T4 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).
At a glance — Box 56
- Box name
- PPIP insurable earnings
- T1 line
- Not reported on T1 directly
- Check against
- Box 14 for the Quebec period. The CRA tells employers to leave box 56 blank when it equals box 14 or exceeds the year's maximum.
What Box 56 means
Box 56 is the QPIP counterpart of box 24: the earnings figure used to calculate the premiums reported in box 55, capped at the year's maximum PPIP insurable earnings set by Revenu Québec.
The box is often blank, and that is deliberate rather than an omission. The CRA instructs employers not to report an amount in box 56 where the insurable earnings are the same as the employment income in box 14, or where they are above the year's maximum. A blank box 56 alongside an amount in box 55 usually means one of those two situations.
Where the employer did have to report a figure, box 56 must show zero if there were no insurable earnings and nothing went in box 55. Payments that should not have had PPIP premiums deducted are excluded from box 56 altogether.
Box 56 also appears in place of box 24 on slips for self-employed fishers, taxi drivers and drivers of other passenger-carrying vehicles who worked in Quebec, where a deemed employer is responsible for the premiums.
Tax return implications
- Box 56 is not entered directly on a T1 line. The CRA directs you to use it on Schedule 10 to work out the PPIP amount claimable at line 31210. That part of Schedule 10 only applies if one of your T4 slips shows a province of employment other than Quebec, so if every slip shows Quebec there is nothing to complete.
- Together with box 55 it determines whether you overpaid QPIP across several employers. Any overpayment is recovered through your Revenu Québec return.
- The $2,000 test at line 31205 is applied to your PPIP insurable earnings, which is what box 56 reports: below that, the premiums go on the Quebec return rather than the federal one. Where box 56 is blank the figure is box 14 instead, the same substitution Schedule 10 makes.
- Box 56 has no effect on the income tax calculated on your return.
- If you worked in Quebec for only part of the year, box 56 covers only the Quebec period, which is why it can be much smaller than box 14.
Common pitfalls & things to check
- Do not treat a blank box 56 as a slip error. The CRA specifically tells employers to leave it empty when the insurable earnings equal box 14 or exceed the year's maximum.
- Box 56 is not box 24. A Quebec employee usually has both, they use different ceilings, and the two figures will not normally match.
- If box 55 has an amount and box 56 is blank on a slip where your earnings were clearly below the ceiling and different from box 14, that combination is worth querying with payroll.
- Zero in box 56 with a PPIP mark in box 28 is consistent and not a contradiction: it means no premiums were payable for the whole period.
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
My box 56 is empty but box 55 has a number. Is the slip wrong?
Almost certainly not. The CRA tells employers to omit box 56 when the insurable earnings match box 14 or exceed the annual maximum, so a blank usually reflects one of those two cases.
What is the difference between box 24 and box 56?
Box 24 is EI insurable earnings, capped at the federal maximum insurable earnings. Box 56 is QPIP insurable earnings, capped at the Quebec maximum set by Revenu Québec. A Quebec employee can have both.
Do I enter box 56 anywhere on my return?
Not on its own. The CRA directs you to use it on Schedule 10 to work out the amount you can claim at line 31210.
Why does my slip show box 56 but no box 14?
That happens for self-employed fishers, taxi drivers and other passenger-vehicle drivers working in Quebec. A deemed employer handles the premiums, so insurable earnings are reported while the income itself appears under an Other information code instead of box 14.
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 55 — Employee's PPIP (QPIP) premiums
Quebec Parental Insurance Plan premiums withheld from your pay for maternity, paternity and parental benefits.
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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