Filing QST Returns From Outside Quebec
Short answer: if your business is in another province and you registered for QST under Quebec’s specified system, you file a QST-only return every calendar quarter with Revenu Québec. It’s due on the last day of the month after the quarter (30 April, 31 July, 31 October, 31 January), filed online in My Account for suppliers outside Québec. You report the 9.975% QST you charged Quebec consumers, subtract any QST you refunded, and pay the balance. There are no input tax refunds, and your GST stays on your CRA return.
This guide is for Canadian businesses outside Quebec, registered for GST/HST with the CRA, whose sales to Quebec consumers passed $30,000 over 12 months. If your business is located in Quebec, you file a combined return instead: see how to file a GST/QST return in Quebec. Not registered yet? Read Quebec QST first.
Your QST filing deadlines
Section titled “Your QST filing deadlines”| Quarter | Return and payment due |
|---|---|
| 1 January to 31 March | 30 April |
| 1 April to 30 June | 31 July |
| 1 July to 30 September | 31 October |
| 1 October to 31 December | 31 January |
- Every registrant files quarterly. Under the specified system, the reporting period is a calendar quarter. You can’t choose monthly or annual filing.
- First and last periods: your first period starts on your QST registration date and ends at the end of that quarter. Your last ends the day before your registration is cancelled.
- Payment is due with the return. If your net QST is positive, pay it by the filing deadline.
Specified system vs general system
Section titled “Specified system vs general system”| Specified system (this guide) | General system | |
|---|---|---|
| Who | Businesses outside Quebec, no stock in Quebec, selling to Quebec consumers | Quebec businesses, and sellers outside Quebec that store goods or deliver within Quebec |
| QST number | Includes NR | 10 digits + TQ + 4 digits |
| Online service | My Account for suppliers outside Québec | My Account for businesses |
| Reporting period | Calendar quarter, always | Annual, quarterly or monthly |
| Return covers | QST only | GST/HST and QST together (Quebec businesses) |
| Input tax refunds (ITRs) | No | Yes |
| Charge QST to Quebec businesses? | No, if they give you a TQ number | Yes, to everyone |
How to file, step by step
Section titled “How to file, step by step”- Sign in to My Account for suppliers outside Québec. You were signed up automatically when you registered under the specified system.
- Run your Quebec report. From Shopify, WooCommerce or your accounting software, export the quarter’s sales to customers in Quebec. Leave out sales to Quebec businesses that gave you a TQ number, sales through marketplaces that collected QST for you (such as Etsy), and zero-rated items such as printed books with an ISBN.
- Work out your specified net tax:
- add the QST you charged, or that became payable, in the quarter,
- subtract QST you refunded or credited to customers (returns, discounts after the sale),
- add QST on bad debts you recovered, and subtract QST on bad debts you wrote off.
- File the QST return under File in My Account for suppliers outside Québec. File online: it’s the only way to file under the specified system.
- Pay. The acknowledgement of receipt Revenu Québec sends when you file has the banking details and a unique payment code for that return. Pay through the online payment service of a Canadian financial institution (or one with an agreement with Quebec’s Ministère des Finances), or by international transfer such as SWIFT.
- Keep the acknowledgement with your records.
If the result is negative, for example because a big refund to a customer landed in a quiet quarter, that amount is a refund of specified net tax you can claim.
Goods and digital products: what to charge Quebec customers
Section titled “Goods and digital products: what to charge Quebec customers”Canadian sellers outside Quebec under the specified system charge 9.975% QST on taxable goods (corporeal movable property), intangibles (incorporeal movable property) and services supplied in Quebec to specified Québec consumers, other than zero-rated supplies. For the most common online products:
| What you sell to a Quebec consumer | GST (on your CRA return) | QST (on this return) |
|---|---|---|
| Physical goods (clothing, home goods, jewellery, cosmetics) | 5% | 9.975% |
| Printed books with an ISBN | 5% | 0% (zero-rated) |
| E-books and other digital downloads | 5% | 9.975%: only printed books are zero-rated |
| Software, apps and SaaS | 5% | 9.975% |
| Online courses, memberships and other digital services | 5% | 9.975% |
| Basic groceries | 0% | 0% |
| Sales to a Quebec business with a TQ number | 5% | Don’t charge |
A customer is a specified Québec consumer if their usual place of residence is in Quebec and they don’t show you a general QST registration. For digital sales, Revenu Québec expects two pieces of information to point to Quebec, such as the billing address, home address, IP address or other geolocation, or payment details.
Worked example: an Ottawa knitwear brand’s Q3 return
Section titled “Worked example: an Ottawa knitwear brand’s Q3 return”Rideau Knitwear sells sweaters from Ottawa through WooCommerce and registered under the specified system after its Quebec consumer sales passed $30,000. For July to September 2026:
| Amount | |
|---|---|
| Sweaters shipped to Quebec consumers | $11,200.00 |
| Knitting patterns (PDF downloads) sold to Quebec consumers | $800.00 |
| QST charged (9.975% of $12,000) | $1,197.00 |
| QST refunded on two returned sweaters ($240) | −$23.94 |
| Specified net tax to remit | $1,173.06 |
Its $2,400 of wholesale orders to Montreal boutiques with TQ numbers carry no QST and stay off the return. Rideau files in My Account for suppliers outside Québec and pays $1,173.06 by 31 October 2026, using the payment code on the acknowledgement. The 5% GST on all of these Quebec orders goes on its GST/HST return to the CRA, where it also claims its input tax credits. There’s nothing to claim back on the QST side.
Penalties and interest
Section titled “Penalties and interest”Revenu Québec’s general QST penalties apply:
| What went wrong | Penalty |
|---|---|
| Paid or remitted late, 1 to 7 days | 7% of the amount |
| 8 to 14 days late | 11% |
| More than 14 days late | 15% |
| Didn’t file a return | $25 a day, up to $2,500, on top of the above |
Interest is compounded daily on amounts owing, at a rate Revenu Québec sets each quarter: 7% a year for October to December 2026. If you’ve missed returns, Revenu Québec’s voluntary disclosure program can reduce penalties and interest.
Contact Revenu Québec
Section titled “Contact Revenu Québec”Revenu Québec has a dedicated line for suppliers outside Quebec: 1 833 372-3850 (toll-free from Canada and the US) or 1 819 348-9735 from elsewhere, and the email address Contact-NR@revenuquebec.ca. Use them for questions the online service doesn’t answer, such as returns for quarters with no Quebec sales.
Official sources
Section titled “Official sources”- Reporting the QST (suppliers outside Québec), Revenu Québec
- Collecting the QST (suppliers outside Québec), Revenu Québec
- My Account for suppliers outside Québec, Revenu Québec
- Registration under the specified system for suppliers outside Québec, Revenu Québec
- Printed books, Revenu Québec
- Late-filing penalties and penalty for failure to file, Revenu Québec
- Interest rates on debts, Revenu Québec