Is QPIP the same thing as RQAP?

Yes. QPIP (Quebec Parental Insurance Plan) is the English name and RQAP (Régime québécois d'assurance parentale) is the French one. It's the same plan, and it's the one that pays maternity, paternity and parental benefits to Quebec residents instead of EI.

Is maternity leave paid at 100% in Quebec?

No. QPIP pays 70% of your earnings on the basic plan and 75% on the special plan, up to the $103,000 cap. Below the minimum-wage threshold, the benefit is increased and can reach 85% or 100% of your earnings. Your collective agreement or employment contract may also include a top-up paid by your employer.

I'm self-employed. How is my benefit calculated?

QPIP uses 1/52 of your net business income for the previous calendar year, the amount on line 27 of Schedule L of your Quebec return. In your first year in business, it uses the current year. You also need to have cut the time you spend on your business by at least 40% ( eligibility conditions ).

Does QPIP pay more than EI?

Yes, week for week. EI pays 55% of your earnings, up to $729 a week in 2026. QPIP pays 70% or 75% for a good part of the leave, never less than 55%, on a $103,000 cap. If you live in Quebec when your benefits start, QPIP applies, not EI maternity and parental benefits.

How long do I have to take my benefit weeks?

Maternity benefits can start 16 weeks before the week your baby is due and have to end no later than 20 weeks after the birth. Paternity and parental benefits can start the week of the birth at the earliest and have to end no later than 78 weeks (18 months) after it, with some exceptions.

When do the payments arrive?

Payments are issued on Sundays, and each one covers two weeks. With direct deposit, the money reaches your account three to four days after the payment is processed. If your salary was the same from one pay to the next for the 26 weeks before your leave, you can get interim benefits while the final amount is worked out.

QPIP Benefits 2026: How Much Will I Get Each Week?

The Quebec Parental Insurance Plan (QPIP, or RQAP in French) pays you 70% or 75% of your gross average weekly earnings, except for the basic plan’s parental weeks after the first seven, which pay 55%. In 2026, it counts your earnings up to $103,000 a year. So the highest benefit you can get is $1,485.58 a week, before tax.

On a steady $60,000 salary, that’s $808 a week during maternity leave on the basic plan, or $865 on the special plan. The table below has the amounts for seven salaries.

How does QPIP calculate your benefit?

QPIP averages your gross insurable earnings over the last 26 weeks you were paid in the year before your leave. Then it multiplies that average by the rate for the week: 70%, 75% or 55%. In 2026, the average can’t go above $1,980.77 a week, which is $103,000 divided by 52.

That year before your leave is called the qualifying period. For an employee, it’s usually the 52 weeks before your benefits start (Québec.ca (opens in a new tab)). The calculation uses your gross pay, before tax and other deductions, and that’s the amount you enter on your application.

Weeks with no pay don’t drag the average down

Under the Parental Insurance Act (opens in a new tab) (section 21), QPIP uses the last 26 weeks of the qualifying period that include insurable earnings. A week with no pay in the middle of the year is skipped. If you were paid for fewer than 26 weeks, QPIP divides by the number of weeks you were paid, but never by less than 16.

Did your pay drop during the qualifying period because you were sick, pregnant, on a preventive withdrawal paid by the CNESST, or on EI? Then you can ask for the qualifying period to be extended, or for a new one.

How much will I get each week in 2026?

On a steady salary, divide your yearly pay by 52, then multiply by the rate for the week. The table does that for 2026, before tax. Above $103,000, the amount stays at the maximum whatever you earn.

Yearly salary	Average weekly earnings	70% weeks (basic)	55% weeks (basic)	75% weeks (special)
$30,000 (increased, see below)	$577	$465	$365	$498
$40,000	$769	$538	$423	$577
$50,000	$962	$673	$529	$721
$60,000	$1,154	$808	$635	$865
$75,000	$1,442	$1,010	$793	$1,082
$90,000	$1,731	$1,212	$952	$1,298
$103,000 or more	$1,981	$1,387	$1,089	$1,486

The 70% rate applies to maternity weeks, paternity weeks and the first 7 parental weeks of the basic plan. The 55% rate applies to the 25 parental weeks after that, and to the 4 additional weeks. On the special plan, every week is at 75%. Amounts are rounded to the nearest dollar.

QPIP’s benefit calculation simulator (opens in a new tab) does the same math with your own dates and earnings, which is more accurate if your pay goes up and down.

Under $664 a week, your benefit is increased

If your average weekly earnings are less than what 40 hours at minimum wage pays, QPIP raises your benefit automatically. Quebec’s minimum wage has been $16.60 an hour since May 1, 2026 (opens in a new tab), so the threshold is $664 a week, or about $34,500 a year. The threshold that counts is the one in effect when your benefits start.

Under the QPIP regulation (opens in a new tab) (section 44 and Schedule A), QPIP then applies your rate to the threshold instead of to your earnings, up to 85% of your earnings on the basic plan or 100% on the special plan. On a $30,000 salary ($577 a week), the maternity benefit goes from $404 to $465 on the basic plan, and from $433 to $498 on the special plan.

Basic plan or special plan: which pays more?

Week for week, the special plan pays more: 75% instead of 70% or 55%. In total, the basic plan pays a little more money, spread over more weeks. Both parents have to be on the same plan, and the first parent to apply chooses it for both. Once QPIP receives that application, you can’t switch.

Benefit	Basic plan	Special plan
Maternity	18 weeks at 70%	15 weeks at 75%
Paternity (the parent who didn’t give birth)	5 weeks at 70%	3 weeks at 75%
Parental, shared between parents	7 weeks at 70%, then 25 at 55%	25 weeks at 75%
Additional weeks to share	4 weeks at 55%	3 weeks at 75%

The additional weeks are added once each parent has been paid at least 8 parental weeks on the basic plan, or 6 on the special plan (Québec.ca (opens in a new tab)). A single parent gets 5 extra weeks on the basic plan, or 3 on the special plan.

What that means on a $60,000 salary

Take a birth parent who uses every shareable parental week. On the basic plan, that’s 25 weeks at 70% and 25 weeks at 55%, or $36,058 over 50 weeks. On the special plan, it’s 40 weeks at 75%, or $34,615 over 40 weeks. So the basic plan pays $1,442 more, for ten more weeks at home.

For the other parent, the basic plan also pays more. On the same salary, 5 paternity weeks at 70% pay $4,038 on the basic plan, and 3 weeks at 75% pay $2,596 on the special plan.

The special plan suits you best if you plan to go back to work early, because it pays more each week while you’re home. The simulator compares both plans using your real dates.

How much can you earn while on QPIP?

You can work while you’re on benefits without losing any of them, as long as your pay and your benefit together don’t go over your average weekly earnings. Past that, QPIP reduces the benefit. You have to report any pay you earn right away, in your online file or by phone.

With average earnings of $1,154 a week (a $60,000 salary), you can earn up to $346 during a 70% week, and up to $519 during a 55% week (Québec.ca (opens in a new tab)). Vacation pay, bonuses and net business income count too. If you plan to work for a few weeks, over the holidays for example, you can move your benefit weeks around to avoid a reduction.

Is QPIP taxable?

Yes. QPIP benefits are taxable federally and in Quebec. QPIP takes tax off each payment based on the basic personal amount (Québec.ca (opens in a new tab)), and sends you tax slips for your return.

If you also earned a salary earlier in the year, the basic personal amount was already used on your paycheques, so the tax taken off your benefits could be too low for the year. To avoid a balance owing in the spring, you can ask for more tax to be withheld with form TP-1017-V (opens in a new tab) for Quebec tax and form TD1 (opens in a new tab) for federal tax. TP-1015.3-V (opens in a new tab) is a different form, for claiming other credits like an amount transferred from your spouse.

Saving to cover the gap before your leave

On a $60,000 salary, the basic plan leaves a gap of about $346 a week against your gross pay during the 70% weeks, then about $519 during the 55% weeks. Over the 50 weeks of maternity and parental benefits, that’s about $21,600 less than your salary, before tax. A cushion built up during the pregnancy can cover part of that gap, and our guide to saving for a baby has a table of how much to save each month. Daycare costs often start as soon as the leave ends.

That’s where Lodavo can help, and it’s free. You connect the account where you’re putting your leave money, and every $25 of your balance earns you a ticket in that week’s draw. Someone wins at least $100 every week, and prizes go up to $10,000. Your money stays in your own account, ready for the day your leave starts.

Lodavo is free on the Apple App Store (opens in a new tab) and Google Play Store (opens in a new tab).

This article is general information. Your exact amount depends on what you actually earned in your qualifying period, so the notice QPIP sends you is what counts.

Terms and conditions apply. No purchase necessary (alternate method of entry available). Skill-testing question required. Open to legal residents of Canada who are the age of majority. Odds depend on the number of eligible entries received. Full rules and odds at our contest rules.