Credit card processing and merchant services in Sherbrooke, QC
A new Sherbrooke business can usually wait to register for GST and QST until its taxable sales pass $30,000. Taxi businesses and sellers of new tires, road vehicles or tobacco may not get that option.
Sherbrooke had 172,950 residents at the 2021 Census, 7.2% more than in 2016, the sixth-largest population of any census subdivision in Quebec. If you're opening a business there, the first payment question is usually about tax rather than terminals: do you need to charge GST and QST yet?
Revenu Québec applies one small supplier test to both taxes. You're a small supplier if the taxable supplies, including zero-rated ones, made worldwide by you and your associates don't exceed $30,000 in a calendar quarter or in the four preceding calendar quarters. A small supplier doesn't have to register for or collect the GST and QST, but can register voluntarily.
Watch the single-quarter test. If you pass $30,000 within one calendar quarter, you stop being a small supplier immediately, and tax applies to the sale that took you over the limit and to every sale after it. If you cross the line more gradually, over four consecutive quarters, the change takes effect at the end of the following month. A busy opening season can trigger the first case.
Some businesses can't lean on the threshold at all. Revenu Québec says a taxi business may have to register for both taxes whatever its sales, and that retail vendors of tobacco and vendors of new tires or new or used road vehicles may have to register for the QST regardless of their total taxable supplies. A used car lot should have its QST number before its first sale.
Once you're registered, set your POS to calculate the 9.975% QST on the price before GST, and leave card fees out: Quebec bars any fee for paying by debit or credit card. We price on interchange-plus with no long-term contract, and our automotive page covers dealers and repair shops. When you have a month of sales, send a statement for a free statement review. The Quebec page has the provincial rules in full.
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Common questions
Do I need a QST number before I open in Sherbrooke?
Not necessarily. If your taxable supplies, together with your associates' and including zero-rated ones, don't exceed $30,000 in a calendar quarter or in the four preceding quarters, you're a small supplier and don't have to register for the GST or QST. You can still register voluntarily. Some businesses must register for the QST whatever their sales, including vendors of new tires and of new or used road vehicles.
What happens if one strong quarter takes me past $30,000?
You stop being a small supplier right away. Revenu Québec says that when the limit is exceeded in a single quarter, you must collect tax on the supply that takes you over and on all later supplies. Register promptly, and update your POS and invoices so the next sale carries both the GST and the QST.
Does a Sherbrooke taxi business have to register for GST and QST?
Generally, yes. Revenu Québec gives operating a taxi business as an example of a situation where registration for the GST and QST can be required regardless of total taxable supplies. Its mandatory billing measures also require taxi services covered by them to give customers a bill, so check that your card reader and billing setup work together.
Will a new Sherbrooke business get lower card rates?
If your card volume is modest, it may. Since October 19, 2024, Visa has charged lower interchange to businesses under $300,000 in annual Visa sales, and on October 24, 2026 that threshold rises to $750,000. On the Mastercard side, the lower rates apply when annual Mastercard sales are below $175,000. You can't pass card costs on in Quebec, so this saving matters, but you'll only see it if your pricing passes interchange through at cost.
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Disclaimer: general information, not professional advice
This page is general educational information, not legal, tax, accounting or financial advice. Rules and rates vary by place and change, so confirm them with the official source and a qualified professional before you act. Full terms are in our Terms of Service.
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