CPP & EI contributions
Two payroll contributions come out of your pay: the Canada Pension Plan (CPP, with a second CPP2 tier above the first ceiling) and Employment Insurance (EI, up to the Maximum Insurable Earnings). The base portion is a tax credit; the enhanced portion is a deduction from income. This page explains the ceilings and how each part is treated.
Two payroll contributions on top of income tax
Beyond income tax, two contributions come out of your pay: the Canada Pension Plan (CPP), which builds your public pension, and Employment Insurance (EI), which funds benefits between jobs. Both are capped by an annual ceiling, and both give you a tax credit — so they are not pure deductions. This page shows how each is worked out.
CPP and the CPP2 second tier
CPP is charged at 5.95% on pensionable earnings between a basic exemption of $3,500 and the first ceiling of $74,600 — a maximum of about $4,230.45. Above the first ceiling, a second tier (CPP2) applies at 4% on earnings up to a higher second ceiling of $85,000 — up to about $416.00 more. The base part of CPP is a tax credit; the enhanced part (and all of CPP2) is a deduction from income, which is why the calculator treats them differently.
| Tier | Rate | On earnings |
|---|---|---|
| CPP (tier 1) | 5.95% | $3,500 – $74,600 |
| CPP2 (tier 2) | 4% | $74,600 – $85,000 |
Employment Insurance (EI)
EI is charged at 1.63% on your insurable earnings up to the Maximum Insurable Earnings of $68,900 — a maximum employee premium of about $1,123.07. Nothing is charged above the ceiling. Like base CPP, EI is a non-refundable tax credit. Your employer also pays an EI premium (more than yours) — an employer cost, not part of your take-home. Quebec residents pay a reduced EI rate because QPIP covers parental benefits (see the Quebec page).
This page is still being expanded. The figures shown are the CPP and EI rates in force for 2026, taken from the sources cited above; if a rule changed recently it may not be reflected here yet, and none of them has been through our final sign-off — for an official amount, the CRA is the binding one. Maximum contributions are derived from the ceilings and rates above.