T4 Box 55 — Employee's PPIP (QPIP) premiums
Quebec Parental Insurance Plan premiums withheld from your pay for maternity, paternity and parental benefits.
At a glance — Box 55
- Box name
- Employee's PPIP (QPIP) premiums
- T1 line
- Line 31205 — PPIP premiums paid
- Check against
- Quebec pay stubs. The rate and ceiling are set annually by Revenu Québec — see the year block below for the current figures.
What Box 55 means
Box 55 reports the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan premiums withheld from your pay. It appears only where box 10 shows Quebec as the province of employment, and only your own share is reported. The CRA tells employers to keep their matching employer share off the slip entirely.
QPIP replaces the federal EI maternity and parental benefits for Quebec workers, which is why Quebec employees pay a lower EI rate in box 18 than employees elsewhere. The two together are not a surcharge; the parental component simply moves from one plan to the other.
Where an employer reports an amount in box 55 they must also report the insurable earnings used to calculate it in box 56. The premium is a flat rate applied to those earnings up to a Quebec-specific ceiling, and both the rate and the ceiling are published each year by Revenu Québec.
QPIP covers maternity, paternity, parental and adoption benefits. Unlike EI it is also open to self-employed workers, who pay their own premium at a separate rate through their Quebec return rather than on a T4.
Tax return implications
- Claim the box 55 total at line 31205 of the federal return if you were resident in Quebec at the end of the year and worked in Quebec during it. The claim is made in dollars and cents.
- If your PPIP insurable earnings were less than $2,000, the CRA directs you not to claim anything at line 31205 and to claim the premiums as an overpayment on your Revenu Québec income tax return instead.
- There is an annual maximum claimable at line 31205, which tracks the year's rate and ceiling.
- Any overpayment of QPIP premiums is refunded through your Revenu Québec return, not the federal one.
- Because this is a non-refundable credit rather than a deduction, its value does not increase with your marginal rate.
Common pitfalls & things to check
- A blank box 55 on a slip showing Quebec employment is worth checking. If no PPIP was withheld for the whole period there should be a PPIP mark in box 28 explaining why.
- Do not add box 55 to box 18. They fund different benefits and are claimed on different lines: box 18 at line 31200, box 55 at line 31205.
- Working in Quebec while living in another province still produces box 55, because the province of employment governs the deduction. Where you claim it depends instead on where you resided at the end of the year.
- Self-employed QPIP premiums never appear on a T4. They are handled through your Revenu Québec return at the self-employed rate, which is different from the employee rate.
For 2025 returns (file T1 by April 30, 2026 — self-employed June 15)
- QPIP rate & MIE (2025)
- 0.49% on up to $98,000
- Employee 0.49%, employer 0.69%, self-employed 0.88%. Max insurable earnings $98,000. Set by Revenu Québec.
Values sourced from central CPP / EI config at build time — update automatically on FY rollover.
FAQ
What is PPIP and why is it on my slip?
PPIP is the CRA's name for the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan, or QPIP. It funds maternity, paternity, parental and adoption benefits for Quebec workers, and premiums are withheld from pay the same way EI premiums are.
Why is my EI lower than a friend's in Ontario?
Because QPIP pays for parental benefits in Quebec, the federal EI rate for Quebec employees is set lower. Adding box 18 and box 55 together gives the fairer comparison.
I earned very little in Quebec last year. Where do I claim box 55?
If your PPIP insurable earnings were under $2,000, the CRA directs you not to claim at line 31205 and to claim the premiums as an overpayment on your Revenu Québec return instead.
I moved out of Quebec during the year. Can I still claim box 55?
Line 31205 is for people who were resident in Quebec at the end of the year and worked in Quebec during it. If you were resident elsewhere on December 31, check with Revenu Québec how the premiums you paid are handled, because the answer follows your residence at year end rather than where you worked.
Related T4 boxes
Box 18 — Employee's EI premiums
Employment Insurance premiums withheld from your pay — applied at the CEIC-set annual rate on insurable earnings up to the annual Maximum Insurable Earnings (MIE).
Box 24 — EI insurable earnings
The portion of your employment income that was subject to EI premiums during the year — capped at the annual Maximum Insurable Earnings (MIE).
Box 56 — PPIP insurable earnings
The portion of Quebec employment income subject to QPIP premiums — capped at the annual QPIP ceiling (set by Revenu Québec).
Box 14 — Employment income
Your total gross employment income for the year before any deductions — salary, wages, bonuses, commissions, taxable benefits and most other pay.
Filing your return? Use the payroll deductions calculator to verify the amounts on your T4 match expected CPP, EI and income tax withholdings, and the income tax calculator to estimate your refund or balance owing.
Sources
T4 box definitions from CRA T4 employer guide. Rates and thresholds current for 2025; file your 2025 T1 by April 30, 2026 (self-employed June 15).
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