Employees eligible for the tax measures applicable to international financial centres (IFC)

Some employees may be considered eligible for the tax measures applicable to international financial centres (IFC).

A local employee is considered an eligible employee for a given period of time if his or her duties are directly attributable to the carrying out of qualifying international financial activities as specified in the qualification certificate of the corporation operating the IFC.

A local employee must:

• work full-time, that is, a minimum of 26 hours per week;
• have an employment contract for a minimum of 40 consecutive weeks;
• work in a qualifying establishment of the corporation located in the agglomeration of Montréal;
• spend at least 75% of his or her duties to carrying out only one of the following three categories of eligible activities:
  • international financial transactions,
  • back-office activities,
  • outsourcing contracts;
• meet the following connection criteria, which apply to a taxation year of a corporation that begins after December 19, 2023:
  • perform, during the taxation year, all or substantially all (90% or more of work time) of his or her duties for the corporation in Québec,
  • perform his or her duties for the corporation, each month, for at least 40% of his or her work time at a qualifying establishment of the corporation.

A foreign specialist is considered an eligible employee for a specified period of time if it has been demonstrated that he or she has solid knowledge and experience in a field relating to the international financial activities carried out by the IFC.

When the foreign specialist’s duties are related to back-office activities or to an outsourcing contract, he or she must be part of the strategic staff.

A foreign specialist must also:

• prior to his or her arrival in Canada, have entered into an employment contract with the corporation operating the IFC;
• work exclusively or almost exclusively for the corporation operating the IFC;
• be specialized in a field related to the eligible activity and spend at least 75% of his or her work time to it.

Note: it is no longer possible to submit a new application for the issuance of a foreign specialist qualification certificate. However, foreign specialists who already hold a valid qualification certificate will be able to receive an annual certificate each year until the end of their eligibility period.