CO-17 (Québec corporation income tax return)

Buyers of a Québec corporation meet the CO-17 when they ask for the target’s tax filing history. It sits beside the federal T2 return rather than replacing it: the CRA says provinces and territories legislate their corporation income tax but the CRA administers it, except for Quebec and Alberta. Revenu Québec publishes the CO-17 and its guide, the CO-17.G.

Filing and the enterprise register

Revenu Québec’s guide says the return, with its related forms, schedules, financial statements and, where applicable, the auditor’s report, must be filed within six months after the end of the corporation’s tax year; it exempts a corporation that was a registered charity throughout the year, which files a different return. The guide also says every corporation must confirm or update its information in the enterprise register within the time allowed to file the return. For the sale itself, see tax when you sell a business in Quebec.

What to ask

• Copies of the CO-17 and the federal returns for the years in question
• Whether each CO-17 was filed within the six-month period the guide sets
• Whether the corporation’s information in the Québec enterprise register is current
• Any notices from Revenu Québec about the corporation’s returns