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 brought 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, but did not report certain income, 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 be informed of the existence, in your tax file, of any information concerning yourself, and to receive communication of and consult any document containing such information. You may also request that corrections be made.
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 you will not have to pay a penalty.
To find out how to make a voluntary disclosure and the requirements that must be met, obtain the folder Voluntary Disclosure (IN-309-V).
Protection of confidential information
All information we obtain from an income tax return or otherwise remains confidential. In the course of administering fiscal laws, we 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.
We may use the information to administer and enforce the fiscal laws for which we are responsible.
In addition, we may use the information for the purposes of administering and implementing the socio-fiscal programs for which we are responsible. For example, the information may 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.
We may also use the information in order to carry out studies or research, produce statistics and conduct surveys.
The 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, we may also, for specific purposes and without your consent, communicate information contained in a tax file to government departments, agencies or persons. The communication of such information to the government departments, agencies and persons referred to in 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, we send 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. We also disclose to the Régie de l'assurance maladie du Québec the information it needs to determine whether you are eligible for the Québec prescription drug insurance plan.
Transmission of confidential information
You can authorize a person (for example, your spouse or an accountant) to represent you or obtain information on your behalf. If you want us 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. An authorization or a power of attorney is valid for a maximum of three years from the date of the signature. When the three-year period has elapsed, the authorization or power of attorney must be renewed.
