If you’ve got even one employee in Quebec, whether that’s your own business or a client’s, you already know the province doesn’t just plug into the rest of Canada’s payroll rules. Quebec employer payroll taxes include their own pension plan, its own parental insurance plan, its own workplace safety insurer, and a couple of employer-only levies most provinces don’t have at all.
Either way, a Quebec employee isn’t just “one more province” on the remittance calendar. It’s a different rate table, a different year-end form (hello, RL-1), and a different set of thresholds to track. Here’s what each piece is for and how it’s structured — with links to the official sources for the numbers themselves.
1. Québec Pension Plan (QPP)
QPP is Quebec’s version of the Canadian Pension Plan (CPP) and its mandatory for workers starting at age 18. Employers and employees split the cost for this program evenly, and Revenu Québec collects it rather than the CRA.
The plan has two tiers: a base contribution rate that applies up to a standard earnings ceiling, and an additional contribution rate (QPP2) that applies to a second, higher band of earnings.
Similar to CPP, self-employed (or a member of a partnership) Quebec residents pay both the employer and employee portions of QPP.
Current QPP rates and thresholds: Retraite Québec – Québec Pension Plan Figures · Revenu Québec – QPP contribution rate
2. Québec Parental Insurance Plan (QPIP)
QPIP provides maternity, paternity, parental, and adoption benefits to eligible Quebec workers. Quebec employees don’t pay EI premiums for maternity and parental coverage. They pay a slightly reduced EI rate instead, and QPIP covers those benefits at better wage-replacement rates than the federal program.
Here’s the distinction that trips people up: QPIP comes on top of the reduced EI rate, not instead of it.You still deduct EI premiums and remit them to the CRA, and separately deduct QPIP premiums and remit those to Revenu Québec.
Both employer and employee contribute to QPIP, at different rates, up to an annual maximum insurable earnings amount that’s updated every year.
If you’re new to Quebec payroll, QPIP is an easy one to miss.
Current QPIP rates and thresholds: Revenu Québec – QPIP premium rate and maximum insurable earnings
3. Health Services Fund (HSF)
The Health Services Fund (HSF) is an employer-only contribution. Nothing comes off an employee’s pay.
There’s no separate registration required for this program. If you’re registered with a Quebec payroll account, HSF will be calculated alongside your source deductions like QPP and QPIP. For those self employed, HSF will be worked out through your personal tax filing.
As a Quebec employer, you contribute to the HSF based on your total worldwide payroll, not just your Quebec employees. That total includes any associated employer’s payroll too. The rate depends on your business sector as well as the size of your total payroll:
- Smaller employers generally pay a lower rate.
- The rate increases gradually as payroll grows through the middle range.
- Once payroll reaches the upper threshold, the rate levels off at a fixed rate.
For a small business, this means your HSF rate can change from one year to the next if your payroll grows. It’s a good idea to check the current rate and thresholds each year rather than automatically using the rate from the previous year.
Current rates and thresholds: Revenu Québec – Employer Contribution to the Health Services Fund
4. CNESST premiums
Quebec employers must register with CNESST and pay premiums that cover workplace injury and occupational disease protection. You have 60 days from your first employee’s first day of work to register. If you already know the start date, you can register up to 30 days ahead.
It’s important to note that premiums owed for CNESST are an employer cost in full — they are not deducted from employee pay.
There’s no single flat rate: each employer is classified into a unit based on industry risk, and larger or higher-claims employers can be individually experience-rated.
Current rates: CNESST – Premium rates
5. Contribution related to labour standards
This employer contribution, separate from CNESST premiums, helps fund Quebec’s labour standards system. Employers pay it in full, with no employee portion.
The contribution is calculated as a small percentage of your employees’ total remuneration, up to an annual wage ceiling that’s indexed each year. Unlike your regular payroll remittances, it’s generally reported once a year on the RL-1 Summary, not remitted periodically throughout the year.
Most small businesses are on the hook for this one, though certain employers are exempt, including some religious institutions, charitable organizations whose purpose is to assist people in need directly and free of charge, and federally regulated employers.
For employers, the key point is simple: it’s an additional payroll cost to budget for, separate from your CNESST premiums.
Current rate: Revenu Québec – Contribution Related to Labour Standards
6. Workforce Skills Development and Recognition Fund
The Workforce Skills Development and Recognition Fund (WSDRF), often called the “1% law,” generally applies to employers with larger Quebec payrolls.
Once your total Quebec payroll reaches the threshold Revenu Québec sets, you have to spend a minimum percentage of payroll on eligible employee training and skills development.
Spend less than that in a year and you may owe the shortfall to the WSDRF. You report the amount on the RL-1 Summary at year-end.
For small businesses, this usually isn’t an issue. Just keep an eye on payroll if you’re getting close to the threshold. Planning your training budget in advance can help you meet the requirement and avoid an unexpected payment at year-end.
Current threshold and rate: Revenu Québec – Contribution to the Workforce Skills Development and Recognition Fund
Rates aside, Quebec payroll carries its own paperwork:
- A separate Revenu Québec employer file, distinct from your CRA payroll account
- RL-1 slips alongside T4s — every Quebec employee gets both, filed with two different tax authorities
- Provincial income tax source deductions calculated separately from federal, using Quebec’s own TP-1015.3 form
- Remittance frequencies and deadlines that don’t always mirror the CRA’s schedule
Whether it’s your own first Quebec hire or a client’s, that’s often the biggest adjustment. Not the rates themselves, but making sure the payroll system and the remittance calendar both account for a second tax authority.
For a full list of Quebec taxes and forms that Wagepoint supports, please see: How Wagepoint handles Québec’s unique requirements.
A note on accuracy
Contribution rates, thresholds, and payroll levels for every item above are set annually by Revenu Québec, Retraite Québec, and CNESST, and can change from one year to the next. Use the links throughout this post to confirm current figures before finalizing a Quebec payroll setup, and loop in a payroll or tax professional for anything specific to your situation. This post is general information, not legal, tax, or compliance advice.
