Personal tax accountant in Montreal
A Montrealer does not file one income tax return; they file two. The federal T1 goes to the CRA and the Quebec TP-1 goes to Revenu Québec, and every slip, deduction and dividend has to land correctly on both. See personal tax services and the Montreal CPA page.
Quick answer: Quebec residents file a federal T1 with the CRA and a Quebec TP-1 with Revenu Québec, due April 30, or June 15 where you or your spouse are self-employed, with any balance still due April 30. EverStone prepares both together for owners, the self-employed and families in Montreal, remotely and in English, from $100 for a straightforward return.
Two returns, one set of facts
Quebec collects its own personal income tax, so the provincial calculation does not sit inside the federal return as it does elsewhere. The T1 and the TP-1 are separate filings to separate authorities, each with its own assessment and its own notice. They share the same underlying facts — your employment income, your business income, your dividends and capital gains — but the forms, credits and deductions are not identical, and some amounts are computed differently on each side.
The practical consequence is that the two returns have to be prepared together, from one organised set of documents. An amount claimed on one and missed on the other is the most common reason a Montreal return gets a follow-up letter. The personal tax deadline page sets out the federal dates; the TP-1 follows the same calendar.
Slips arrive in pairs
A Montreal employee receives an RL-1 from their employer alongside the T4, both due by the last day of February. The T4 carries the federal figures, including EI; the RL-1 carries the Quebec ones, including QPP contributions and QPIP premiums. The two go onto different returns, and the amounts on them are not always the same because the Quebec and federal definitions of some benefits differ. Anyone who changed jobs, moved into Quebec partway through the year or worked for an employer outside the province will have slips that need matching with care. Your province of residence on December 31 decides which provincial return you file, so a move to Montreal in the autumn generally makes the whole year a Quebec year. Slip deadlines explains when each one should arrive.
Owner-managers: salary, dividends and the company’s year
For the owner of a Montreal corporation, the personal returns are where the company’s decisions land. Salary brings an RL-1 and a T4 and carries QPP and QPIP. Dividends arrive on slips of their own and are grossed up and credited differently at each level of government. A shareholder loan not repaid within one year after the company’s year-end is generally taxed as the owner’s income, on the T1 and the TP-1 alike. Preparing the owner’s returns alongside the T2 and CO-17 is how those pieces stay consistent and how next year’s pay mix gets decided on real numbers.
Families have a second reason to prepare the two returns side by side. Childcare, tuition, medical expenses and donations are claimed on both, and the Quebec treatment does not always mirror the federal one, so the household is looked at as a whole before anything is filed.
Self-employed in Montreal
A freelancer, consultant or sole proprietor reports business income on form T2125 with the T1 and on the Quebec return with the TP-1. Contributions on self-employment income go to QPP rather than CPP, and QPIP premiums apply too. The filing deadline moves to June 15, but the balance is still due April 30, and interest on a late balance does not wait for the later filing date. A self-employed return with its schedules commonly runs $250 to $450 at EverStone. The self-employed return page lists the documents to gather, and when to incorporate takes up the question once the income grows.
Instalments, notices and objections
Federally, instalments are required when net tax owing exceeds $3,000 in the current year and in either of the two previous years, paid March 15, June 15, September 15 and December 15. Quebec applies instalment rules of its own on the TP-1 side, and a self-employed Montrealer or an owner living on dividends can be caught by both. When a notice of assessment arrives and something looks wrong, a federal notice of objection has to be filed within 90 days. Records supporting both returns are kept for six years. Filing a notice of objection covers the federal process.
Remote, in English, with no Montreal office
EverStone is a one-CPA firm in Abbotsford, British Columbia, with no Montreal location. Returns are prepared from slips and documents sent through a secure upload link, reviewed with you by video or phone, signed electronically and filed to the CRA and Revenu Québec. EverStone works in English, which matters when the question is why the Quebec figure differs from the federal one. What is covered:
- The T1 and the TP-1, prepared together from one set of documents
- Employment, self-employment, rental and investment income
- Dividends and salary from your own corporation
- Instalment planning on both sides
- Review of notices of assessment, and objections where needed
- Returns for spouses and family members in the same household
Prepared and reviewed by a Chartered Professional Accountant at EverStone CPA, an Abbotsford CPA firm working with small businesses and incorporated contractors across the Fraser Valley and Canada. Updated September 2026. About the firm
Key personal tax dates
| Obligation | When it is due |
|---|---|
| T4, RL-1 and T5 slips issued | By the last day of February |
| T1 and TP-1 filed, balance paid | April 30 |
| Filing if you or your spouse are self-employed | June 15, with the balance still due April 30 |
| Federal instalments, where required | March 15, June 15, September 15, December 15 |
| Federal notice of objection | Within 90 days of the notice of assessment |
Source: All CRA deadlines. General information, not advice.
In Montreal, EverStone also works with apparel businesses and e-commerce sellers.
Montreal personal tax FAQ
Do I really have to file two returns in Quebec?+
What is an RL-1?+
I am self-employed in Montreal. When is my return due?+
How much does a personal return cost?+
Can you explain my Quebec return in English?+
Do you have a Montreal office?+
Do you work with businesses outside Montreal itself?+
Related services and local guides
Nearby cities, the rest of what we do for Montreal businesses, and the reference pages behind this one.
Who this is for, and who it is not
This fits someone in Montreal whose returns have moving parts: self-employment, rental income, investments, a corporation on the other side, or a year with a move or a sale in it. It is not the right fit for a single T4 and RL-1 and nothing else — a free filing tool will do that job just as well, and we will say so rather than quote for it. Everything else is quoted from published fixed fees.
What happens when you get in touch
A Montreal return is handled the same way wherever you file from, and the fee is agreed before the work starts.
- A free thirty-minute conversation. What is in the year, what changed, and what the CRA and Revenu Québec already have on file. You leave with a fixed fee in writing.
- Slips gathered, not chased. We are authorized with the CRA, so the federal slips already filed against your SIN are pulled directly. You supply the Quebec slips and whatever else the authorities cannot see.
- Reviewed, then filed. Both returns are walked through with you before they are filed, with a plain summary of what drove the result and what is worth changing before next year.
Start with the free consultation, or send one question and get a CPA’s answer back.
Filing in Montreal?
Have the T1 and the TP-1 prepared together, explained in English, at a fixed fee. Book a free, no-obligation consult.
