Revenu Québec Infos

Low- to moderate-income individuals age 70 or older who register for recognized programs of activities may claim a maximum refundable tax credit of $40 per year.

Determination of the tax credit

An individual (other than an excluded individual) who, at the end of December 31 of a particular taxation year (or, if the individual dies during the year, on the day he or she dies), is resident in Québec and age 70 or older may claim the refundable tax credit for that year. The tax credit is equal to 20% of the lesser of $200 and the total eligible expenses paid during the year by the individual or the person who is the individual's spouse at the time of payment.

Excluded individual

For a particular taxation year, an excluded individual is

• an individual whose income for the year is more than $40,000 (which amount, beginning January 15, 2015, is to be indexed automatically each year according to the usual rules), or
• an individual who is exempt from income tax for the year or who is the eligible spouse of such an individual for the year.

Eligible expenses

An eligible expense of an individual for a particular taxation year is any amount paid by the individual to a person or partnership during the year as his or her registration or membership fee for a recognized program of activities offered by the person or partnership. However, at the time of payment, the individual must not be living in a private residence for seniors operated by the person or partnership and, unless the person or partnership is a Québec sales tax (QST) registrant, the individual must not be related to the person or partnership.

The registration or membership fee for a program of activities offered by a person or partnership includes the costs related to the administration of the program, to the courses, to the rental of required facilities, and to the uniforms and equipment that participants in the program are unable to acquire for less than their fair market value at the time they are acquired.

However, a registration or membership fee must not include any costs related to lodging, travel, food or beverages.

Proof of payment

To be able to claim an amount as an eligible expense for purposes of the tax credit, an individual must have proof of payment in the form of a receipt that contains the prescribed information and that is issued by the person or partnership that provided the recognized program of activities to the individual.

Recognized program of activities

For purposes of the refundable tax credit for seniors' activities, the following are considered recognized programs of activities:

• a weekly program running for at least eight consecutive weeks, where either physical activities or artistic, cultural or recreational activities are a significant part of all or substantially all the activities offered;
• a program running for at least five consecutive days, where either physical activities or artistic, cultural or recreational activities are a significant part of more than 50% of the daily activities;
• a program running for at least eight consecutive weeks that is offered to seniors by a club, an association or a similar organization and that allows participants to select from a variety of activities, where
  • either physical activities or artistic, cultural or recreational activities are a significant part of more than 50% of the activities offered to seniors by the entity, or
  • more than 50% of the time allowed for the activities offered to seniors is reserved for activities of which either physical activities or artistic, cultural or recreational activities are a significant part;
• a membership in a club, an association or a similar organization for a period of at least eight consecutive weeks, where either physical activities or artistic, cultural or recreational activities are a significant part of more than 50% of the activities offered to seniors by the entity;
• a part of a program (other than a recognized program of activities), where the part runs for at least eight consecutive weeks, is offered to seniors by a club, an association or a similar organization, allows participants to select from a variety of activities and represents
  • the portion of the activities offered to seniors by the entity that are activities of which either physical activities or artistic, cultural or recreational activities are a significant part, or
  • the portion of the time allowed for activities of the program that is reserved for activities of which either physical activities or artistic, cultural or recreational activities are a significant part;
• a part of a membership in a club, an association or a similar organization (other than a membership that constitutes a recognized program of activities), where the part covers a period of at least eight consecutive weeks and represents the portion of the activities offered to seniors by the entity that are activities of which either physical activities or artistic, cultural or recreational activities are a significant part.

Effective date

Any amount paid after June 4, 2014, as an eligible individual's registration or membership fee for a recognized program of activities is eligible for the tax credit for seniors' activities, provided such amount is attributable to activities that take place after that date.

For more information, see pages 25 to 30 of the document entitled Additional Information on the Fiscal Measures of the Budget (PDF – 795 KB) tabled on June 4, 2014, by the Ministère des Finances.

Certain businesses not resident in Québec that do business online are not required to collect Québec sales tax (QST) when they sell property or services. In such a situation, QST on the value of the property or service must be calculated and paid to us by the recipient (by self-assessment). That rule applies to both digital property and corporeal movable property.

If you are an individual who purchased taxable property or a taxable service online from a non-resident business and QST was neither paid by you nor collected at customs, then generally speaking, you must calculate the tax in respect of the property or service and pay it to us. Your payment must be enclosed with a duly completed copy of form FP-505-V, Special-Purpose Return, which must be filed on or before the last day of the month following the month in which you purchased the property or service. The circumstances in which no tax has to be paid are set out in form FP-505-V.

As a rule, where QST registrants would be entitled to claim an input tax refund (ITR) were they to pay QST on the purchase of property or a service, they are not required to pay the QST. Therefore, if you are a QST registrant who purchased taxable property or a taxable service online from a non-resident business for consumption or use exclusively (90% or more) in the course of your commercial activities, you are not required to pay us the QST. However, if you purchased the property or service for purposes other than for consumption or use exclusively in your commercial activities, you must pay us the QST.

For more information, see the booklet entitled General Information Concerning the QST and the GST/HST (IN-203-V).

Unless the employer's total payroll for the year is $5 million or more, an eligible employer that has paid, allocated, granted or awarded salary or wages to one or more eligible employees in a given year prior to 2021 is deemed to have paid an excess contribution to the health services fund for the year equal to the rate of reduction applicable for the year multiplied by the lesser of

• the total eligible salary or wages paid in the year to eligible employees for the year; and
• the increase in the employer's total payroll for the year represented by the amount by which the employer's adjusted total payroll for the year exceeds the employer's adjusted total payroll for the employer's reference year.

Where an employer's total payroll for a year is $1 million or less, the rate of reduction applicable for the year is 2.7%; in all other cases, the rate is determined using the following formula:

 

Eligible employer

An eligible employer for a year is any employer, other than an excluded employer, that, during the year, carries on a business in Québec and has an establishment there. The employer can be a legal person, a partnership or an individual.

Eligible employee

An eligible employee is an employee who, under an employment contract, was hired for a recognized job in Québec requiring at least 26 hours of work per week for either an undetermined period or a minimum of 40 weeks, provided the employee has the degree or diploma ordinarily required for the recognized job and was hired

• after June 4, 2014, where the employer's reference year is the 2013 calendar year; or
• after the end of employer's reference year in all other cases.

Eligible salary or wages

An employee's eligible salary or wages for a given year correspond to the portion of the employee's salary or wages used to determine the employer contribution to the health services fund for the year, other than any amount that represents the value of a benefit the employee received by reason of an office or employment previously held by the employee.

Reference year

An employer's reference year corresponds to the first post-2012 calendar year in which the employer carried on a business throughout the entire year.

Total payroll

The same rules used to determine an employer's contribution to the health services fund for a year are used to determine an eligible employer's total payroll for the year.

Increase in the total payroll

In determining the increase in an eligible employer's total payroll for a given year, the total payroll and the attributes of all employers associated with the eligible employer and each other at the end of the year, other than any employer for which the reference year has not ended by the start of the year, must be taken into account.

For more information, see pages 8 to 14 of the document entitled Additional Information on the Fiscal Measures of the Budget (PDF – 795 KB) tabled on June 4, 2014, by the Ministère des Finances.

Québec small and medium-sized manufacturing businesses can benefit from an additional reduction of up to four percentage points from their tax rate.

Small and medium-sized manufacturing businesses

For the purposes of this measure, small and medium-sized manufacturing businesses are corporations at least 25% of whose activities consist of manufacturing and processing activities in a given taxation year.

Two items are considered in determining the proportion of a corporation's activities attributable to manufacturing and processing activities: assets and labour.

Determining the rate of the additional reduction

Small and medium-sized manufacturing businesses whose proportion of activities attributable to manufacturing and processing activities, for a given taxation year, is 50% or more, can benefit from the maximum additional reduction rate applicable for that taxation year.

Where such proportion, for a given taxation year, is between 50% and 25%, the additional reduction rate from which the business in question can benefit, for that taxation year, is reduced linearly.

The maximum rate of the additional reduction that applies with respect to a taxation year ended after June 4, 2014, is two percentage points. The maximum rate that applies with respect to a taxation year ended after March 31, 2015, is four percentage points.

However, where the taxation year of a small or medium-sized manufacturing business includes June 4, 2014, or March 31, 2015, the additional reduction rate applies in proportion to the number of days in the taxation year that follow June 4, 2014, or March 31, 2015.

For more information, see pages 1 through 3 of the Additional Information on the Fiscal Measures of the Budget (PDF – 795 KB) published on June 4, 2014, by the Ministère des Finances.

On June 4, 2014, the Minister of Finance announced that the rates of the specific tax on alcoholic beverages would be standardized as of 6 a.m. on August 1, 2014. As a result, the rates applicable to alcoholic beverages sold for home consumption (for example, at a grocery or convenience store) will increase, while the rates applicable to alcoholic beverages sold for consumption on the premises (for example, in a restaurant or bar) will decrease.

Businesses selling alcoholic beverages on which the specific tax was (or should have been) collected in advance must take inventory of all the alcoholic beverages they have in stock at 6 a.m. on August 1, 2014.

Alcoholic beverages sold for home consumption

Businesses that are required to take inventory and that sell alcoholic beverages for home consumption must, no later than August 29, 2014, file form VDZ-505-V, Alcoholic Beverage Inventory, and pay an amount equal to the difference between the specific tax applicable at the new rate and that applicable at the rate in effect before 6 a.m. on August 1, 2014.

Alcoholic beverages sold for consumption on the premises

Businesses that are required to take inventory and that sell alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises must file form VDZ-505-V no later than October 31, 2014, if they are claiming a refund.

Note

Any business that files form VDZ-505-V after October 31, 2014, will not be entitled to a refund.

For more information, click Standardization of the Rates of the Specific Tax on Alcoholic Beverages.

Tax legislation will be amended to provide that, as of the 2015 taxation year, the tax credit for workers 65 or older will be calculated on the worker's first $4,000 of eligible work income in excess of the first $5,000 of such income.

For more information, see page 25 of the Additional Information on the Fiscal Measures of the Budget (PDF – 795 KB) tabled by the Ministère des Finances on June 4, 2014.

On January 1, 2014, a new policy came into effect respecting insufficient Québec Pension Plan (QPP) contributions or insufficient Québec parental insurance plan (QPIP) premiums. Under the new policy, if we observe that you, as an employer, have calculated such amounts incorrectly, we can, under certain circumstances, make the necessary corrections without communicating with you beforehand. Where such corrections are made, we will send you a notice of assessment showing the details of the corrections.

If the data in your file does not allow us to make the corrections, we will send you a Statement of Employee and Employer QPP Contributions (form LMU-141-V) or a Statement of Québec Parental Insurance Plan Premiums (form LMU-150-V) for you to complete.

For more information about QPP contributions and QPIP premiums, see the Guide for Employers (TP-1015.G-V).

Note that the new policy is one of many efforts being made by Revenu Québec to reduce the administrative burden on businesses.

Between April 7 and May 29, 2014, a number of mandataries were mistakenly sent form FPZ-2034.3-V, Online Filing of the GST/HST and QST Returns, or form FPZ-34.3-V, Online Filing of the GST/HST Returns. Even though the forms instructed them to file their returns online, they can in fact do so on paper using form FPZ-500-V, GST/HST – QST Return, or form FPZ-34-V, GST/HST Return.

To correct the error, we will send the mandataries in question the proper forms (FPZ-500-V or FPZ-34-V) so that they can file their returns for the month of May on paper.

Mandataries that have already filed their return for the period in question can disregard the notice and destroy the form.

The source of the error has been corrected. Mandataries will receive their next return at the usual time.

The Minister of Finance today announced an increase in the tobacco tax. The increase is effective as of 12:01 a.m. on June 5, 2014.

Retail dealers and collection agents that, at 12:01 a.m. on June 5, 2014, have tobacco products in stock on which they paid (or should have paid) an amount equal to the tobacco tax must take inventory of those products at that time. They must then remit, no later than July 4, 2014, an amount equal to the difference between the tobacco tax applicable at the new rate and the tax applicable at the rate in effect before June 5, 2014.

A copy of form TAZ-7.12-V, Inventory of Tobacco Products in Stock, which includes a remittance slip, will be mailed to retail dealers and collection agents on June 5, 2014. If you sell tobacco products and you do not receive a copy of the form, please contact Revenu Québec.

For more information, click Increase in the Tobacco Tax.

This article discusses third-party fundraising for the benefit of a registered charity as defined under the Income Tax Act (for the GST) and the Taxation Act (for the QST).

In this article, the term “third-party fundraiser” refers to a person that is not a registered charity (and is therefore neither a charity nor, in some circumstances, a public institution for GST and QST purposes), and that is operated for the sole purpose of raising funds on behalf of a registered charity. The information in this article does not apply to fundraising conducted by a registered charity.

Generally, fundraising by its very nature is considered a for-profit activity. Organizations that are established and administered for the sole purpose of raising funds are not considered non-profit organizations for GST and QST purposes. This is the case even if all the funds collected are donated to a registered charity. Such organizations do not meet the “operated solely for a purpose other than profit” requirement in the definition of “non-profit organization.”

For more information on the definition of “non-profit organization” for GST and QST purposes, see GST/HST Policy Statement P-215, Determination of whether an entity is a "non-profit organization" for purpose of the Excise Tax Act (ETA).

A third-party fundraiser may make supplies of property or services in the course of a fundraising activity or event. As a rule, such supplies are taxable, even if the funds collected are donated to a registered charity.

Examples of taxable supplies that may be made by a third-party fundraiser include:

• admissions to a fundraising dinner or ball;
• entry in a golf tournament;
• promotional services provided to sponsors of a fundraising event;
• goods sold as part of a fundraising campaign (such as T-shirts or chocolate bars);
• food and beverages sold at a concession stand during a fundraising event;
• tickets to professional performances.

Ticket sales to performances or athletic or competitive events are exempt from the application of the GST and QST if 90% or more of the performers, athletes or competitors are not paid directly or indirectly for their participation. Government and municipal grants, reasonable amounts remitted as prizes, gifts, or allowances for travel or for other incidental expenses are not considered remuneration. In addition, the performance or event cannot be advertised as featuring paid participants.

The admissions will not be exempt if they are for competitive events where paid participants compete for cash prizes.

Where the third-party fundraiser makes a supply as agent of a charity, the supply has the same tax status as if it were made by the charity directly. For more information on whether a person is acting as agent in making a transaction on behalf of another person, see GST/HST Info Sheet GI-012, Agents.

If registered for GST and QST purposes, the third-party fundraiser must collect these taxes on taxable supplies and remit the amounts collected to us. The fundraiser can claim input tax credits and input tax refunds for the taxes paid on purchases related to its taxable supplies. A person must register for GST and QST purposes if the person makes taxable supplies in Québec and is not a small supplier.

Example

A group of concerned citizens forms an association to raise money for charitable organizations in their community. Each year the association holds a golf tournament where the funds raised are donated to a registered charity. The association does not have any other activities. The association solicits sponsorships from local businesses, in exchange for which the association will place the businesses' logos on all tournament signage and on the tournament website. Does the association need to charge GST and QST on the funds received from sponsors and on the tournament entry fees?

The association is not a non-profit organization for GST and QST purposes as the association is not operated for a purpose other than profit. The association is making taxable supplies of promotional services to the sponsors of the tournament. The association is also making taxable supplies of the right to play in the tournament. Therefore, if the association is a registrant, it must collect and remit to us GST and QST on the sponsorships and the tournament entry fees.

Services rendered by a moving company are subject to goods and services tax (GST) and Québec sales tax (QST). A moving company that renders services in Québec must therefore be registered for GST/HST and QST purposes, collect the taxes and remit them to us using form FP-500-V, Detailed Calculations, or form FPZ-500-V, GST/HST – QST Return. In addition, the company can claim an input tax credit (ITC) for the GST paid and an input tax refund (ITR) for the QST paid in respect of any property or services acquired to render the moving services.

However, a business that is a small supplier does not have to register for GST/HST and QST purposes or collect and remit the taxes, but it also cannot claim ITCs and ITRs for the taxes paid in respect of its purchases. A business is considered a small supplier if its total taxable sales in a particular calendar quarter and in the four calendar quarters immediately preceding that quarter are $30,000 or less. Its total taxable sales consist of all sales made worldwide during those periods by the business and its associates.

Note that if the invoices issued by the moving company to its customers show the type of services rendered, the amount of taxes collected and the company's GST/HST and QST registration numbers, customers can use the invoices to support their claims for a deduction for moving expenses or for an ITC or ITR, as applicable.

A new refundable tax credit for households that renovate their home, expand it, adapt it to the special needs of a family member or convert it into an intergenerational house has been implemented on a temporary basis.

This new credit is intended for individuals who are homeowners and who hire a qualified contractor to carry out renovation work on their principal residence under a contract entered into after April 24, 2014, and before July 1, 2015.

The amount of the tax credit corresponds to 20% of the portion of an individual's eligible expenses that exceeds $3,000, up to a maximum tax credit of $2,500.

To qualify for the tax credit, the work done must essentially cover the living space of the home as well as its exterior siding and roofing. What's more, to encourage households to incorporate eco-friendly work into their home renovation projects, all work recognized for the purposes of the EcoRenov tax credit and carried out under a contract entered into after October 31, 2014, will be recognized for the purposes of the LogiRénov tax credit.

A form for claiming the tax credit, which individuals will have to file along with their income tax return, will be available with the 2014 income tax return documents. In addition, contractors that carried out eco-friendly renovation work under the LogiRénov home renovation tax credit will have to certify that the materials and appliances involved comply with recognized energy and environmental standards. To do so, the contractor will have to complete and sign a Certificate of Compliance With Energy and Environmental Standards (form TP-1029.ER.A-V) and give it to his or her client. 

For more information, click LogiRénov.

Are you involved in electronic commerce? Do you actively speculate on the stock market? Do you repeatedly sell your personal residences? If you engage in such activities with a view to making a profit, we consider that you are carrying on a business. Any income from such a business must be reported as business income, not as capital gains.

For more information, see the publication Business and Professional Income (IN-155-V).

Capital régional et coopératif Desjardins (CRDC) can play a significant role in financing businesses in Québec regions ranking lowest in recent years on the economic development index used by the Ministère des Finances et de l'Économie du Québec (whether or not the regions in question are resource regions). To take into account this significant role, various changes will be made to CRDC's constituting act.  

For more information, see page I.3 of the Budget Plan (PDF – 4,45 MB) tabled by the Ministère des Finances et de l'Économie.

The annual threshold of $50,000 will be replaced with a single threshold of $50,000. Tax legislation will be amended so that the single threshold of $50,000 applicable to a corporation for a taxation year corresponds to the qualified expenditures incurred by the corporation, in the taxation year or a prior taxation year, and to its share of the qualified expenditures incurred by a qualified partnership of which it is a member, for a fiscal period ended in the taxation year or a prior taxation year of the corporation, and that total $50,000.

A corporation will be entitled to the tax credit for a taxation year only if the single threshold of $50,000 for the year is reached.

This change applies to any corporation's taxation year that ends after February 20, 2014.

For more information, see page I.11 of the Budget Plan (PDF – 4,45 MB), tabled by the Ministère des Finances et de l'Économie.

A death benefit from the Québec Pension Plan or the Canada Pension Plan is not to be included in the income of a deceased person. For information on how to report such a benefit, see the instructions for line 119 of the income tax return.

Do you make maple products? If you would like to know whether or not the GST and QST apply to the sale of your products and should be collected, click Maple Products.

In recent months, Revenu Québec has published or updated the following documents:

• Employment Expenses (IN-118-V)
• New Residents and Income Tax (IN-119-V)
• General Information Concerning the QST and the GST/HST (IN-203-V)
• QST, GST/HST and Fuel Tax: How They Apply to Freight Carriers (IN-218-V)
• An Overview of the Fuel Tax Act (IN-222-V)
• Shelter Allowance Program (IN-165-V)
• Questions About Tips: Employees (IN-251-V)
• Taxable Benefits (IN-253-V)
• The QST and the GST/HST: How They Apply to Residential Complexes (Construction or Renovation) (IN-261-V)
• Employee or Self-Employed Person? (IN-301-V)
• Voluntary Disclosure: Rectifying Your Tax Situation (IN-309-V)
• Information Bulletin for Restaurateurs (IN-522-V)
• Information for Restaurateurs (IN-575-V)
• SRM User Guide (IN-577-V)
• Support Payments: Application for Exemption (IN-900-V)
• The Payment of Support (IN-901-V)
• Support Payments: When the Debtor or Creditor Resides Outside Québec (IN-904-V)
• Support Payments Bulletin (IN-906-V)

For its part, the Canada Revenue Agency has published or updated the following documents:

GST/HST Guides

• GST/HST New Housing Rebate (RC4028)
• Financial Institution GST/HST Annual Information Return (RC4419)

GST/HST Info Sheets

• Insurance – Appraisals of Damage Caused to Property (GI-134)
• Application of the GST/HST to Home Care Services (GI-166)

Many public service bodies (This link will open a new window) (PSBs) are entitled to a PSB rebate of the GST and QST paid or payable on certain purchases and expenses. PSBs that have paid HST on purchases and expenses in a participating province (This link will open a new window) may qualify for a PSB rebate of the HST paid.

Since January 1, 2014, municipalities (and organizations designated as a municipality) are entitled to a rebate of 62.8% of the QST paid on property and services acquired to make exempt supplies. The rebate mechanism is similar to that provided for under the GST system.

PSBs eligible for a rebate

A PSB may be eligible for a rebate if, on the last day of the claim period or on the last day of the fiscal year that includes that claim period, it is either

• a charity (This link will open a new window);
• a qualifying non-profit organization (This link will open a new window); or
• a selected public service body (This link will open a new window).

Therefore, a PSB could be entitled to a rebate for some claim periods, but not for others.

Taxes that qualify for a rebate

The rebate claimed by a PSB is generally calculated based on the taxes that were payable, or that were paid without becoming payable, during the claim period. However, the following amounts do not give entitlement to the rebate:

• any input tax credits and input tax refunds claimed by the PSB, or to which the PSB was entitled, for the taxes paid during that period;
• any tax refunds, rebates or remissions that it is reasonable to expect the PSB received or was entitled to receive;
• any amount of GST or QST that was refunded, credited, or adjusted in favour of the PSB and for which it has received a credit note from the supplier or has issued a debit note to the supplier.

The taxes payable during a given claim period cannot generally be claimed in the rebate application for a subsequent claim period. If a PSB has not claimed rebates for several periods, it must file a separate rebate application form for each period for which it is entitled to a rebate.

Rebate application forms

A PSB filing a rebate application for the first time must complete the GST/HST Rebate Application for Public Service Bodies (form FPZ-66-V) for the GST and the Application for a QST Rebate for Public Service Bodies (form VDZ-387-V) for the QST.

After we process the application, we will send the PSB personalized versions of the forms, which the PSB will be required to use for its next application.

Frequency of rebate applications

If the PSB is registered for the GST and the QST, it must apply for a rebate when it files its returns, whether it be on a monthly, quarterly or annual basis.

If the PSB is not registered for the GST and the QST, it must apply for a rebate twice a year: once for the first six months of its fiscal year, and a second time for the last six months.

Filing deadlines for the rebate

A PSB registered for the GST and the QST has four years from the due date of its GST and QST returns for a given claim period to file a rebate application. A PSB that is not registered for the GST and the QST has four years from the last day of the claim period to file a rebate application.

If a PSB has already claimed a rebate for a claim period and subsequently realizes that it could have claimed rebates for other amounts of tax for the same period, it must adjust the previously filed application by including the additional amounts of tax. It cannot include the amounts in the rebate application for a different claim period. Adjustments to applications must generally be made no later than four years after the date the applications were originally filed.

Example 1

A charity that is not registered for the GST and the QST pays GST and QST on purchases and expenses that qualify for a rebate throughout its fiscal year ending December 31, 2013. Can the charity file a single rebate application that covers the entire fiscal year?

As the charity is not registered for the GST and the QST, it must file two rebate applications per fiscal year: one for the first six months and another for the last six months. The charity must file one rebate application for the period from January 1, 2013, to June 30, 2013, and another for the period from July 1, 2013, to December 31, 2013. It must calculate its rebate based on the taxes paid or payable for each respective period.

Example 2

A charity that is registered for the GST and the QST files monthly tax returns. It always files rebate applications with its tax returns before the due date of the returns. In August 2013, the charity realized that it had not included an invoice dated April 24, 2013, in its April rebate application. The invoice showed a GST amount of $1,500 and a QST amount of $2,992. Can the charity include these amounts in its rebate application for the period from August 1, 2013, to August 31, 2013?  

The taxes became payable during the period from April 1, 2013, to April 30, 2013. Therefore, the charity may only claim the rebate on the application for the period from April 1, 2013, to April 30, 2013. Since the charity had already filed its rebate application for that period, it must adjust that application rather than include the taxes in an application for a subsequent period.

Example 3

In July 2013, an organization that is not registered for the GST and the QST was designated as a municipality in respect of certain designated activities. The effective date of the designation is July 1, 2009. The fiscal year of the organization designated as a municipality ends on December 31. How can the organization claim a rebate of the taxes paid or payable since July 1, 2009?

Since the organization is not registered for the GST and the QST, it must file two rebate applications per fiscal year: one for the first six months and another for the last six months.

Under the GST system, an organization designated as a municipality may file its rebate application within four years following the last day of its claim period. In this example, the organization must first file, no later than December 31, 2013, a rebate application for the period from July 1, 2009, to December 31, 2009. It must then file separate rebate applications for each of the subsequent six-month periods.

In addition, if the organization designated as a municipality has already claimed a rebate as a charity or a non-profit organization for a period after July 1, 2009, it must, for its designated activities only, adjust the rebate application using the rebate rates of a municipality.

Under the QST system, an organization designated as a municipality is not entitled to any rebates pertaining to its designated activities before January 1, 2014.

Example 4

A non-profit organization that is registered for the GST and the QST files quarterly tax returns. It determined that it was a qualifying non-profit organization during its fiscal year ending December 31, 2013. The non-profit organization has never filed a rebate application. Can it apply for a rebate on the taxes paid on its purchases and expenses in the last four years?

The taxes paid or payable during a period when a non-profit organization was not entitled to the rebate cannot be carried to a rebate application for a period when the organization is entitled to a rebate. To claim a rebate of the taxes paid or payable during a previous period, the organization must determine whether it was a qualifying non-profit organization on the last day of the particular claim period or the last day of the fiscal year that includes that claim period.

If it determines that it was only a qualifying non-profit organization during its fiscal year ending December 31, 2013, the organization must file a separate rebate application for each quarter of 2013 in which it was entitled to the rebate.

For more information, see the Canada Revenue Agency's GST/HST Public Service Bodies' Rebate guide (RC4034).

Since July 3, 2013, any person who files paper RL slips has been required to distribute only copy 2 of the slips to the persons for whom the slips are being filed (the "recipients").

However, this new measure does not apply to RL-14 slips (see courtesy translation RL-14-T) filed on paper. Distribute copies 2 and 3 of such slips to the recipients.

If you distribute RL slips to recipients electronically, you must obtain their prior consent (in writing or electronically). In such cases, provide each recipient with only one copy of the electronic slip.