. Apply for GST before the 30th day following that supply.

Is registration handled by Revenu Québec or the CRA?

For a business in Quebec, Revenu Québec handles both. It administers the GST/HST alongside the QST and issues the numbers through its Register a New Business service, My Account for businesses, or form LM-1-V. Being registered for the GST also means you are registered for the HST, which matters for sales into HST provinces.

Where to go from here

The rule fits on one line. Registration becomes mandatory above $30,000 in taxable supplies in one calendar quarter or across the applicable four-quarter period. QST and GST then follow different application deadlines. The hard part is calculating what counts and knowing whether a special rule removes the threshold.

If your numbers are near the line, or if associated companies, exempt supplies, or a special product category are in play, have a professional look at your file first. Getting the effective date right is far cheaper than correcting invoices later.

This article provides general information about GST and QST registration in Quebec and does not constitute legal, tax, or accounting advice. Rules and thresholds can change, and their application depends on your specific circumstances. Consult a qualified professional before acting.