As a rule, you must register for the GST and QST if you carry on commercial activities in Québec.

Specifically, you must register for the GST and the QST if your total worldwide taxable supplies (including sales, rentals, exchanges, transfers, barter, etc.) and those made by your associates exceed $30,000 in a given calendar quarter or in the four preceding calendar quarters.

How to register a business for the GST and the QST

To find out how to register your business for the GST/HST and QST, see How to Register for the GST and QST.

If you are registered for the GST, you are also registered for the HST.

Mandatory GST and QST registration

Regardless of the total amount of your annual taxable sales, you must register for the GST and QST if:

• you operate a taxi business; or
• you are not resident in Québec (or in Canada, for GST purposes) and you charge admission to the public for activities or events that take place in Québec (or in Canada, for GST purposes).

Mandatory QST registration

If you carry on any of the following activities in Québec, you must register for the QST (whether or not you are registered for the GST), even if you are a small supplier:

• You sell tobacco at retail.
• You sell fuel at retail.
• You sell alcoholic beverages (unless you hold a reunion permit).
• You sell or lease new tires.
• You sell or lease new or used road vehicles, other than a road vehicle that is your capital property, for a period of 12 months or more.

Exceptions

Any individual, personal trust or partnership made up solely of individuals that carries on a business without a reasonable expectation of profit or supplies tax-exempt property or services cannot register for the GST and the QST.

For more information on the GST and QST registration rules and the special rules respecting QST registration, see IN-202-V, Registering With Revenu Québec.