QPIP 2026: Quebec Parental Insurance Plan Rates & Maximums

If you work in Quebec, your paycheque carries a deduction that no one in the rest of Canada pays: the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan (QPIP), known in French as the Régime québécois d’assurance parentale (RQAP). It funds Quebec’s maternity, paternity, parental, and adoption benefits — which is why Quebec’s federal EI premium is lower than the rest of the country’s. Here are the confirmed 2026 numbers.

What QPIP Is

QPIP replaces the parental-leave portion of federal Employment Insurance for Quebec workers. Because Quebec runs its own program, Quebec employees pay a reduced EI premium to Ottawa plus a separate QPIP premium to Revenu Québec. The two together still leave Quebec workers paying differently from employees elsewhere — a lower EI line, an extra QPIP line.

Unlike federal EI, self-employed workers pay QPIP and are covered for parental benefits — they do not have to opt in the way they would for federal EI special benefits.

2026 Premium Rates and Maximum Insurable Earnings

Revenu Québec confirmed a 13% across-the-board cut to QPIP rates effective January 1, 2026, while raising the maximum insurable earnings in line with the Quebec average industrial wage.

The MIE rose from $98,000 in 2025 to $103,000 in 2026. Even with the higher ceiling, the rate cut means the maximum employee premium fell from $484.12 in 2025 to $442.90 in 2026 — Quebec employees pay less QPIP in 2026 than in 2025.

How the Premium Is Calculated

QPIP applies to insurable earnings up to the MIE. The math is a flat percentage:

Employee QPIP = min(earnings, $103,000) × 0.430%

• A Quebec employee earning $60,000: $60,000 × 0.430% = $258.00.
• A Quebec employee earning $103,000 or more: capped at the maximum, $442.90.
• The employer pays 0.602% on the same earnings, up to $620.06.
• A self-employed Quebec worker pays 0.764%, up to $786.92 — combining a worker-like and contributor-like share, but still well below the federal EI-plus-QPP-self-employed load.

Year-Over-Year Comparison

The 13% rate reduction reflects the plan’s funding position; the rates are reviewed annually, so they can move back up in future years.

How QPIP Fits With the Rest of a Quebec Paycheque

A Quebec worker’s mandatory payroll deductions in 2026 are a different mix from the rest of Canada:

• QPP (Quebec Pension Plan) instead of CPP — a higher base rate of 6.40%.
• EI at the lower Quebec rate — $1.30 per $100 in 2026 (vs $1.63 elsewhere), because parental benefits are carved out to QPIP.
• QPIP — the extra 0.430% premium covered here.

Add it all up and a Quebec employee pays more into the pension system but funds parental leave through QPIP rather than EI. The full federal-vs-Quebec breakdown is in 2026 CPP & EI Rates, Maximums & Paycheque Impact.

On the T4 and RL-1

QPIP premiums withheld appear in Box 55 of the T4 (employee’s QPIP premiums) and Box 56 (QPIP insurable earnings), and on the Quebec RL-1 slip. Employers with Quebec staff report both the federal T4 and the RL-1.

Key Takeaways

• 2026 QPIP maximum insurable earnings: $103,000 (up from $98,000 in 2025).
• Rates were cut 13% for 2026: employee 0.430%, employer 0.602%, self-employed 0.764%.
• Maximum employee premium: $442.90 (down from $484.12) — Quebec workers pay less QPIP in 2026.
• QPIP is on top of a lower Quebec EI premium and funds Quebec’s parental-leave benefits.
• Self-employed Quebec workers pay QPIP automatically and are covered for parental benefits.
• Reported in T4 Boxes 55/56 and on the RL-1.

Estimate your full Quebec payroll deductions with the CPP/EI calculator.

Sources

• RQAP — Premiums and maximum insurable earnings
• RQAP — Reduction in premium rates for the QPIP in 2026
• Revenu Québec — Quebec parental insurance plan premiums