Tax glossary

GST / QST

Short answer

GST is the 5% federal Goods and Services Tax; QST is the 9.975% Québec Sales Tax. Businesses operating in Québec generally register for, collect and remit both.

Last reviewed: August 20, 2026

Key facts

Category	GST, QST & HST
Also known as	sales tax, TPS/TVQ
Administered by	Revenu Québec administers both GST and QST for most Québec registrants
Filed on	A combined GST/QST return in Québec
Filing frequency	Annual, quarterly or monthly, set by supply volume
Registration trigger	Ceasing to be a small supplier, or voluntary registration
Authority	Revenu Québec; Canada Revenue Agency

What it means in practice

GST applies across Canada at 5%. QST applies in Québec at 9.975%, calculated on the price before GST, which gives a combined rate of 14.975%. Both are collected by the business on behalf of the government, not paid by it: you charge tax on sales, claim back the tax you paid on business purchases, and remit the difference. Revenu Québec administers both taxes for most Québec businesses, so one registration and one return usually covers each period. Reporting frequency — monthly, quarterly or annual — is set by your taxable revenue, and remittance deadlines follow from it.

Two taxes, one filing, separate rules

Québec is the only province where the provincial sales tax is a value-added tax administered alongside GST by the provincial authority. For most registrants that means one combined return, one set of books, and one payment schedule. The rules are close but not identical. Some supplies are exempt or zero-rated federally and treated differently for QST, and the input tax refund rules for QST have historically restricted recovery for large businesses in ways GST does not. Assuming the two follow each other is a common source of assessment. Selling outside Québec adds a third layer: you charge the rate of the destination province, which means HST in the participating provinces and GST alone elsewhere.

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FAQ

Do I register for GST and QST separately?

You register for both, but for most Québec businesses the administration runs through Revenu Québec, which issues both numbers and receives the combined return. Selected listed financial institutions and some other categories are handled differently and should confirm which authority administers them.

I sell to customers in Ontario. Which tax do I charge?

Place-of-supply rules point to the destination, so a sale delivered to an Ontario customer generally attracts HST at the Ontario rate rather than GST plus QST. You collect it as a registrant and remit it with your regular return; the rules differ for goods, services and digital products.

Sources

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.

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