In Canada, we use a progressive tax system. The rate of tax increases as the amount of income increases. There are different levels of federal and provincial or territorial tax brackets which have different rates of tax.
As a resident of Canada, you pay both federal and provincial taxes. Provincial/territorial taxes are based on your province or territory of residence as of December 31. For example, if you are filing 2026 taxes, and you lived in Alberta part of the year, and then moved to Québec in October, you will be subject to Québec income tax and Québec tax credits in addition to the federal taxes everyone in Canada pays because you were living in Québec on December 31.
Unlike in the rest of Canada, where the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is the only government organization that administers both federal and provincial/territorial taxes, the province of Québec has an arrangement with the federal government, allowing Revenu Québec to directly administer provincial taxes from residents of that province.
Québec residents file their provincial tax return with Revenu Québec and file their federal tax return separately with the CRA.
Québec tax brackets
Québec has four provincial income tax brackets for the 2026 tax year, with rates from 14% to 25.75%. The rate that applies depends on your taxable income, and because the system is progressive, higher rates apply only to the income above each threshold.
Income tax in Canada is calculated based on your taxable income. Your taxable income is your total gross income from all sources less eligible deductions.
Québec 2026 tax rates
The tax brackets for Québec for 2026, according to Revenu Québec , are:
2026 Québec income tax brackets | 2026 Québec income tax rate |
|---|---|
| $54,345 or less | 14% |
| Over $54,345 up to $108,680 | 19% |
| Over $108,680 up to $132,245 | 24% |
| Over $132,245 | 25.75% |
Federal tax bracket rates for 2026 tax year
The following are the federal tax rates for tax year 2026 according to the CRA:
2026 federal income tax brackets | 2026 federal income tax rates |
|---|---|
| $58,523 or less | 14% |
| over $58,523 to $117,045 | 20.5% |
| over $117,045 to $181,440 | 26% |
| over $181,440 to $258,482 | 29% |
| More than $258,482 | 33% |
How to calculate income tax in Québec
If you want to get a rough estimate of how much income tax you owe on your taxable income, first calculate your federal income tax, then calculate your provincial tax, and finally, add the amounts together. If you divide that amount by your income, you’ll arrive at your average tax rate. This is the percentage of tax you pay on every dollar you earn.
Let's assume you're making $42,000 a year and have no deductions or credits. You'd fall into the bottom tax bracket both federally and provincially, so you'd pay 14% tax federally and 14% provincially.
So if your taxable income was $42,000 and you didn’t have any deductions or credits, your calculation would be:
$42,000 x 14% = $5,880 federal
$42,000 x 14% = $5,880 Québec
Total income tax on taxable income: $5,880 + $5,880 = $11,760 total combined federal and provincial taxes.
Keep in mind this is a simplified illustration — it shows tax before the basic personal amount or any other deductions or credits are applied, so the actual tax payable would be lower.
In a progressive system, your tax is cumulative. Depending on your taxable income, you could land in more than one bracket and pay a few different rates.
To see another simplified example of how tax brackets work, let’s say you have a taxable income of $60,000. Here’s how you would figure out your taxes:
Calculating the federal tax bill
Based on the updated 2026 federal tax rates, the first $58,523 of your income is taxed at 14%, which works out to $8,193.22. Taking your total income ($60,000) and subtracting the first income tax bracket ($58,523), you have $1,477 of taxable income remaining. That amount will be taxed at the next higher rate of 20.5%, which works out to $302.79. This means the total you would owe in federal tax is $8,193.22 + $302.79 = $8,496.01.
Calculating the provincial tax bill
As a resident of Québec, you’d be required to pay 14% tax on up to $54,345 in income, which is $7,608.30. You still have $5,655 in income to account for, which will be taxed in the second Québec tax bracket at 19%, which works out to $1,074.45. That means your total amount owing in provincial taxes is $7,608.30 + $1,074.45 = $8,682.75.
Calculating the total tax bill
Combine federal and provincial taxes you owe: add what you owe federally ($8,496.01) and what you owe to Québec ($8,682.75), for a total of $17,178.76.
Combined federal and Québec marginal tax rates for 2026
Because you pay both federal and Québec tax, it helps to look at the two rates together. The combined marginal rate is the tax you pay on your next dollar of income, not on all of it. The figures below fold in the Québec abatement: a 16.5% reduction in the federal tax Québec residents owe. It exists because Québec opted out of certain federal programs and funds them itself. It's calculated on your federal return, which is why these combined rates are lower than simply adding the federal and Québec rates together.
2026 taxable income | Combined federal and Québec marginal rate |
|---|---|
| $0 to $16,452 | 0% |
| $16,453 to $18,952 | 11.69% |
| $18,953 to $54,345 | 25.69% |
| $54,346 to $58,523 | 30.69% |
| $58,524 to $108,680 | 36.12% |
| $108,681 to $117,045 | 41.12% |
| $117,046 to $132,245 | 45.71% |
| $132,246 to $181,440 | 47.46% |
| $181,441 to $258,482 | 50.21% |
| $258,483 and up | 53.31% |
Your average tax rate — the share of your total income that goes to tax — is always lower than your top marginal rate, because only the income inside each bracket is taxed at that bracket’s rate.
These combined rates are calculated from the 2026 federal and Québec brackets above, after applying the 16.5% federal abatement that reduces the federal tax of Québec residents.
How to reduce your taxes in Québec
No one likes to pay taxes, and there are some ways to reduce the amount of taxes you pay. If you live in Québec, you could be eligible for some of these deductions, credits, or benefits.
Tax deductions
Deductions you’re entitled to will reduce your taxable income, lowering the amount of income that income tax will be calculated on. The CRA provides detailed information on both federal and province-specific deductions. Some common deductions include Registered Pension Plan and Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) contributions, union dues, child care expenses, and employment expenses.
Tax credits
Non-refundable tax credits reduce the tax you owe. The catch is that you need to owe tax to use them. Earning income isn't enough on its own — if your income is low enough that you don't owe anything, there's nothing for the credit to reduce.
The thing with non-refundable tax credits is you can only claim enough to reduce your taxes to zero, but you don’t get the excess as a refund. So if you owe $3,000 in taxes, and you have $4,500 in non-refundable tax credits, you can claim $3,000, but you forfeit the remaining $1,500.
The most common non-refundable tax credit is the Basic Personal Amount (BPA). Every taxpayer in Canada is eligible to claim the BPA of up to $16,452, which reduces the tax on your income.
For those with income over $181,440, this amount reduces gradually until it reaches the minimum of $14,829 for those with income of $258,482 or higher. In Québec, you are also eligible to claim a Basic Personal amount of $18,952 on your provincial taxes.
There are many other tax credits available, including credits for taxpayers who are age 65 or older, credits for those who have been classified as disabled, for medical expenses, or for charitable or political donations.
In some circumstances, such as with tax credits for tuition, student loan interest, and donations, if you’re not able to use those credits in the current tax year, they can be carried forward for use in future years.
In Québec, in addition to the federal non-refundable tax credits, you can claim a non-refundable tax credit for tuition at a post-secondary education institution, interest on student loans, career extension, among others.
There are also refundable tax credits such as the Canada Workers Benefit, Canada training credit, and the refundable medical expense supplement, which you would not lose if your taxes are already reduced to zero. Using our earlier example, if you had $4,500 in refundable credits but only owe $3,000 tax, the excess $1,500 would be given to you as part of your refund.
Québec also has refundable tax credits such as the caregiver amount, the senior assistance tax credit, or if you are a top-level athlete.
This isn’t a comprehensive list and there may be other tax credits that you are eligible for. When in doubt, it’s always a good idea to check with a financial expert.
If your income is less than $16,452, you shouldn’t have to pay any income tax. You should still file your taxes, because all kinds of federal and provincial/territorial programs, such as the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit (formerly the Goods and Services Tax/Harmonized Sales Tax, or GST/HST, credit) and the Canada Child Benefit, are calculated based on your income reported on your income tax return. You must file your income tax return to continue receiving these benefits.
