Eligible employees

Some employees may be considered eligible for the tax measures applicable to international financial centres (IFC) if certain conditions are met.

Local Employee

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 the IFC’s office located in the urban 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 that apply to a corporation’s taxation year beginning after April 29, 2022:
- devote at least 50% of his work time each month to performing his duties in the corporation in a qualified establishment of the corporation
- perform, during the taxation year, all or substantially all of his duties for the corporation (for 90% or more of his work time) in Québec

Foreign specialist employee

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:

have entered into an employment contract with the corporation operating the IFC prior to his or her arrival in Canada
work in the IFC’s office located in the urban agglomeration of Montréal
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 working time to it
meet the following connection criteria that apply to a corporation’s taxation year beginning after April 29, 2022:
- devote at least 50% of his work time each month to performing his duties in the corporation in a qualified establishment of the corporation
- perform, during the taxation year, all or substantially all of his duties for the corporation (for 90% or more of his work time) in Québec