How Much Does the SAAQ Pay in 2026?

After a road accident, the same question always comes up: how much does the SAAQ pay, and will it be enough to keep you afloat? The short answer: in 2026, the income replacement indemnity can reach $63,707 a year, the indemnity for permanent impairment climbs as high as $309,443, and a series of indemnities cover home assistance, treatment costs and death benefits.

The amount you actually receive depends on your income, your injuries and how well your file is built. Here are all the official 2026 amounts paid by the SAAQ (Quebec’s automobile insurance board, or Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec), plus what you need to know so you don’t leave anything on the table.

The Essentials: 90% of Your Net Income, Up to a $102,500 Ceiling

Quebec’s public automobile insurance plan compensates anyone injured in a road accident, regardless of fault. Its centrepiece is the income replacement indemnity: it equals 90% of your net income, calculated on a gross annual income that cannot exceed $102,500 in 2026.

In practice, depending on the gross income the SAAQ uses, the 2026 annual indemnity looks like this:

• Minimum wage ($33,580 gross): about $24,609 a year, or $944 per payment every 14 days;
• Income of $70,000 gross: about $45,651 a year, or $1,751 every 14 days;
• Maximum income ($102,500 gross and up): about $63,707 a year, or $2,444 every 14 days.

These official examples apply to a person with no spouse or dependants; your family situation changes the net income calculation, and therefore the amount. Earn more than $102,500? Anything above that ceiling is not covered by the SAAQ, an important limit for high earners.

The size of your indemnity depends directly on the gross income the SAAQ uses: that is often where your case is won or lost.

The Income Replacement Indemnity in Detail

The Calculation: From Gross Income to the Amount Paid

To set your income replacement indemnity, the SAAQ starts from your gross annual income, then deducts amounts equivalent to Quebec Pension Plan (QPP), Employment Insurance (EI) and Quebec Parental Insurance Plan (QPIP) contributions, along with provincial and federal income tax. The result is your net income, of which you receive 90%. No indemnity is paid for the first 7 days after the accident; after that, payments arrive every 14 days. Our full guide to the SAAQ’s income replacement indemnity breaks down each step of the calculation.

Special cases to know: a part-time or temporary worker has their indemnity recalculated on the basis of full-time employment if they are still unable to work 6 months after the accident. A person without a job can also be compensated, first based on the job they would have held, then based on a suitable employment determined from their training and experience.

Serious Injuries: A Floor of $62,281

For catastrophic injuries set by regulation (paraplegia or tetraplegia, severe traumatic brain injury, loss of vision, multiple amputations, serious burns to the face, major mental disorder), the law provides a floor: 12 months after the accident, the income replacement indemnity is calculated on a gross annual income that cannot be lower than $62,281, the average income of Québec workers.

How Long Does the SAAQ Pay?

The income replacement indemnity is paid for as long as the SAAQ considers you unable to work. If you were under 64 at the time of the accident, it is then reduced by 25% on your 65th birthday, by 50% at 66 and by 75% at 67, then recalculated at 68 to be paid until death. And payment is never guaranteed for life: the SAAQ regularly reassesses your ability to work, which triggers many questionable cut-offs. For how long the file itself takes to process, see how long a car accident settlement takes.

The Indemnity for Permanent Impairment: Up to $309,443 in 2026

On top of income replacement, the SAAQ pays a lump-sum indemnity for permanent impairment, physical or psychological: this is the indemnity for loss of quality of life. Its amount depends on the severity of the impairment, assessed according to the regulation’s schedule of injuries, and can reach $309,443 in 2026 for the most serious cases.

Added to this is an indemnity for injuries of up to $1,769, paid even when there is no permanent impairment. The percentage of impairment assigned by the SAAQ makes all the difference to the final amount: a medical assessment that minimizes your impairment can be contested, backed by an independent counter-expertise (reimbursable up to $1,862 per health professional when it gets your claim accepted).

Home Assistance, Childcare, Treatments: The Other 2026 Amounts

SAAQ compensation covers far more than income. The main 2026 amounts:

• Personal home assistance: up to $1,104 per week, raised to $1,745 per week if your condition requires continuous care;
• Childcare expense indemnity: from $552 to $753 per week depending on the number of dependants;
• Treatment fees: $65 per physiotherapy session, $47 for chiropractic, $64 for acupuncture, $115 per hour of psychology;
• Travel for care: $0.645 per kilometre in a personal vehicle when the conditions apply, meals reimbursed up to $31.10;
• Lost wages for care: up to $186 per day for a brief absence from work;
• Students: a lump sum of $6,612 per missed year in elementary school and $12,135 per year in high school or per postsecondary session (maximum $24,268 per year), then an income replacement indemnity based on $62,281 after the expected end-of-studies date.

Many of these reimbursements go unnoticed: the SAAQ rarely mentions every indemnity you are entitled to. Our overview of everything the SAAQ pays in compensation helps you take a full inventory of your claim file.

The SAAQ’s Death Benefits in 2026

When a road accident is fatal, the SAAQ pays lump-sum benefits to the victim’s family. The 2026 amounts:

• Surviving spouse: 5 times the victim’s gross annual income, with a minimum of $172,914 and a maximum of $512,500;
• Dependant (other than the spouse): from $41,914 (16 and older) to $77,219 (under one year), depending on age at the time of death, plus $36,400 if the dependant has a disability;
• Victim with no spouse or dependants: $70,730 paid to the parents or the estate;
• Funeral expenses: $8,727 paid to the estate.

The deadline to file a claim for benefits is 3 years from the accident, the onset of the injury or the death. And if the accident happens while driving for work, the file may fall under the SAAQ or the CNESST: our guide car accident at work: CNESST or SAAQ explains how to choose the right plan, a choice that changes the amounts.

Are SAAQ Benefits Taxable?

No. The SAAQ’s income replacement indemnities are not taxable. They must be reported on your provincial income tax return (but not your federal one) and can affect certain tax credits and benefits from other bodies, such as the CNESST, the QPIP or the Quebec Pension Plan. The same logic applies as for injured workers: our mirror guide on how much the CNESST pays walks through the sister plan.

A denied or reduced indemnity is never the final word: every SAAQ decision can be contested within the deadlines.

Is the SAAQ Paying You Less Than Expected? Your Recourse

A denied diagnosis, an undervalued gross income, an income replacement indemnity cut after a reassessment, minimized impairment: unfavourable decisions are common, and they can be contested. Here is how to proceed:

1. Check the amount and the basis of calculation as soon as the first decision arrives: the gross income used, the employment determined, the impairment percentage.
2. Request a review within 60 days of the decision. This deadline is strict: it extinguishes your rights if you miss it.
3. Take your case to the Tribunal administratif du Québec (TAQ), Québec’s administrative tribunal, if the review decision doesn’t satisfy you, also within 60 days.
4. Support your file with solid medical evidence, if needed with an independent counter-expertise.
5. Get representation: our guide on how to contest a SAAQ decision sets out each step of the recourse.

At Accident Solution, our SAAQ lawyers defend road accident victims across Québec from our offices in Montréal and Québec City. Our hybrid model, rare in the province, lets you choose between a lawyer who is a member of the Barreau du Québec (Quebec Bar) and, at a lower cost, an administrative recourse expert, and our team pairs our lawyers with medical experts to build the evidence. If a private insurer is also involved, our disability insurance lawyers coordinate both files. Free consultation, a response in under 24 hours, and home visits when needed.

Frequently Asked Questions About How Much the SAAQ Pays