T2 and CO-17: the two returns of a Québec corporation

Québec collects its own corporate income tax. A corporation with an establishment in Québec files the T2 with the Canada Revenue Agency for federal tax and the CO-17 with Revenu Québec for Québec tax, both for the same tax year.

The provincial tax of the other provinces, except Alberta, is computed on schedules of the T2 itself; Québec's is not, which is why the CO-17 exists.

Source: Revenu Québec, Corporation income tax.

• Both returns are due within six months after the end of the tax year.
• The CO-17 must be filed with software authorized by Revenu Québec; for tax years starting after 2023, nearly every corporation must also file its T2 electronically.

Sources: Revenu Québec, CO-17; CRA, About Corporation Internet Filing.

• The CO-17 has its own schedules and line numbers; amounts do not map one to one with the T2.
• Some deductions and credits exist only in Québec, and some federal ones have no Québec counterpart.
• The French versions of Revenu Québec's forms are the official ones.

AuraTax prepares the T2 and the CO-17 from the same corporation file: identification, financial statements (GIFI) and shared amounts are entered once. AuraTax is listed by the CRA as T2 Internet filing software and by Revenu Québec as authorized software for the CO-17, in English and in French.