QPP tax in Quebec is the Quebec Pension Plan contribution withheld from your paycheque to fund public retirement, disability, and survivor benefits. In 2026, employees pay 6.30% on employment earnings between $3,500 and $74,600, plus 4% on earnings between $74,600 and $85,000. Your employer matches both amounts. Earnings above $85,000 are not subject to QPP at all. The plan operates under the Act Respecting the Québec Pension Plan and replaces the Canada Pension Plan for workers in Quebec. Retraite Québec runs the benefits side; Revenu Québec collects the contributions through payroll and the tax return.
Who Pays and When Deductions Start
You begin contributing to the QPP the month after you turn 18, provided your employment earnings for the year exceed $3,500.1Retraite Québec. Can You Receive a Retirement Pension? That $3,500 is called the basic exemption, and no QPP is owed on earnings below it. Employers start withholding from the first paycheque after an employee’s 18th birthday.2Revenu Québec. Employee Who Turns 18
Contributions apply across two earnings tiers:
- The first tier runs from $3,500 up to $74,600, the Maximum Pensionable Earnings. It funds the base plan and the first enhancement.
- The second tier runs from $74,600 up to $85,000, the Year’s Additional Maximum Pensionable Earnings. It funds the second enhancement, added as part of the QPP’s phased expansion to raise pensions for higher earners.
Anything you earn above $85,000 is completely outside the QPP system.3Retraite Québec. Contributions to the Quebec Pension Plan
2026 Rates and Maximum Amounts
The first-tier rate in 2026 is 6.30% for the employee and another 6.30% for the employer. That rate combines the base plan (5.3%) and the first additional contribution (1%).4Revenu Québec. Maximum Pensionable Earnings and Quebec Pension Plan Contribution Rate Applied to the $71,100 of pensionable earnings in the first tier (that’s $74,600 minus the $3,500 exemption), the maximum first-tier contribution is $4,479.30 per side.
The second-tier rate is 4% for both employee and employer, applied to earnings between $74,600 and $85,000. The maximum second-tier contribution is $416 per side. Added together, the most any employee will pay in QPP in 2026 is $4,895.30.4Revenu Québec. Maximum Pensionable Earnings and Quebec Pension Plan Contribution Rate Once your employer has withheld the annual maximum, deductions stop for the rest of the year, and the employer stops paying its matching share at the same point.
If You’re Self-Employed
Self-employed workers pay both halves. That works out to 12.6% on first-tier earnings and 8% on second-tier earnings. For 2026, the maximum self-employed QPP contribution, at $85,000 or more of net business income, is $9,790.3Retraite Québec. Contributions to the Quebec Pension Plan You calculate the amount on Schedule U of the TP-1 and either pay it when you file or through quarterly installments if your net tax owing crosses the installment thresholds.5Revenu Québec. Contributions and Premiums Payable by a Self-Employed Person or a Member of a Partnership
How QPP Appears on Your Tax Return
The QPP contribution splits in two for tax purposes. The base portion generates a non-refundable tax credit on both the Quebec TP-1 and the federal T1. A non-refundable credit reduces tax owing but does not create a refund on its own. The enhanced portions, meaning both the first and second additional contributions, are treated as deductions that reduce your taxable income before tax is calculated. The practical result is that the deduction saves tax at your top marginal rate while the credit saves at the lowest rate.
Self-employed QPP amounts flow through Schedule U of the TP-1, not Schedule R (Schedule R handles Quebec Parental Insurance Plan premiums and is a common point of confusion).6Revenu Québec. Line 445 – Quebec Pension Plan Contribution on Income From Self-Employment On the federal T1, the base QPP credit is claimed on line 30800.7Canada.ca. Line 30800 – Base CPP or QPP Contributions Through Employment
For most employees, the return side is close to automatic. Your employer withholds QPP each pay period, remits the combined employee and employer amounts to Revenu Québec, and issues an RL-1 after year-end. The RL-1 figures feed directly into the TP-1.
Overpayments After Changing Jobs
If you worked for more than one employer during the year, each one withholds QPP independently up to the annual maximum. Because neither employer knows what the other withheld, your combined deductions often exceed the maximum. The excess is recovered on your tax return. Quebec residents claim it on line 452 of the TP-1, and the amount is either applied against other taxes you owe or refunded.8Revenu Québec. Line 452 – Quebec Pension Plan Overpayment If you moved out of Quebec before year-end, the overpayment is recovered through your federal return instead. In both cases the RL-1 amounts from each employer drive the calculation, so check that they are entered correctly.
You have up to four years after the end of the tax year to submit a written request for a QPP overpayment refund you missed at filing time.9Revenu Québec. Total Quebec Pension Plan Contributions Paid in the Year
Filing Deadlines and Payment
The TP-1 filing deadline is April 30. A late return triggers a 5% penalty on any unpaid balance plus compounding interest on the remaining amount. Self-employed individuals have an extended filing deadline of June 15, but any balance owing still accrues interest from May 1. Payments can be made through Revenu Québec’s My Account portal or through online banking at most major financial institutions.
What Your Contributions Fund
QPP contributions build entitlement to three main benefits. The retirement pension can start as early as age 60, with a maximum monthly amount of $1,508 at age 65 in 2026.10Retraite Québec. Calculation of Your Retirement Pension Claiming before 65 reduces the pension by 0.5% to 0.6% per month, and delaying past 65 increases it by 0.7% per month, up to a 42% boost at age 70.
The disability pension is available to contributors under 66 who meet both a medical severity test and contribution-history requirements that vary with age.11Retraite Québec. Disability Pension When a contributor dies, a monthly survivor pension may be paid to a surviving spouse or common-law partner, with amounts that depend on the survivor’s age and whether there are dependent children, and a one-time death benefit of up to $2,500 is paid to whoever covered the funeral expenses or to the estate.12Retraite Québec. Death Benefit of the Quebec Pension Plan
If You Also File in the United States
The Canada-United States Totalization Agreement prevents double contributions for workers covered by both systems, with a specific Understanding for Quebec. A self-employed worker living in Quebec is generally covered under the QPP rather than US Social Security, and can request a certificate of coverage (form QUE/USA 101) from Retraite Québec to attach to a US tax return as proof of exemption from US Social Security tax. Form 8833, the treaty-based disclosure form, is not required for reductions claimed under the Totalization Agreement, and the IRS exempts Social Security and pension benefits from that filing requirement.13Social Security Administration. Totalization Agreement with Canada Cross-border filings get complicated once federal credits, provincial credits, and foreign tax credits interact, and professional help is usually worth the cost in that situation.