The QPIP tax in Quebec is the premium that funds the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan, a provincial program that replaces part of a parent’s income during leave for a birth, adoption, or surrogacy. In 2026, employees pay 0.430% of their gross wages, employers pay 0.602% per employee, and self-employed workers pay 0.808% of net business income, all applied to earnings up to $103,000.1Revenu Québec. Maximum Insurable Earnings and the Québec Parental Insurance Plan Premium Rate Quebec opted out of the parental portion of federal Employment Insurance in 2005 and has run its own plan, with broader coverage and higher replacement rates, ever since.
2026 Rates and the Earnings Cap
QPIP premiums are a flat percentage of earnings up to an annual ceiling. For 2026 that ceiling is $103,000 of insurable earnings, up from $98,000 in 2025.1Revenu Québec. Maximum Insurable Earnings and the Québec Parental Insurance Plan Premium Rate Once your year-to-date earnings reach that figure, premiums stop for the rest of the year.
The maximum yearly premiums at 2026 rates work out to:
- Employees: 0.430% of gross pay, up to $442.90 for the year.
- Employers: 0.602% per employee, up to $620.06 per employee.
- Self-employed individuals: 0.808% of net business income, roughly $832.24.
All three rates dropped for 2026. The employee rate came down from 0.494% and the employer rate from 0.692%.2Revenu Québec. Employee Premium Under the Québec Parental Insurance Plan Revenu Québec republishes the numbers each January, so payroll settings and self-employed budgets are worth a look at the start of every year.
Who Pays QPIP Premiums
Three groups have a legal obligation to contribute: employees, employers, and self-employed workers.
Every employee performing work in Quebec is subject to QPIP deductions, regardless of age, place of residence, or whether they ever expect to claim benefits.3Revenu Québec. Québec Parental Insurance Plan Premiums: What You Need to Know A 17-year-old part-timer and a 72-year-old consultant pay the same percentage. There is no age cutoff, which catches people used to Quebec Pension Plan rules.
Employers withhold the employee share and add their own share on top. A company based outside Quebec, or outside Canada, still owes QPIP premiums on wages paid to staff working in the province.
Self-employed individuals, members of partnerships, and people responsible for family-type or intermediate resources pay premiums on their net business income.4Revenu Québec. QPIP Premium Payable by a Self-Employed Person or a Member of a Partnership Federal EI treats self-employment coverage as optional; QPIP does not.
Non-Residents Working in Quebec
An employee who is not a Quebec resident at the end of the year is generally not required to pay the QPIP premium personally. The employer, however, still has to withhold and remit it on wages paid for work performed in the province.5Revenu Québec. Person Not Resident in Québec Where that income is also subject to federal Employment Insurance, the overlap can produce a refund at tax time.
Which Pay Is Counted, Which Is Not
QPIP applies to cash remuneration: regular wages, salary, commissions, bonuses, and tips. If it lands on your paycheque as cash, it almost certainly counts.
Benefits in kind generally do not. Personal use of a company vehicle or employer-paid group insurance is typically excluded from the QPIP base even though those amounts are taxable for income tax purposes. The narrow exceptions include taxable benefits paid in cash, board-and-lodging benefits during a pay period that also includes cash wages, and employer RRSP contributions.6Revenu Québec. Remuneration Subject to Québec Parental Insurance Plan Premiums
Several categories of payment are excluded from QPIP entirely, regardless of amount:7Revenu Québec. Remuneration Not Subject to QPIP Premiums
- Retiring allowances (severance on termination or for long service, lump-sum or installments).
- Death benefits paid to an estate or beneficiaries.
- Strike or lockout pay from a union.
If a retiring allowance shows QPIP withholding, flag it with the employer. The overpayment gets sorted out on the tax return, but catching it early is simpler.
How the Premium Actually Gets Paid
For employees, the premium comes off each paycheque. The employer deducts the employee share, adds its own share, and remits both to Revenu Québec. Year-end totals appear on the RL-1 slip alongside income tax and Quebec Pension Plan contributions.8Revenu Québec. RL Slips and Summaries – Section: RL-1 Slip – Employment and Other Income
Self-employed workers do not have premiums withheld. They calculate what they owe on Schedule R of the Quebec income tax return (TP-1) and enter the result on line 439.9Revenu Québec. Line 439 – Québec Parental Insurance Plan (QPIP) Premium No premium is owed if net business income, family-type resource earnings, and QPIP-subject employment income together come to less than $2,000.
Revenu Québec may require quarterly installments if the balance owing is expected to be significant. Missing an installment triggers interest, so leaving the whole amount for the April filing only works when the balance stays under the installment threshold.
What the Premiums Buy
QPIP replaces part of your income during leave for a birth, adoption, or surrogacy. When you apply, you pick one of two plans: the basic plan pays a lower percentage over more weeks, and the special plan pays a higher percentage over fewer weeks.10Gouvernement du Québec. Choice of Plan and Types of Benefits for a Pregnancy or a Birth
The benefit categories are:
- Maternity benefits for the birth parent: 18 weeks at 70% under the basic plan, or 15 weeks at 75% under the special plan.
- Paternity benefits for the parent who did not give birth: 5 weeks at 70% (basic) or 3 weeks at 75% (special).
- Shareable parental benefits that either parent can use: basic plan gives 32 weeks total (first 7 at 70%, remaining 25 at 55%); special plan gives 25 weeks at 75%. A sharing bonus adds weeks when both parents each take a minimum number of shareable weeks.
- Extra exclusive weeks for single parents and parents of multiples: 5 weeks at 70% (basic) or 3 weeks at 75% (special).
At the 2026 earnings ceiling, the top weekly benefit works out to roughly $1,387 under the basic plan and roughly $1,486 under the special plan.
Eligibility turns on income, not hours. You need at least $2,000 in insurable earnings during the qualifying period, and you must have paid or owed QPIP or Employment Insurance contributions during that period.11Gouvernement du Québec. Québec Parental Insurance Plan Eligibility Conditions for a Pregnancy or Birth Part-time and gig workers who clear $2,000 qualify on the same terms as salaried employees. Self-employed workers who meet the income threshold qualify too.
The Federal Side of the Return
Quebec workers pay a reduced federal EI rate because they are not funding the parental piece federally. The QPIP premiums you do pay generate a federal non-refundable tax credit on line 31200. For 2025 returns, Quebec residents who worked only in the province could claim up to $860.67 on that line.12Government of Canada. Line 31200 – Employment Insurance Premiums Through Employment The 2026 maximum had not been published at the time of writing and typically moves with the insurable earnings ceiling.
If your total insurable earnings for the year are $2,000 or less, you skip line 31200 and claim the full amount on line 45000 as an overpayment refund. Any overpayment above the line 31200 cap also goes on line 45000, with the QPIP portion routed to Revenu Québec.
What Happens if an Employer Does Not Pay
Employers that fail to withhold or remit QPIP premiums face joint and several liability with their directors for the missing amounts, plus penalties and interest.13Revenu Québec. Liability for Payment A director escapes personal liability only by showing reasonable care and diligence, showing they could not have known about the omission, or having ceased to be a director at least two years before the claim. Partners in a partnership carry personal liability under the same framework, and hiring a payroll service does not shift the legal obligation off the employer.
A late-filed return attracts a penalty of 1% of the unpaid amount plus 0.25% for each full month the return is late, up to twelve months, with interest running on top.14Revenu Québec. Penalty for Failure to File The cost of a missed deadline compounds fast.