School tax payment

Payments can be made directly through your financial institution’s website or mobile app.

Processing time: 2 to 5 business days

Steps:

1. Log in to your financial institution’s website or mobile app.
2. Add or select the following payee:
   TAXE SCOLAIRE DE ILE MONTREAL (CGTSIM) (Make sure CGTSIM appears. Your institution may display a similar variant of the name.)
3. Make the payment using the 20-digit reference number located in the upper-right corner of your school tax bill.

To pay at the counter, present the detachable coupon to the teller. For ATM payments, the coupon cannot be inserted; the payee must be added in advance through your financial institution’s online service or at the counter.

Please send your cheque, along with the detachable coupon(s), to the following address:

P.O. Box 11071, Downtown station
Montréal (Québec) H3C 5A9

• Make the cheque payable to CGTSIM.
• Do not staple the detachable coupon(s) to the cheque.
• Payment will be applied to your account upon receipt, or on the date of the cheque if it is post-dated.
• If a second instalment is scheduled, it is recommended to send a post-dated cheque with the second coupon in the same envelope.
• A $25 fee applies for any cheque returned by the financial institution.

After July 1 of each year, the CGTSIM issues school tax bills for all taxable properties within the territories served by the school service centres and school boards on the Island of Montréal. Bills are sent by mail or, for taxpayers who have opted for online billing, by email, which notifies them that their school tax bill for the current year is available on the online platform.

The due dates are indicated on the bill you received by mail or through the online platform (if you are enrolled in online billing). The school tax bill is payable in two instalments if it is $300 or more, or in one instalment if it is less than this amount.

Account under $300

• Single instalment: August 4, 2025

Account $300 or more

• 1st instalment: August 4, 2025
• 2nd instalment: October 31, 2025

The name of our organization at most financial institutions is: TAXE SCOLAIRE DE ILE MONTREAL (CGTSIM)

Make sure CGTSIM appears. Your institution may display a similar variant of the name.

Do not forget to enter your 20-digit reference number located in the upper-right corner of your school tax bill:

Sometimes, taxpayers mistakenly confuse the school tax bill with the municipal tax account. The municipal tax account is managed by the City of Montréal, while the school tax bill for the Island of Montréal is managed by the CGTSIM.

If you paid your school tax to the City of Montréal by mistake:

If you made the payment using a reference number associated to your school tax bill, the payment will be automatically rejected. The funds will then be returned to your financial institution via a banking correction. For any questions, please contact the City.

If you paid your municipal tax to the CGTSIM by mistake:

If you made the payment using a reference number associated to your municipal tax account, the payment will be automatically rejected. The funds will then be returned to your financial institution via a banking correction.

If you used your school tax reference number (even if you intended to pay your municipal taxes) or did not provide any reference number, the payment may have been applied to your school tax account. In this case, please notify us of the error by contacting our customer service. Be sure to include your full name and mailing address in your message. An analysis will be conducted, and if a refund is warranted, a cheque will be issued to you, minus a $25 administrative fee, which will be deducted from the refund amount.

Yes. Interest fees apply to amounts unpaid after the due date. Interest is payable on school taxes at the rate applicable under the first paragraph of section 28 of the Tax Administration Act on the date the school tax rate is published. This rate is indicated on the bill each year and may be revised without notice on July 1. For 2025-2026, the rate is set at 8.00%.

Interest is calculated daily. The Education Act specifies that no payment of school taxes or interest may be waived.

A property owner with serious grounds to believe that interest charges have been wrongfully added to their account should send a written request to have their account reviewed, provide their name, address, and account number, explain the reasons for their request, and attach supporting evidence.

The owner must pay their bill before their account will be reviewed.

For an interest dispute request, please complete and submit the following form, clearly indicating that it is an interest dispute.

In the Harwood territory, only property owners registered as English-speaking or “neutral” receive a school tax bill from the CGTSIM. The French-speaking school service centre in this territory, the Centre de services scolaire des Trois-Lacs, collects its own school tax.

Who are “neutral” property owners?

The term “neutral” refers to owners of taxable properties who are not affiliated with a specific school network (French or English). “Neutral” owners include:

1. Individuals who:
   • Do not have a child enrolled in a public school;
   • Are not registered on the electoral list of an English school board;
   • Have not made a valid choice of affiliation to a school service centre;
   • And own a taxable property in Québec.
2. Legal entities (businesses, corporations, etc.):
   • Are automatically considered “neutral”;
   • Do not have the right to choose a specific school service centre or school board;
   • Their school tax is therefore distributed among the school service centres and school boards with jurisdiction over the territory.
3. Non-resident owners: Those who own property in Québec but do not reside there are also generally considered “neutral,” since they usually do not meet any of the affiliation criteria.

Taxing neutrals:

The percentage breakdown of school tax bills applies only to properties in the territory of Harwood owned by “neutral” owners and is used to divide the school tax between the CGTSIM and the Centre de services scolaire des Trois-Lacs, both of which have jurisdiction in this area. The percentages for 2025-2026 are established based on the number of students in the territory served by the two organizations:

• Centre de services scolaire des Trois-Lacs 75.7%
• Comité de gestion de la taxe scolaire de l’île de Montréal 24.3%

The CGTSIM issues school tax bills in French. However, an English version can be provided upon request, under certain conditions. Please note that this option is not available to legal entities (businesses).

Are you receiving our documents in English by mistake and would like to receive them in French? Please let us know by contacting our customer service.

To change the correspondence language from French to English, please note the following: under Québec’s Official and Common Language Act, communications with a public administration are solely in French except in certain situations expressly provided for by law. You may receive services in English if you are covered by one of the following exceptions:

• You have already communicated with the CGTSIM in English prior to May 13, 2021;
• You are indigenous;
• You have been declared eligible to attend an English school in Quebec by the Ministère de l’Éducation du Québec;
• You are an immigrant who has arrived in Quebec within the last 6 months.

If you can attest in good faith that you meet one of these criteria, please contact our customer service: