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• What are your rights and obligations as a taxpayer?
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What are your rights and obligations as a taxpayer?

You are required to provide all pertinent information about your income, deductions and credits so that you can calculate and remit the income tax you owe. By doing so, you are contributing your fair share and are helping to finance public services, particularly in the areas of education, health care and social services. If you fail to provide the necessary information, or provide inaccurate or incomplete information, you are liable to penalties; penal proceedings may also be instituted against you.

If you fail to report income, and have already failed to report income of the same type in any of the three previous years, you are liable to a penalty of 10% of the unreported income. If you have already filed your income tax return, you may avoid this penalty by having your return amended. To do so, file form TP-1.R-V, Request for an Adjustment to an Income Tax Return.

Pursuant to the Act respecting Access to documents held by public bodies and the Protection of personal information and the Act respecting the Ministère du Revenu, and subject to the restrictions provided for in these laws, you are entitled to obtain any information on file concerning yourself and to consult any document containing such information. You may also request that corrections be made to such information.

Voluntary disclosure

If you were required to file an income tax return, but did not file one (or filed an incomplete return), you may correct the situation by making a voluntary disclosure of the information not previously submitted. You will then have to pay the income tax owing and the interest, but no penalty will be charged.

To find out how to make a voluntary disclosure and the requirements that must be met, obtain the folder Voluntary Disclosure: Regularizing Your Tax File with the Ministère du Revenu (IN-309-V).

Protection of confidential information

All information obtained by Revenu Québec from an income tax return or otherwise remains confidential. In the course of administering fiscal laws, Revenu Québec may compare, match or link information files, in order to ensure that you have complied with your obligations under the Act respecting the Ministère du Revenu.

Revenu Québec may use the information to administer and enforce the fiscal laws for which it is responsible. Revenu Québec may also use the information in order to carry out studies or research, produce statistics or conduct surveys, as well as for administration purposes.

In addition, Revenu Québec may use the information for the purposes of administering and implementing the socio-fiscal programs for which it is responsible. The information may thus be used in managing the shelter allowance program for older persons and families, as well as in administering and enforcing the Act to facilitate the payment of support.

Revenu Québec employees assigned to the application of fiscal laws or the administration of socio-fiscal programs have access to the information obtained from income tax returns only if they require the information to carry out their duties.

Within the limits set by the Act respecting the Ministère du Revenu, Revenu Québec may also communicate information contained in a tax file to government departments, agencies and persons covered by the Act, for specific purposes provided for in the Act.

The information may be communicated without the consent of the person concerned. The communication of such information to the government departments, agencies and persons covered by the Act is permitted where the information is required to administer laws or joint programs for which these departments, agencies or persons are responsible. For example, Revenu Québec sends the Régie des rentes du Québec a statement of your contributions to the Québec Pension Plan so that the Régie can calculate your retirement pension. As well, Revenu Québec discloses to the Régie de l'assurance maladie du Québec the information the latter needs to determine whether you are eligible for the Québec prescription drug insurance plan.

The information is generally communicated to the government departments, agencies and persons covered by the Act within the scope of written agreements approved by the Commission d'accès à l'information. The Commission analyzes, in particular, the nature of the information communicated and the purposes for which it is communicated, the methods of communication used, the means used and the security measures taken to preserve the confidentiality of the information communicated, the intervals at which information is communicated, the means chosen to inform the persons concerned and the duration of the agreement.

Transmission of confidential information

If you want Revenu Québec to transmit information concerning your income tax return to a designated third party, complete and sign form MR-69-V, Power of Attorney, Authorization to Communicate Information, or Revocation. This form may also be used to cancel a power of attorney or authorization previously granted.
You are required to provide all pertinent information about your income, deductions and credits so that you can calculate and remit the income tax you owe. By doing so, you are contributing your fair share and are helping to finance public services, particularly in the areas of education, health care and social services. If you fail to provide the necessary information, or provide inaccurate or incomplete information, you are liable to penalties; penal proceedings may also be instituted against you.