Quebec payslips: QPP, QPIP and the 16.5% abatement

Three payroll deductions work differently

Quebec runs its own pension plan, the Quebec Pension Plan, in place of the Canada Pension Plan. In 2026 an employee pays 6.3 percent on earnings between $3,500 and $74,600: a base rate of 5.3 percent plus 1 percent for the first additional plan, where CPP charges 5.95 percent. The second tier, QPP2 or CPP2, is identical in both plans: 4 percent on earnings between $74,600 and $85,000, at most $416. The yearly maximum is $4,895 for QPP and $4,646 for CPP, so from $85,000 a Quebec employee pays $249 more.

Quebec also pays its own maternity, parental and adoption benefits through the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan (QPIP). Employees pay a QPIP premium of 0.43 percent on earnings up to $103,000, at most $442.90 in 2026. Because Employment Insurance does not pay those benefits in Quebec, the EI rate there is 1.30 percent instead of 1.63 percent, on the same $68,900 of insurable earnings. Together the two cost a little more than EI alone: at $50,000, a Quebec employee pays $650 of EI and $215 of QPIP, against $815 of EI in Ontario.

Two income tax returns and a smaller federal bill

In every other province, provincial income tax goes through the federal return. Quebec administers its own: a Quebec resident files the federal return with the Canada Revenue Agency and a separate Quebec return with Revenu Québec, and the employer withholds both taxes from each pay. Revenu Québec requires a return from anyone resident in Quebec on 31 December who owes Quebec income tax, a QPP contribution or a QPIP premium for the year.

Federal tax for Quebec residents is reduced by the refundable Quebec abatement, 16.5 percent of basic federal tax. Federal brackets and credits are otherwise the same as in Ontario, with credits for QPP, EI and QPIP premiums. At $100,000, federal tax after the abatement is $11,054 in Quebec against $13,302 in Ontario.

Quebec’s own rates are higher: 14 percent up to $54,345, 19 percent up to $108,680, 24 percent up to $132,245 and 25.75 percent above that, where Ontario starts at 5.05 percent. The Quebec basic personal amount of $18,952 is credited at 14 percent and already takes QPP, QPIP and EI contributions into account, so there is no separate Quebec credit for them. Employees also deduct 6 percent of their work income, at most $1,450, before Quebec tax is worked out.

How other countries compare

For countries with a regional comparison in the calculator, the table shows how annual take-home pay changes from the first region to the second, as a percentage of take-home pay in the first region. Each country uses its own middle example salary and settings. The last column shows, for every country, the take-home share of this article’s example salary of CA$63,500 a year, converted into the local currency.

Converted at the exchange rates of October 2, 2026. Each country uses the calculator’s default profile and its latest enacted tax year. Living costs are not compared.

• Canada vs United States
• Canada vs United Kingdom
• Canada vs Australia
• Canada vs Germany

What the difference adds up to

The abatement lowers federal tax by about a sixth, but it does not offset Quebec’s provincial tax. At $100,000, Quebec tax is $13,140 and Ontario tax, including its surtax and Health Premium, is $6,723. QPP and the QPIP premium add a little more. Ontario take-home pay is higher by $1,321 at $50,000, $2,961 at $75,000, $4,621 at $100,000 and $6,469 at $150,000.

The gap shows in the marginal rate too. At $100,000, past the QPP and EI ceilings, the next $100 of salary loses 36.5% to tax and the QPIP premium in Quebec, against 31.5% to tax in Ontario. Below $85,000 each extra dollar also pays the 4 percent second-tier QPP or CPP contribution, so at $75,000 the marginal rate is 39.1% in Quebec and 32.5% in Ontario.

Reading a Quebec payslip

Expect two income tax lines, federal and Quebec, then QPP, EI and QPIP. The federal line already includes the 16.5 percent abatement, so it is lower than an Ontario colleague’s at the same pay. Each deduction stops for the rest of the year once its ceiling is reached: EI at $68,900 of earnings, QPP at $85,000 and QPIP at $103,000. A December payslip can therefore show a higher net amount than a January one at the same salary.

Where you live on 31 December decides which provincial tax applies to the whole year. Someone who moves between Quebec and Ontario during the year pays the provincial tax of the province they lived in on that date for the whole year.

What the calculator leaves out

The examples are a single employee whose salary is the only income. They apply the basic personal amounts, the deduction for the enhanced QPP or CPP contributions and, in Quebec, the deduction for workers. Other Quebec credits, refundable credits paid through the Quebec return, and the credits a household with children or a partner would claim are not included, so a family’s result can differ.

Quebec employers also pay their side of QPP, EI and QPIP and a contribution to the health services fund. The calculator shows these as employer costs, separate from take-home pay, so they do not appear in the table.

Checks for a Quebec payslip

• Look for two income tax lines, federal and Quebec, and for QPP, EI and QPIP among the contributions.
• File both returns: the federal one with the Canada Revenue Agency and the Quebec one with Revenu Québec.
• Compare Quebec and Ontario at your own salary in the calculator before weighing a job in either province.
• Expect EI to stop at $68,900 of earnings, QPP at $85,000 and QPIP at $103,000 in 2026.

Sources and model coverage

What the estimate covers

The calculator estimates employment income using its supported country rules and selected inputs. Benefits, collective agreements and personal circumstances that are not modelled are excluded. Official rules determine your actual liability.

• RRSP contributions are not deducted from taxable income in this model.

Official sources

• Revenu Québec – Employers: principal changes for 2026 (rates, basic personal amount, deduction for workers, QPP and QPIP)
• Revenu Québec – Income tax rates
• Revenu Québec – Line 350: basic personal amount
• Revenu Québec – Line 201: deduction for workers
• Revenu Québec – Are you required to file an income tax return?
• Retraite Québec – Contributions to the Québec Pension Plan
• Canada Revenue Agency – T4127 Payroll Deductions Formulas, January 2026
• Canada Revenue Agency – EI premium rates and maximums
• Canada Revenue Agency – CPP contribution rates, maximums and exemptions
• Canada Revenue Agency – Tax rates and income brackets for 2026
• Canada Revenue Agency – Line 44000: refundable Quebec abatement
• Canada Revenue Agency – T4032ON Ontario payroll deductions, January 2026: general information