In Quebec, tips will now be calculated before taxes

Mélissa Gélinas

Bill 72 will now require all restaurants and businesses in Quebec to display the proposed tips before taxes are applied on all terminals, starting May 7, 2025.

This measure will be specifically included in a new bill entitled: An Act to protect consumers against abusive commercial practices and provide greater transparency in pricing and credit. It was unanimously adopted by the National Assembly.

Furthermore, terminals will no longer provide customers with any incentives regarding the recommended tip rate. "In this sense, higher percentages will no longer be highlighted, nor will smiley or sad face emoticons be displayed for tips deemed good or not so good," explained Charles Tanguay, spokesperson for the Office of Consumer Protection. This way, it will be up to the consumer to choose the tip amount they wish to pay.

According to Martin Vézina, Vice-President of Public and Government Affairs for the Association Restauration Québec, the reason why consumers previously paid tips after taxes is simply due to the terminal programming.

However, according to Martin, not all terminals are easy to reprogram. "For the majority of them, this required computer changes that were made in recent months, and there are still operators who will have to wait for new devices to comply with the new law," he explained. "Some will also have to manually calculate their tips since their terminal won't have the option to calculate them."

Therefore, this new law risks reducing workers' income. "We want to assess whether this will have an impact on some employees' resignations," Martin commented.

Card inserted into a terminal (May 9, 2025). Photo: Pixabay.com