Quebec   ->   QC Budgets -> 2017 Fall Economic Plan Update

Quebec Economic Plan Update - November 21, 2017

Full details of the Economic Plan Update can be found on the Finance Quebec website, with tax changes in Information Bulletin 2017-11 (pdf).  Some of these measures were again changed in Information Bulletin 2017-13 (pdf). The Economic Plan Update announced that the tax rate for the lowest tax bracket would be reduced from 16% to 15%, retroactively to January 1, 2017.  The Quebec 2017 and 2018 Tax Rate Tables have been revised to reflect this change. All proposed changes are subject to legislative approval.

Personal Tax Changes

• Personal tax credit rate will be reduced, starting with the 2017 taxation year, to 15% from 16%.  As a result, the amounts of a few tax credits are increased so that the tax reduction will be the same as it was with the 16% rate.  The rate was previously reduced by the March 2017 budget, from 20% to 16%, with a corresponding increase in some tax credit amounts.  The 2017 and 2018 tables of marginal tax rates have been revised to reflect these changes.
• Some tax credits will still use the 20% rate:
  • eligible medical expenses
  • student loan interest
  • the first $200 of gifts/donations
  • eligible expenses to obtain medical care not provided in the region where an individual lives
• The alternative minimum tax calculation will use the rate of 15% instead of 16%, starting with the 2017 taxation year.
• The refundable tax credit for the general and adapted work premiums will be enhanced beginning in 2018.
• The experienced worker tax credit will use the lower 15% rate instead of 16%, and the 94% weighting factor will be removed.
• The government is shortening the period during which social assistance must have been received in order to be eligible for the supplement to the work premium.
• Workers whose contributions to the Quebec Pension Plan (QPP) increase in 2019 because of upcoming enhancements to the plan will be able to deduct these additional amounts from their income.  Current QPP contributions result in a tax credit at the lowest tax rate, not a deduction from income.
• Individuals eligible to receive the Solidarity Tax Credit, the Fiscal Shield or the Work Premium will no longer have to apply for these benefits by ticking a box on the tax return or by completing a schedule of the tax return - they will just have to file their tax returns to receive the benefits.  These amendments will be applicable, in the case of the basic amount and the amount for a spouse under the QST component of the solidarity tax credit,  in respect of the payment period beginning on July 1, 2018, and in the case of the work premium and the fiscal shield, as of the 2018 taxation year.  These changes do not apply to the rules governing advance payments of the work premium.

Other Fiscal Measures

A new annual universal supplement of $100 per school-aged child will be granted as of 2017 for the purchase of school supplies.  This will be included with the refundable tax credit for child assistance (RTCCA) (renamed Family Allowance in December 2018), and will be adjusted annually starting in 2019.  

Revised: