GST in Quebec
Two taxes, two tax offices, and a rate with three decimals
Quebec runs its own sales tax and its own revenue agency. That means a second registration, a second return, and a rate that punishes anyone who rounds it.
5% + 9.975%
Quebec
Rates checked against the Canada Revenue Agency in August 2026. See the CRA rate page
Quebec charges 5% GST plus 9.975% QST. Both apply to the same pre-tax amount and neither is charged on the other, which has been true since 2013. The provincial half is administered by Revenu Quebec rather than the CRA, so working here means a second registration and a second return.
Rates on this page are read from the same table our GST/HST calculator uses, checked against the Canada Revenue Agency. It is a rate page, not tax advice.
What a thousand dollar job actually invoices at
Both taxes come off the price before tax. You never work out the QST first and then take 5% of the bigger number.
| Job amount before tax | $1,000.00 | |
| GST on the job amount | 5% | $50.00 |
| QST on the same amount | 9.975% | $99.75 |
| Total to invoice | $1,149.75 |
Whether the QST lands on your labour or only on your materials depends on the trade and the job, so check with the province. Both calculators make it optional for that reason.
Rates checked against the Canada Revenue Agency in August 2026. Federal rate: Canada Revenue Agency. QST: Quebec.
Why the third decimal place is not fussiness
GST in Quebec is the 5% federal tax, charged alongside the Quebec sales tax at 9.975%. The two are separate taxes with separate registrations. Revenu Quebec collects both on the CRA's behalf, which is the reverse of how every other province works.
The provincial rate here is not a round number, and it is the only one in the country that is not. Round it up to the nearest tenth and you are charging above the legislated rate on every invoice you send.
On a small job the difference is pennies. Across a year of work it is a number, and it is a number you collected without authority. Both calculators on this site print the rate to three decimals for that reason, and the invoice builder works with the unrounded figure right up to the point of display.
- 01A higher rate than the province sets
- 02An overcharge on every taxable line
- 03A total the customer cannot reproduce
- 04A gap between what you collected and what you owe
Four questions that decide the rate you charge
Run these in order before you write the number on a quote. Most rate mistakes are a wrong answer to the first one.
- 01
Where was the work actually done?
The place of supply sets the rate, not where your business is registered.
- 02
Goods, or work on a building?
Delivered goods and work on real property follow different rules.
- 03
Are you registered yet?
Under the small-supplier threshold you do not charge GST or HST at all.
- 04
Does a separate provincial tax apply?
Four provinces charge one alongside the 5% GST, on the same pre-tax amount.
What having a provincial revenue agency actually means
Everywhere else the CRA is the only tax office a contractor deals with. Not here.
- One registration, through the CRA
- One return covering the federal tax
- Provincial tax handled by the province, if at all
- One account number to quote
- A federal account and a provincial one
- Revenu Quebec administers both
- Its own forms and its own deadlines
- Two numbers to keep straight
What does an out of province contractor actually have to do?
Start with the work, not the paperwork. If you are making taxable supplies in Quebec, the province's taxes apply to them regardless of where your business sits.
Federally, the threshold is $30,000 in taxable sales over four straight calendar quarters, and that is the same test wherever you operate. Quebec runs its own small-supplier test for the provincial tax, and the two do not automatically line up.
The practical advice is the boring one: sort the registrations before the first invoice rather than after it. Backdating a registration is possible and unpleasant. Getting it right first means the invoice you send in week one is the invoice you would send in year three.
A Quebec invoice, line by line
Work out the taxable amount
Labour, materials and anything else taxable, before any tax at all is applied.
Apply both taxes to that figure
The federal rate and the provincial one, each off the same base. Never one on the other.
Keep three decimals in the maths
Round once, at the end, on the money. Rounding the rate first is what overcharges the customer.
Show both account numbers
The federal registration and the provincial one. A customer claiming either tax back will need them.
- 01
Work out the taxable amount
Labour, materials and anything else taxable, before any tax at all is applied.
- 02
Apply both taxes to that figure
The federal rate and the provincial one, each off the same base. Never one on the other.
- 03
Keep three decimals in the maths
Round once, at the end, on the money. Rounding the rate first is what overcharges the customer.
- 04
Show both account numbers
The federal registration and the provincial one. A customer claiming either tax back will need them.
Working somewhere else this month?
The rate follows the job. If the work crosses a border, so does the number you charge.
Quebec sales tax, answered
Quebec charges 5% GST. Alongside it the province charges QST at 9.975%, which is a separate tax. Both are worked out on the price before tax, so the two never compound on each other.
Not any more. Until 2013 the provincial tax was calculated on the GST-inclusive amount, and a lot of older guidance still describes it that way. Today both taxes come off the same pre-tax figure.
No. Carrying it to one decimal turns it into a round number that is higher than the real rate, and that difference lands on a customer's invoice as an overcharge. Keep all three decimals in the calculation.
Usually yes if you are doing taxable work here. Quebec administers both taxes itself, so the provincial registration is its own process with its own account, even though it sits alongside the federal one.
For the federal tax it is $30,000 in taxable sales over four straight calendar quarters. Quebec applies its own small-supplier test for QST, so check the provincial rules rather than assuming the same number covers both.
The work is in Quebec, so Quebec's taxes apply to it. That can bring the provincial registration into play even for an out-of-province business, so it is worth checking before you sign rather than after you invoice.
Because a rate with three decimals and a second tax is exactly what gets rounded at the end of a long day. StrikeHoney applies both from one table, keeps the pre-tax base right, and holds the tax report. You set the province once instead of every job.
What to remember
Quebec asks more of you than any other province, and none of it is difficult once it is set up. Two taxes on one pre-tax amount, two registrations, and a provincial rate that has to be carried to three decimals. The two things that actually cost people money here are rounding that rate and assuming a federal registration covers the provincial one.
Get the Quebec numbers right the first time
Come in as one of the Founding 30 for 90 days free, and let both taxes land to the decimal every time.