Why do you file two tax returns in Québec?

Short answer: if you lived in Québec on December 31, 2026, you file two returns for 2026: a federal T1 with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and a TP-1 with Revenu Québec. Québec is the only province that collects its own personal income tax, so it has its own return, slips and credits. Both returns are due April 30, 2027. If you or your spouse had self-employment income, the filing deadline is June 15, 2027, but any balance owing is still due April 30.

Why does Québec have its own return?

In every other province, the CRA collects provincial income tax on the federal return. Québec collects its own. Revenu Québec therefore has its own form (the TP-1), its own RL slips, its own credits and its own rules.

To balance this, the federal return for Québec residents cuts basic federal tax by 16.5%. This is the refundable Québec abatement, on line 44000 of the T1. It's why a Quebecer's federal tax looks lower than an Ontarian's on the same income, while the Québec tax makes up the difference.

What decides which returns you file?

Where you lived on December 31. If that was Québec, you file both returns for 2026. If you lived in another province that day, you normally file only the federal return, with that province's tax calculated on it.

There are exceptions. Someone living elsewhere in Canada who runs a business in Québec may also have to file a TP-1, for example.

How do the slips line up?

Most of your information shows up twice, on a federal slip and a Québec slip:

  • Employment income. T4 for the CRA, RL-1 for Revenu Québec.
  • Investment income. T5 and RL-3.
  • Securities you sold. T5008 and RL-18.
  • Trust and mutual fund income. T3 and RL-16.
  • Tuition. T2202 and RL-8.
  • Childcare. Receipts on the federal side, RL-24 in Québec.

The amounts are often close but not always identical, because the two governments don't tax everything the same way. Put each slip on its own return. Your federal net income (line 23600) and your Québec net income (line 275) can differ too.

What's different on the Québec side?

  • Its own credits. The solidarity tax credit, the work premium and the tax credit for childcare expenses exist only on the TP-1. See our article on the solidarity tax credit.
  • Family income. Several Québec credits look at your income plus your spouse's.
  • Prescription drug insurance. If you have to pay a premium for the Québec public plan, it's calculated on your TP-1.
  • Health services fund contribution. Some people owe it on the TP-1, depending on their income.

A typical year, step by step

Marc works for a company in Laval and has a savings account at his bank. For 2026 he receives a T4 and an RL-1 from his employer, and a T5 and an RL-3 from the bank.

  1. He enters the T4 and T5 on his T1, and the RL-1 and RL-3 on his TP-1.
  2. His software prepares both returns from the same file.
  3. He files the T1 with the CRA and the TP-1 with Revenu Québec, both electronically.
  4. The results come out separately. He could get a federal refund and still owe Revenu Québec.
  5. He receives two notices of assessment, one from each government.

Each government calculates and collects on its own, so a balance owing at Revenu Québec has to be paid to Revenu Québec by April 30, 2027.

Do you have to file if you earned little or nothing?

Not always, but it usually pays. Revenu Québec lists many reasons to file even when you owe nothing: claiming the solidarity tax credit (both spouses must file), the work premium, or reconciling advance payments of credits. On the federal side, benefits like the GST/HST credit are based on your return.

For the full calendar, see our 2027 tax deadlines. If you've skipped a few years, read behind on your taxes.

Want us to prepare both returns?

Book a free 30-minute session at soleraaccounting.ca/rendez-vous or call 450 612-7223. We prepare and file your T1 and your TP-1 together, so nothing on one return gets missed on the other. Service in French, English and Arabic.

This article is general information, not personalized tax advice.

Frequently asked questions

Can I file only the federal return if I live in Québec?

Not if you owe Québec tax or meet one of Revenu Québec's filing conditions. And even when you don't have to file, skipping the TP-1 means giving up Québec credits such as the solidarity tax credit.

Are the deadlines the same for both returns?

Yes. For 2026, both returns are due April 30, 2027. If you or your spouse were self-employed, you can file by June 15, 2027, but any balance owing is still due April 30, 2027.

Why is my federal tax lower than a friend's in Ontario?

Québec residents get the refundable Québec abatement, a 16.5% reduction of basic federal tax on line 44000 of the T1. You pay more provincial tax to Revenu Québec instead.

Sources

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