CPP and EI calculator

CPP and EI are capped, which makes them regressive

Income tax rises in bands as you earn more. CPP and EI do the opposite: they take a fixed percentage up to a ceiling and nothing at all above it, so as a share of income they fall.

$35,000 — $1,874.25 CPP and $570.50 EI, together 6.98% of pay.

$85,000 — $4,646.45 and $1,123.07, together 6.79%.

$200,000 — $4,646.45 and $1,123.07, together 2.88%. The same dollars as at $85,000, on more than twice the income.

Somebody on $35,000 pays 2.4 times the proportion of their income in contributions that somebody on $200,000 does. That is not an anomaly — contributory benefits are capped too, so the contributions are capped with them — but it is why "payroll taxes" and "income tax" cannot be added into one rate and discussed as though they behaved alike.

Three ceilings, not one, and they sit at different heights

CPP — 5.95% on earnings between the $3,500 basic exemption and $74,600, so at most $4,230.45. The exemption is real money: the first $3,500 you earn carries no CPP at all.

CPP2 — a second contribution of 4.00% on the slice between $74,600 and $85,000, at most $416.00. It started in 2024 and it is the reason a high earner's contributions no longer stop where they used to.

EI — 1.63% on insurable earnings up to $68,900, at most $1,123.07. The lowest ceiling of the three, which is why EI stops first.

In Quebec all of this is different: the QPP replaces CPP at a higher rate, QPIP is charged on top, and the EI rate is lower because QPIP already covers parental benefits. The Quebec page applies all four.

And you get some of it back, in two different ways

The contributions are not simply taken. The tax system gives relief on them, and it gives it in two different forms depending on which part of the CPP you are looking at — a distinction almost no calculator applies.

The base 4.95% is a credit. It reduces your tax at the lowest rate, federally and provincially, alongside your basic personal amount. So does all of your EI premium.

The enhanced 1.00% is a deduction, and so is all of CPP2. Those come off your taxable income before the rates are applied, which makes them worth your *marginal* rate rather than the lowest one.

On $85,000 in Ontario that is $4,643 of creditable contributions and $1,127 of deductible ones — together worth roughly $984 off the tax bill. Both are applied in every figure on this site.

The base CPP rate falls on 1 January 2027

Announced on 28 April 2026 and published in the CRA's July payroll guide: the base CPP contribution rate drops from 9.90% to 9.50% combined, effective 1 January 2027. For an employee that is a fall from 4.95% to 4.75%; the employer's half falls by the same.

It is the first reduction since the CPP enhancement began phasing in in 2019, and it is a genuine cut rather than an indexation effect. The enhancement rate and CPP2 are not changed by it.

Every figure on this page is for 2026 and does not anticipate it. When the 2027 figures are published they will be read off the document that sets them, like everything else here.

Where these figures come from

Read off the CRA's own documents, with the date each was read:

CRA — T4127 Payroll Deductions Formulas, 122nd edition (the bonus method, and the $5,000 note on annual taxable income) — read 2026-09-08. https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/forms-publications/payroll/t4127-payroll-deductions-formulas/t4127-jan/t4127-jan-payroll-deductions-formulas-computer-programs.html

CRA — T4127 Payroll Deductions Formulas, 123rd edition (the CPP base rate cut announced for 1 January 2027) — read 2026-09-08. https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/forms-publications/payroll/t4127-payroll-deductions-formulas/t4127-jul/t4127-jul-payroll-deductions-formulas.html

CRA — CPP contribution rates, maximums and exemptions (the self-employed rate and maximum) — read 2026-09-08. https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/businesses/topics/payroll/payroll-deductions-contributions/canada-pension-plan-cpp/cpp-contribution-rates-maximums-exemptions.html

CRA — Second additional CPP contribution (CPP2) rates and maximums — read 2026-09-08. https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/businesses/topics/payroll/calculating-deductions/making-deductions/second-additional-cpp-contribution-rates-maximums.html

CRA — EI premium rates and maximums, including the 1.4 employer multiplier — read 2026-09-08. https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/businesses/topics/payroll/payroll-deductions-contributions/employment-insurance-ei/ei-premium-rates-maximums.html

CRA — The Canada Pension Plan enhancement: what it means for the self-employed (the credit and deduction split) — read 2026-09-08. https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/news/2023/05/the-canada-pension-plan-enhancement--businesses-individuals-and-self-employed-what-it-means-for-you.html

Service Canada — EI special benefits for self-employed people: premiums — read 2026-09-08. https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/ei/ei-self-employed-workers/premiums.html

And what is not covered:

— Business expenses are not deducted. A self-employed figure here is tax on net income after expenses, so enter what is left once your costs are out — not what you invoiced.

— Employer payroll taxes beyond CPP and EI are not included. Ontario's Employer Health Tax, British Columbia's employer health tax, Manitoba's Health and Post-Secondary Education Tax and Newfoundland's payroll tax all fall on the employer above their own thresholds, and each is set by its province.

— Quebec's employer QPIP contribution and its other employer contributions are not included in the employer cost, because Revenu Québec publishes them separately and they have not been read here.

— The bonus figure is the withholding your employer takes, which is the CRA method. It is not necessarily your final tax on that bonus: that is settled on your return, where every credit you are entitled to applies.

— GST/HST on self-employment income is not modelled. Registration is required once revenue passes $30,000 in four consecutive quarters, and the tax is collected from clients rather than paid out of income.

Questions

What is the maximum CPP contribution for 2026?

$4,230.45 for the base contribution, on earnings between the $3,500 exemption and $74,600, plus up to $416.00 of CPP2 on the slice between $74,600 and $85,000 — $4,646.45 in all. Your employer pays the same again.

What is the maximum EI premium for 2026?

$1,123.07, at 1.63% on insurable earnings up to $68,900. In Quebec the rate is lower and the maximum is $895.70, because QPIP covers parental benefits there. Employers pay 1.4 times the employee premium.

Why do CPP and EI stop coming off my pay?

Because both are capped for the year rather than charged on every dollar. Once you have paid the annual maximum they stop, and your net pay rises for the remaining pay periods. The paycheque calculator works out which period that is.

Do I get a tax break on CPP and EI?

Yes, and in two forms. The base 4.95% of CPP and all of your EI give a non-refundable credit at the lowest rate. The enhanced 1.00% and all of CPP2 are deducted from taxable income instead, which makes them worth your marginal rate. On $85,000 in Ontario the two together are worth about $984.

Is CPP going down?

The base rate is. The government announced on 28 April 2026 that the combined base contribution rate falls from 9.90% to 9.50% on 1 January 2027 — for an employee, 4.95% to 4.75%. The enhancement and CPP2 are unaffected, and 2026 figures are unchanged.