CPP and EI Max 2026: Rates and Payroll Deductions

Outside Quebec, the maximum employee EI premium for 2026 is $1,123.07. CPP reaches $4,230.45, with up to $416.00 in CPP2. Employers match CPP and CPP2 and normally pay 1.4 times employee EI. Quebec uses QPP, reduced EI and separate QPIP premiums. Income tax is additional.

Use the annual limits below to check a payroll setup or understand why deductions change during the year. All amounts are in Canadian dollars. The examples assume ordinary pensionable and insurable employment with one employer for the full year; special eligibility rules and pay-period rounding can change an individual calculation.

Estimate your CPP and EI contributions, or use the Quebec QPP and QPIP calculator. These tools provide planning estimates with stated assumptions.

2026 CPP and EI maximum contributions

CPP and EI use different earnings limits. CPP also has a $3,500 annual basic exemption; EI has no equivalent exemption. The employer amounts below are paid on top of salary, not deducted from the employee's pay.

Sources: CRA's CPP tables, CPP2 tables and EI premium tables. Employer EI assumes the standard 1.4 multiplier; qualifying premium-reduction arrangements can differ.

When all three limits are reached, employee CPP, CPP2 and EI total $5,769.52. The corresponding employer contributions total $6,218.75. Neither total includes income tax, benefits or other payroll costs.

Which earnings count toward each ceiling?

• CPP: 5.95% on annual pensionable earnings above $3,500, up to the first ceiling of $74,600.
• CPP2: 4% on the portion above $74,600, up to $85,000. It is a separate layer, not a higher rate applied to the whole salary.
• EI: 1.63% on insurable earnings up to $68,900 outside Quebec.

Gross salary is a starting point, but pensionable and insurable earnings are not interchangeable in every case. Benefits and special payments can have different treatment. Check the payment type before applying these salary examples to a bonus, benefit or termination payment.

What the contributions look like at three salaries

These annual illustrations assume all salary is pensionable and insurable, a full CPP exemption and no special elections. They isolate employee contributions so you can see how each ceiling works. They are not take-home pay calculations or instructions to deduct one-twelfth of the totals each month.

At $60,000, CPP is ($60,000 minus $3,500) × 5.95%, and EI is $60,000 × 1.63%.

At $75,000, regular CPP and EI reach their limits, but only $400 falls into the CPP2 band: $400 × 4% = $16.

At $90,000, CPP2 reaches its $416 maximum because only the $10,400 band between the two pension ceilings is subject to CPP2.

A raise therefore does not increase every contribution by the same percentage. EI can also stop before CPP2 does. To try another salary or pay frequency, open the CPP and EI contribution calculator and read its assumptions alongside the result.

Quebec: QPP, reduced EI and QPIP

Quebec employment uses Quebec Pension Plan contributions rather than CPP. QPP has regular and second additional contributions. Quebec employees also pay reduced EI premiums and separate Quebec Parental Insurance Plan premiums.

QPP uses a $74,600 first ceiling and $85,000 additional ceiling, with a $3,500 basic exemption. EI uses $68,900 in maximum insurable earnings. QPIP has its own higher ceiling of $103,000 and an employer rate of 0.602%.

Sources: Revenu Québec's QPP contribution tables and QPIP premium tables, plus CRA's EI tables linked above.

Use the Quebec contribution calculator for an estimate. These contributions do not represent every Quebec employer cost; other obligations, including the health services fund, require separate assessment.

Annual limits are not a pay-period formula

A year-to-date record matters as much as the rate. Each payroll run needs the employee's eligible earnings, exemption allocation and contributions already deducted by that employer. An annual salary estimate cannot establish the exact deduction for a mid-year hire, irregular payment or someone whose CPP eligibility changed.

Changing employers is another distinction. CRA instructs a new employer to calculate CPP and EI without counting deductions made by the previous employer, subject to business-succession rules. Eligible excess employee contributions are reconciled on the employee's tax return. See the CRA employers' guide for the applicable treatment.

Keep calculation and remittance separate: one establishes what to withhold and contribute; the other establishes when to send it. Check CRA's assigned remitter requirements and use the payroll remittance guide for that next task.

Income tax and other deductions come next

Subtracting CPP and EI from gross salary does not give net pay. Federal and provincial or territorial income tax, pensions, benefits and other applicable deductions can change the deposit. The province of employment and the employee's tax-credit information matter; a single national percentage will not produce the right withholding.

For payroll calculations, use CRA's Payroll Deductions Online Calculator for the federal, provincial and territorial deductions it covers. Quebec provincial income tax, QPP and QPIP are administered separately; that CRA page directs employers to Revenu Québec's WebRAS. Consult the current T4032 payroll deduction tables when a table-based method is needed.

For an employer budget, add the employer pension and EI amounts to salary, then assess the organization's other costs separately. Workers' compensation, employer health taxes and benefits depend on circumstances that the CPP and EI maximums do not capture.