ARQ Rental Income Audit — Montreal CPA Firm Near You: Prove Intent and Records

An ARQ Rental Income Audit (Vérification des revenus de location) is a detailed investigation by Revenu Québec into your rental income, expenses, and property-use intent. These audits focus on undeclared rental receipts, excessive expense claims, or inaccurate capital cost allowance (CCA) deductions. Mackisen CPA Montreal provides expert representation to protect landlords, property investors, and corporations from costly reassessments—ensuring every rental dollar and deduction is fully documented and legally defensible.

Legal Foundation

Law: Taxation Act (Québec) ss. 35–36 (income from property and proof of expenses); Tax Administration Act art. 93 (audit and information requests).
Jurisprudence: Desrosiers v. ARQ (2015 CQ) — established that rental losses and expenses are deductible only if the taxpayer proves a clear intention to earn income and maintains adequate records.

Why You Need a CPA for a Rental Income Audit

Revenu Québec conducts thousands of rental-income audits each year, especially for owners of duplexes, triplexes, and Airbnbs. The ARQ cross-checks property data with municipal rolls, mortgage statements, and Revenu Canada filings. Even small inconsistencies can trigger reassessment of income, expenses, and GST/QST obligations. Mackisen CPA Montreal ensures your records demonstrate genuine commercial intent and compliance under both tax and real-estate law.

Learning insight: Rental income is simple to earn—but complex to prove. A CPA makes the difference between an investment and an audit risk.

What Mackisen CPA’s Rental Income Audit Defense Includes

• Reconstruction of rental revenues and deposits from bank statements.

• Review of all lease agreements, property taxes, insurance, and maintenance expenses.

• Verification of mortgage-interest, advertising, and management-fee deductions.

• CCA recalculation for buildings, furniture, and equipment under correct class codes.

• Identification of mixed-use or personal-use adjustments for vacation or Airbnb properties.

Learning insight: Every rent payment leaves a trail—receipts, deposits, utilities. When those trails are organized by a CPA, they lead to compliance, not controversy.

Common Triggers for ARQ Rental Income Audits

• Rental losses claimed for multiple years without positive income.

• Large repairs or renovation expenses recorded as deductions instead of capital improvements.

• Missing or inconsistent RL-31 rental-information slips.

• Unreported short-term rental income from platforms like Airbnb or Booking.com.

• Discrepancies between municipal property-tax data and declared ownership records.

Mackisen CPA Montreal identifies these risk factors early and structures your rental accounting to prevent audit escalation.

How Mackisen CPA Manages Rental Income Audits

1. Reconciles property rental income with banking and municipal data.

2. Differentiates between personal-use and business-use areas for mixed properties.

3. Calculates CCA using proper asset classification under Reg. 1100.

4. Reviews lease agreements to establish income-earning intent.

5. Prepares a CPA-signed audit binder with evidence that meets ARQ standards.

Learning insight: ARQ doesn’t accept estimates—it accepts evidence. Mackisen CPA turns receipts and leases into legal proof.

Benefits of Professional Representation

• Protects against reassessment of unreported rental income.

• Ensures full deduction of eligible property expenses.

• Prevents penalties for missing RL-31 slips or GST/QST non-registration.

• Provides professional valuation and legal support for real-estate investors.

• Builds long-term compliance framework for multi-property owners.

Learning insight: The goal isn’t just passing the audit—it’s proving professionalism. A CPA gives your rental portfolio that credibility.

SEO Optimization and Learning Value

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Learning insight: Real-estate audits start with numbers but end with intent. Mackisen CPA ensures both align with Québec law.

Real Client Success

• A Montréal triplex owner avoided $38,000 in penalties after Mackisen CPA proved that capital renovations were long-term investments, not disallowed expenses.

• An Airbnb host cleared a two-year audit when our CPA team demonstrated proper municipal registration and GST/QST remittances.

• A real-estate holding company preserved all rental-loss deductions after we provided CCA and repair cost breakdowns consistent with ASPE and TA principles.

Why Mackisen CPA Montreal

Mackisen CPA Montreal combines tax, audit, and real-estate expertise to represent landlords and corporations effectively. Our bilingual CPA team understands Québec’s strict rental-audit framework and provides documentation that meets every ARQ evidentiary standard.

Learning insight: Revenu Québec looks for mistakes; Mackisen CPA looks for evidence. One finds problems—the other prevents them.