CO-17 return
The CO-17 is the Québec corporation income tax return, filed with Revenu Québec by corporations with a permanent establishment in the province.
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Key facts
| Category | Corporate tax |
|---|---|
| Filed with | Revenu Québec |
| Who files | Corporations with a permanent establishment in Québec |
| Deadline | Six months after fiscal year end, matching the T2 |
| Also covers | The annual registration declaration with the Registraire des entreprises, if elected |
| Authority | Revenu Québec |
What it means in practice
Any corporation with a permanent establishment in Québec files a CO-17 in addition to its federal T2, on the same six-months-after-year-end timetable. Québec applies its own corporate rates, its own small business deduction with its own qualification tests, and a set of provincial credits — notably for R&D and for e-business — that have no federal equivalent. A corporation operating in several provinces allocates taxable income between them, so the CO-17 rarely reports the same taxable income as the T2.
Where Québec departs from the federal return
Most figures carry across from the T2, but the two are not a single calculation. Québec sets its own rates, its own small business rate conditions — including an hours-worked test that has no federal equivalent — and its own credits, which are among the more generous in Canada for research and development and for certain sectors. A corporation operating in more than one province allocates its taxable income among them using a formula based on payroll and gross revenue by establishment. Getting the allocation wrong is a common source of assessment for a business that opened an office outside Québec mid-year. The CO-17 also carries the annual registration update for the Registraire des entreprises for most corporations, which folds a corporate-law obligation into the tax filing.
FAQ
I am federally incorporated but operate in Québec. Do I file a CO-17?
Does the federal small business rate mean I get the Québec one?
Need this applied to your situation?
A definition only gets you so far. Talk to a Montréal CPA about what this means for your return — in English or French.