How do you choose a good tax preparer in Québec?
Short answer: pick someone who files electronically as a registered EFILE preparer, explains your return before you sign, asks you to authorize access through the proper CRA and Revenu Québec channels, and gives you copies of everything. You remain responsible for what is on your return, so be wary of anyone who promises a refund before seeing your slips or won't show you the return.
Does a tax preparer need a licence in Québec?
Preparing tax returns is not a reserved activity in Québec. The Chartered Professional Accountants Act reserves public accountancy (audits, reviews and certain compilation engagements) to members of the professional order, not tax preparation. So anyone can offer the service, and quality varies a lot.
What the CRA does regulate is filing: anyone paid to prepare more than 5 returns in a calendar year must file them electronically, using the EFILE service. Paper-filing those returns brings a penalty of $25 per T1 return. An EFILE number is the basic sign that a preparer is set up with the CRA.
Questions to ask before you book
- Are you registered for EFILE, and do you also file the Québec TP-1 online?
- Who actually prepares and reviews my return?
- How will you get access to my CRA and Revenu Québec information?
- Will you go over the return with me before it is sent?
- Do you help if I get a review letter later? Ask what is included.
- In which languages can you serve me?
- How do you protect my documents? Email attachments with your SIN are not ideal.
What you sign, and why it matters
- Form T183 (federal). You sign it before your return is transmitted. It confirms the information is correct. You and the preparer each keep a copy for at least six years.
- Form TP-1000.TE (Québec). The Québec authorization for a preparer to file your TP-1 online. You and the preparer keep a copy for six years; neither is sent to Revenu Québec unless asked.
If someone transmits your return without having you sign these, that is a problem.
How a preparer gets access to your file
- CRA. Since July 15, 2025, preparers can no longer get access to an individual's account through their EFILE software. They send a request through Represent a Client, and you confirm it in your CRA account (or they provide previously assessed information to prove they have your consent).
- Revenu Québec. You give access online in My Account for individuals or with form MR-69. An authorization lets the person see your file; a power of attorney also lets them act for you, for example to ask for changes.
You can cancel either one when you change preparers.
Red flags
- A refund promised before anyone has seen your slips.
- No copy of the return, or a refusal to explain the numbers.
- Claims you know you are not entitled to, "everyone does it".
- Asking you to sign a blank or unfinished T183.
- Refund deposited into someone else's account.
- Only cash, no receipt, no address.
Where Solera fits
Solera is a bookkeeping and tax preparation firm and a registered EFILE preparer for personal and corporate returns. We are not a firm of chartered professional accountants and do not do audits or review engagements. For most individuals, self-employed people and small corporations, that is not needed for a tax return. Our article on bookkeeper vs accountant explains the difference.
Want to talk before tax season?
Book a free 30-minute session at soleraaccounting.ca/rendez-vous or call 450 612-7223. We will tell you what we need, how authorizations work and whether your situation is one we take on. Service in French, English and Arabic.
This article is general information, not personalized tax advice.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a chartered professional accountant to do my personal tax return in Québec?
No. Tax preparation is not a reserved activity in Québec. What matters is that the preparer files electronically, explains your return and has you sign the T183 and TP-1000.TE before sending it.
Who is responsible if my preparer makes a mistake?
You are, toward the CRA and Revenu Québec: you sign the forms confirming your return is correct. Ask questions and keep copies of everything your preparer files.
How does my preparer get access to my CRA account?
Since July 2025, through the CRA’s Represent a Client service: the preparer sends a request and you confirm it in your CRA account. For Revenu Québec, you authorize them in My Account or with form MR-69.
Sources
- CRA – Mandatory electronic filing for tax preparers
- CRA – Forms T183 and T1013
- CRA – Important changes to how tax preparers obtain access to an individual’s account
- Revenu Québec – Authorization or Power of Attorney
- Revenu Québec – MR-69-V Authorization to Communicate Information or Power of Attorney
- Revenu Québec – TP-1000.TE-V Online Filing of the Personal Income Tax Return by an Accredited Person
- Revenu Québec – Transmission par ImpôtNet Québec (représentants)
- LégisQuébec – Chartered Professional Accountants Act, C-48.1
Explore more
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