Quebec Short-Term Rentals: The CITQ Number and Tax on Lodging

A Quebec host cannot list a short-term rental without a registration number under the Tourist Accommodation Act, and the number and its expiry date have to appear on every listing and advertisement. The CITQ issues the number for the Minister of Tourism. Platforms face fines of up to 100,000 dollars per listing that lacks a valid one, so they check, and they remove listings that fail.

Getting the number

1. Confirm with the municipality that short-term rental is permitted at the address. Many Quebec municipalities restrict it to certain zones or to principal residences.
2. Apply to the CITQ for registration. The application asks for proof of 2 million dollars of liability insurance, a municipal document confirming the use complies with zoning, and a declaration about the unit.
3. Receive the six-digit registration number and the expiry date. The certificate lasts twelve months.
4. Put the number and the expiry date on every listing, and renew in the 60 days before it expires.

The municipal step comes first and takes longest. A borough in Montreal may need weeks to confirm zoning, and the CITQ will not register a unit the municipality has not cleared. Ask in writing, keep the dated answer, and do not furnish the place until it arrives.

Insurance the CITQ asks for

The application requires civil liability insurance of at least 2 million dollars, covering paying guests. A standard home policy does not do this, and most insurers will cancel a policy that turns out to be covering a rental. Get a short-term rental policy or a rider, in writing, with the certificate showing the coverage amount. The certificate goes in the application and in your file.

Why platforms enforce it

Since June 2023 the platforms themselves are liable for listings without a valid number, at up to 100,000 dollars each for a first offence. The expiry date has had to appear in every ad since September 2023. That changed behaviour overnight. A listing with a wrong or expired number is removed rather than warned. Keep the expiry date in the Registry, Permit and Tax Tracker and renew early.

The taxes on every night

• The tax on lodging at 3.5 percent of the room price, on stays of 31 nights or less. Cleaning and other extras billed separately are outside the base.
• GST at 5 percent, once your short-stay revenue passes the federal threshold. The GST/HST article explains the four-quarter test.
• QST at 9.975 percent. Both GST and QST are calculated on the total including the tax on lodging.

Airbnb is registered for the tax on lodging and collects it on the bookings it takes, along with GST and QST for hosts who are not registered. A host who rents only through a registered platform does not need to register for the tax on lodging at all. On a direct booking, all three are yours to collect and remit, and each belongs on the receipt as its own line, with your registration numbers printed beside them. Revenu Quebec registers you for the tax on lodging and for QST separately. The lodging return is quarterly, one per tourism region, due by the end of the month after the quarter.

Principal residence and municipal limits

Provincial law lets you rent your principal residence short term, and lets municipalities restrict where else it is allowed. Montreal allows principal-residence rentals only from June 10 to September 10, with a 350 dollar annual permit, and bans them in three boroughs. Quebec City and many smaller places have their own limits. The municipality's answer decides whether the CITQ will register the unit at all, so it comes first. A referendum process lets residents restrict short-term rental in their zone, so an address that was allowed last year may not be next year. From September 1, 2026 a principal-residence registration also needs two proofs of residence and the owner's or condo syndicate's consent, renewed yearly.

Renewal and the expiry date

The registration certificate lasts twelve months and expires. The expiry date is on the certificate and, from the platform's side, is checked against the registry. A host who renews late has a listing that was removed for the gap, and reviews and ranking that took months to build start again. Renewal is filed in the 60 days before expiry. Set it a month early in the tracker.

The federal rule

Since January 1, 2024, the Income Tax Act denies every expense on a short-term rental that does not comply with provincial and municipal rules. A Quebec rental without a valid registration number cannot deduct its costs for the period it was out of compliance. The same rule applies in every province; the BC registry article shows how the largest provincial scheme interacts with it. The Toronto article does the same for a city scheme.

What to keep on file

• The registration certificate with the number and the expiry date, posted at the main entrance.
• The municipality's written zoning answer, with the date.
• The 2 million dollar liability insurance certificate.
• Tax on lodging, GST and QST returns, filed and paid, or the platform's remittance statements.
• A copy of every listing showing the number in place.

Before the first guest

• Municipal permission, in writing, with a date.
• Registration number and expiry date on every listing, and the expiry date in the tracker.
• Tax on lodging registration with Revenu Quebec if you take direct bookings.
• GST and QST registration once the threshold is in sight.
• Insurance that covers paying guests, in writing.

Checked against Revenu Quebec, Quebec.ca and the Tourist Accommodation Act on September 2, 2026. Fines and rules change; re-check before each renewal. Hosting in Canada keeps the summary for all three provinces on one page.