Communications Policy
Did you receive an email, text or phone call that seemed to be from us, but you have doubts? Find out how we communicate with taxpayers.
Things we never do
When communicating with you, we never:
- notify you of a payment, refund or money transfer by email or text;
- mention the kind of change made to your file by email or text;
- notify you by email or text that we did not receive your income tax return;
- ask for personal information by email or text;
- include confidential information in a phone message; or
- share your personal information with anyone without authorization.
In summary, if the message is not in line with any of these rules, you may be the target of phishing or identity theft.
How we communicate with you
To help you decide whether a communication really comes from us, read up on our communications policies.
If you have given us your email address or a phone number that can receive text messages and there is a security incident (or potential incident) concerning your confidential information, we may send you text or email notifications (alerts).
Our notifications will not contain any hyperlinks or attachments, or ask for personal information. Whenever we send a notification, we also send an email to your secure inbox in My Account for individuals. You can unsubscribe from notifications at any time. Refer to the page titled Why We Send You Notifications to learn more.
We may call you on behalf of the Québec government if you have a collection file being processed. If we leave you voicemail asking you to call us back at one of the following numbers, it is perfectly safe to do so:
- 1 866 242-4482
- 1 866 832-6816
- 1 877 422-7935
- 1 877 422-7924
- 1 888 890-4042
To get feedback from our clients, we regularly conduct phone and online surveys or hire third-party firms to conduct them. You can rest assured that:
- no information from our data banks is sent to the firms;
- no one can ask you for tax information on our behalf.
At your request, we can send you:
- a temporary access code by text or automated call if you are signing in to My Account via a Sign-In Partner;
- a verification code by email, text or automated call if you are using clicSÉQUR − Citoyens to sign in to My Account.
At your request, we can send documents and information through a secure email service. This service safeguards communications to protect confidentiality.
If you make such a request by phone or in writing and we reply by secure email, it is perfectly safe to continue the exchange.
We sometimes send people in a targeted group a letter inviting them to participate in pilot projects.
We use Cyberimpact, a Canadian communications platform, to manage our notification lists and send emails each time we:
- issue a press release;
- publish a tax news article;
- post a job opening;
- publish news about teaching materials for the Financial Education Program for secondary students.
We also publish newsletters containing information about topics you sign up for.