2026 figures
CPP and EI max 2026, employee and employer
Updated
For 2026, outside Quebec, the employer pays at most $4,230.45 CPP, $416 CPP2 and $1,572.30 EI: $6,218.75. The employee pays at most $4,230.45, $416 and $1,123.07.
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How this calculator works
- 2026 rates, employment outside Quebec. Quebec employment is a different calculation. It uses the Quebec Pension Plan rather than CPP, adds the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan, and carries a reduced EI rate (1.30% for employees in 2026, against 1.63% elsewhere). This tool does not model QPP or QPIP and should not be used for a Quebec employee (CRA).
- CPP: the 2026 maximum annual pensionable earnings are $74,600, the basic exemption is $3,500, and maximum contributory earnings are $71,100. The employee and employer contribution rate is 5.95% each, giving a maximum annual employee and employer contribution of $4,230.45 (CRA).
- CPP2: the 2026 additional maximum annual pensionable earnings are $85,000, the employee and employer rate is 4%, and the maximum annual employee and employer contribution is $416. CPP2 applies to earnings above the annual maximum pensionable earnings (CRA).
- EI: the 2026 maximum annual insurable earnings are $68,900 and the employee rate is 1.63%, giving a maximum annual employee premium of $1,123.07. CRA states that "the employer's premium will be 1.4 times this amount", giving a maximum annual employer premium of $1,572.30 (CRA).
- The employer EI figure is computed from the employee premium, not from insurable earnings, because that is how CRA defines it: 1.4 times the employee's premium, after rounding. Computing it as 1.4 times the rate applied to earnings gives a figure that differs by cents from the published maximum.
- Every published maximum reproduces exactly from these inputs, which checks that the tool and the source agree. ($74,600 minus $3,500) x 5.95% = $4,230.45. ($85,000 minus $74,600) x 4% = $416. $68,900 x 1.63% = $1,123.07, and x 1.4 = $1,572.30.
- The rates and ceilings are statutory in structure and announced annually in amount. Schedule 1 of the Canada Pension Plan sets the base rate at 4.95% for employees and employers from 2003 onward. Schedule 2 sets the first additional rate at 1.0% each from 2024, making the 5.95% above, and the second additional rate at 4.0% each from 2024.
- Section 20(2) fixes the Year's Basic Exemption at $3,500 for each year after 1997. Section 18.1(1)(b) sets the additional maximum pensionable earnings at 1.14 times the maximum pensionable earnings for 2025 and later, rounded down to the next multiple of $100. That is how $74,600 produces $85,000 (Canada Pension Plan).
- Not included: vacation pay, statutory holiday pay, benefits, pension contributions, workers compensation premiums, provincial health or payroll levies such as the Employer Health Tax, and any territorial payroll tax. Those vary by province and by employer and are not modelled here, so the figure is the federal statutory floor rather than the full cost of employment.
- The CPP exemption setting covers employees under 18, employees over 70, and employees for whom an election not to contribute is in force. An employer contributes only where the employee does. EI is unaffected by that setting and continues.
- These figures change every January. The date at the top of this page is when the rates were read from CRA, and it is the date they belong to.
Max CPP and EI contribution 2026
Each maximum is reached at a different salary: EI at $68,900 of insurable earnings, CPP at $74,600 of pensionable earnings and CPP2 at $85,000. Above $85,000 nothing more is deducted on either side for the rest of the calendar year.
| Contribution | Employee maximum | Employer maximum | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPP | $4,230.45 | $4,230.45 | CRA, CPP contribution rates, maximums and exemptions, read 2 November 2026 |
| CPP2 | $416 | $416 | CRA, CPP2 contribution rates and maximums, read 2 November 2026 |
| EI | $1,123.07 | $1,572.30 | CRA, EI premium rates and maximums, read 2 November 2026 |
| Total | $5,769.52 | $6,218.75 |
2026 EI and CPP rates
The rates are what the maximums are built from. CPP and CPP2 are charged at the same rate on both sides; EI is charged on the employee at 1.63% and the employer pays 1.4 times the employee's premium.
| Item | 2026 figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum pensionable earnings (CPP) | $74,600 | CRA, CPP contribution rates, maximums and exemptions, read 2 November 2026 |
| Basic exemption | $3,500 | CRA, CPP contribution rates, maximums and exemptions, read 2 November 2026 |
| Maximum contributory earnings | $71,100 | CRA, CPP contribution rates, maximums and exemptions, read 2 November 2026 |
| CPP rate, employee and employer | 5.95% | CRA, CPP contribution rates, maximums and exemptions, read 2 November 2026 |
| Additional maximum pensionable earnings (CPP2) | $85,000 | CRA, CPP2 contribution rates and maximums, read 2 November 2026 |
| CPP2 rate, employee and employer | 4% | CRA, CPP2 contribution rates and maximums, read 2 November 2026 |
| Maximum insurable earnings (EI) | $68,900 | CRA, EI premium rates and maximums, read 2 November 2026 |
| EI employee rate, outside Quebec | 1.63% | CRA, EI premium rates and maximums, read 2 November 2026 |
Max EI contribution
The most an employee outside Quebec pays in EI for 2026 is $1,123.07, which is 1.63% of $68,900. The employer's maximum is $1,572.30, which is 1.4 times the employee's premium rather than a rate applied to the earnings.
In Quebec the employee rate is 1.30% on the same $68,900, because Quebec runs its own parental insurance plan. CRA publishes the Quebec maximums as $895.70 for the employee and $1,253.98 for the employer.
Source: CRA, EI premium rates and maximums, read 2 November 2026
Self-employed maximums for 2026
A self-employed person pays both halves. CRA publishes the 2026 self-employed maximum as $8,460.90 for CPP and $832 for CPP2. EI is not deducted from self-employment income unless the person has opted in to the special benefits scheme, which is outside what this site covers.
Source: CRA, CPP contribution rates, maximums and exemptions, read 2 November 2026
What changes in 2027
CRA has already published the 2027 EI figures. Maximum insurable earnings are $70,800, the employee rate 1.64%, the maximum employee premium $1,161.12 and the maximum employer premium $1,625.57. The 2027 CPP and CPP2 ceilings were not yet on CRA's tables when we read them on 2 November 2026. So no 2027 CPP figure is given here.
Contributions restart on 1 January, so an employee who reached the 2026 maximums starts paying again in January 2027, and so does the employer. To see what the 2026 figures mean for one salary, use the employer CPP EI calculator.
Source: CRA, EI premium rates and maximums, read 2 November 2026