Leaving Québec
The fact that you leave Québec during the year does not release you from your income tax obligations in Québec.
You leave Québec for another province or a territory of Canada
Individuals report their income and pay income tax for the year in the province in which they are resident for tax purposes on December 31.
If you leave Québec for another province or a territory of Canada at some point in a particular year, for tax purposes you will be considered resident solely in the province or territory with which you have the most significant residential ties.
Have you become a non-resident of Québec?
The courts have established that the factors to be considered in determining whether you are a non-resident of Québec for tax purposes are:
- your residential ties with Québec
- the regularity and length of visits you make to Québec
- your anticipated return to Québec at the end of the stay outside Québec
For more information, see interpretation bulletin IMP. 22-3/R2, Détermination de la résidence d'un particulier qui quitte le Québec et le Canada (in French only), on the Publications du Québec website.
Temporary absence from Québec (anticipated return)
In some situations, your absence from Québec is considered temporary. For example, if you keep residential ties with Québec while:
- working in another province or territory of Canada (military personnel, individuals who work or have an employer outside of Québec, etc.)
- attending school in another province or territory of Canada
- travelling in another province or territory of Canada
In such a case, you generally continue to be a Québec resident for tax purposes despite your physical absence on December 31 of the year.
See the examples below.
Person working outside Québec
Mr. Sharif has owned a house in Montréal for 15 years where he lives with his spouse and two children. He has a job in Alberta, where he rents an apartment. He visits Québec frequently to see his family.
Conclusion
Mr. Sharif is resident in Québec for tax purposes because he owns a house in Québec and his spouse and children live there. These factors are proof of significant residential ties with Québec. He must therefore file his Québec income tax return for 2025 and include his worldwide income from all sources.
Person working outside Canada
Ms. Stevenson owns a house in Sherbrooke and lives there with her spouse. She signs a contract with a new employer in Florida that runs for two years from February 2, 2026, to February 4, 2028. She will rent an apartment in Florida during that time but keep her home in Québec.
Conclusion
Ms. Stevenson owns a home in Québec and lives there with her spouse. These factors are proof of significant residential ties with Québec. She is therefore resident in Québec for tax purposes. She must file Québec income tax returns for 2026 to 2028 if her situation does not change. The returns must include the income she earned in Florida. However, if she is also required to file a U.S. income tax return, she may qualify for the foreign tax credit in her Québec return.
Armed forces member working outside Québec and Canada
Mr. Bateman is a member of the Canadian Armed Forces. He has owned a house in Brossard for 12 years and lives there with his spouse and 5-year-old twins. On October 6, 2025, he leaves Québec for a deployment of unknown length but his spouse and children stay in Québec. He is still deployed on December 31, 2025, and his date of return is unknown.
Conclusion
Although Mr. Bateman is outside Québec on December 31, 2025, he is still resident in Québec for tax purposes because he has maintained significant residential ties with Québec. He still owns a house in Québec, and his spouse and children live there. He must therefore file a Québec income tax return for 2025 and include his worldwide income from all sources.
Permanent departure
If you move from Québec with no intention of returning and sever all residential ties with the province, you are considered to have left permanently and generally cease to be a resident of Québec for tax purposes.
See the example below.
Person who leaves Québec for another province
David, who is single and has no children, rents an apartment in Québec from January 1 to May 31, 2025. On June 1, 2025, he moves to British Columbia for work and maintains no residence in Québec. His address is now in British Columbia, and he has no other residential ties with Québec.
Conclusion
David is not considered to be resident in Québec for tax purposes on December 31, 2025, because he had no significant residential ties with Québec on that date. In this type of situation, you are generally not required to file a Québec income tax return, although exceptions may apply.
You continue to be a resident of Québec
If you continue to be a Québec resident on December 31, you will have to file an income tax return in Québec and pay any income tax on your worldwide income from all sources for the entire year.
You have become a non-resident of Québec
If you are a resident of another province or a territory of Canada on December 31 of a particular year, you will have to file an income tax return in that province or territory and pay any income tax on your worldwide income from all sources for the entire year.
Note that there may be situations in which you have to file an income tax return in Québec even though you are not a Québec resident for tax purposes. For more information, see Obligations of Non-Residents with Regard to Québec Income Tax.
If you are a resident of more than one province on December 31 of a year, for tax purposes you will be considered resident solely in the province or territory with which you have the most significant residential ties.
You left Québec and Canada
If, during the year, you left Québec and Canada and you were considered to be a Québec resident for tax purposes on the day of your departure, you may be considered either to have become a non-resident of Québec or to still be a resident of Québec, depending on the circumstances.
Have you become a non-resident of Québec?
When you spend time outside Québec or Canada, you generally remain a Québec resident while you are away.
However, if you move from Canada and sever all your residential ties with Québec, you will likely stop being considered a Québec resident for tax purposes.
The courts have set out the following factors for determining whether you have become a non-resident of Québec for tax purposes:
- your residential ties with Québec
- the regularity and length of your visits to Québec
- your anticipated return to Québec at the end of the stay outside Canada
For more information, see interpretation bulletin IMP. 22-3/R2, Détermination de la résidence d'un particulier qui quitte le Québec et le Canada (in French only), on the Publications du Québec website.
You continue to be a resident of Québec
If you continue to be a Québec resident while you are abroad, you will have to pay income tax in Québec on your worldwide income from all sources for the entire year. You must file your Québec income tax return by the filing deadline.
You have become a non-resident
If you have become a non-resident of Québec as a result of your departure from Canada, you will be subject to Québec income tax as follows in the year you left:
- You will be subject to Québec income tax on your worldwide income from all sources for your period of residence in Canada. You must file your Québec income tax return by the filing deadline.
- You will be subject to Québec income tax in the same way as a person who was not resident in Canada at any point in the year for your period of non-residence in Canada.
If you owned property
If you owned, immediately after your departure from Canada, property with a total fair market value greater than $25,000, you must complete form TP-785.2.5-V, Property Owned by an Emigrant, and enclose it with your income tax return.
In such a case, you are deemed to have disposed of certain property at its fair market value immediately prior to your departure from Canada. Consequently, you may have to include in your income any capital gain realized further to the deemed disposition. For more information, see form TP-1033.2.A-V, Deemed Disposition of Property by an Emigrant.
Deemed resident
If you sojourn in Québec for one or more periods in a year totalling at least 183 days after becoming a non-resident, you may be considered a deemed resident of Québec throughout the year. As a deemed resident, you will be subject to Québec income tax on your worldwide income from all sources for the entire year. You must file your income tax return by the filing deadline.
Worker from the United States who travels to Québec
Mr. Smith is American. He lives and works in the United States. He made several trips to Québec in 2025 as a tourist. The stays add up to 185 days. He doesn't own any property in Québec and has no other residential ties to Québec.
Conclusion
Mr. Smith is not resident in Québec for tax purposes. However, he is considered a deemed resident of Québec for all of 2025 because he sojourned there for a total of 183 days or more. For 2025, he must file a Québec income tax return and include his worldwide income from all sources.
Note that international tax treaties exist and in some cases they help taxpayers to avoid paying income tax in more than one country. If the treaties did not apply to Mr. Smith's situation, the income tax that he would pay in the United States could qualify for the foreign tax credit in his Québec income tax return.