Updated Checked by the Tax-Services.ca editorial team How we check
Employee taxes in Canada come in three parts: income tax, CPP and EI. On a $60,000 salary in Ontario for 2026, our take-home pay calculator shows $5,338.30 of federal tax, $2,982.20 of Ontario tax, $3,361.75 of CPP and $978.00 of EI. You keep $47,339.75, which is 78.9% of your pay.
What comes off an employee’s pay?
Income tax is the big one, taken in two layers, federal and provincial. CPP is your pension contribution. EI is insurance for the stretches when you can’t work, and it’s the smallest of the three for most people, though at $60,000 it still costs $978.00 a year.
The federal rules set CPP at 5.95% on pay between $3,500 and $74,600 in 2026, with a second 4% layer on pay from $74,600 up to $85,000. EI is 1.63% of pay up to $68,900, which caps at $1,123.07. Quebec runs its own pension and parental plans, so numbers there differ.
Your employer sends all of it to the CRA, so you never write that cheque yourself, though you do pay the bill every payday. The totals show up on your T4 slip once the year is over.
How much is deducted at different salaries?
We ran three Ontario salaries through one tool.
| Yearly pay | Federal tax | Ontario tax | CPP | EI | You keep |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $45,000 | $3,338.20 | $1,904.82 | $2,469.25 | $733.50 | $36,554.24 |
| $60,000 | $5,338.30 | $2,982.20 | $3,361.75 | $978.00 | $47,339.75 |
| $75,000 | $8,258.60 | $4,446.06 | $4,246.45 | $1,123.07 | $56,925.83 |
Notice how the share you keep slides from 81.2% at $45,000 to 75.9% at $75,000. Higher tax steps do most of that. EI stops growing at $68,900.
Paid every two weeks, a $75,000 job means $2,884.62 gross, $695.16 deducted and $2,189.46 landing in your account. Our payroll deductions calculator lists each line.
What does a raise really leave you?
Take the $60,000 job and add $5,000. At $65,000 the tool shows $6,306.99 of federal tax, $3,418.51 of Ontario tax, $3,659.25 of CPP and $1,059.50 of EI. You keep $50,555.75, which is $3,216.00 more than before.
Roughly 64 cents of every added dollar gets to you. Fine, but not the whole $5,000 you were promised, so do the sum before you celebrate. The salary increase calculator runs the same comparison for any raise.
Why does your pay stub not match?
Payroll software works out tax in steps through the year, so a real stub can sit a few dollars away from an estimate. Once you reach the yearly cap on CPP or EI, those lines vanish for the rest of the year and your cheque jumps. Raises and bonuses shift things too.
Bonuses feel harsh, and there’s a reason: the extra pay lands on top of everything else you earned that year, so it’s taxed at your highest rate. The bonus tax calculator shows what’s left after tax.
A quick check helps. At $60,000 the deductions add up to 21.1% of pay, and at $75,000 they’re 24.1%. If your stub is far from the figure for your pay, ask payroll.
Can you change how much tax is held back?
Your employer bases withholding on your claim forms. The CRA publishes federal and provincial TD1 forms for 2026, which your employer uses to work out how much tax to take. We didn’t confirm the exact rules on when to file one, so ask payroll or read the CRA page.
Withholding is an advance. Nothing more. Your return settles the true bill, so a refund means you overpaid and a balance means you underpaid. Try the tax refund calculator partway through the year to see where you’re heading.
Mistakes and limits
- Treating the estimate as your stub. Benefits, union dues and pension payments aren’t in our tool.
- Forgetting that an RRSP deduction lowers income tax but not CPP or EI.
- Counting on the same rates next year. Rates, limits and brackets are set for each year, so confirm the current ones with the CRA before you build a budget around them.
- Assuming Quebec works the same way, when its pension and parental plans differ.
If you’re the employer, the payroll remittance calculator covers your side.
Where the numbers come from
The 2026 federal brackets and the CPP and EI rates are the Canada Revenue Agency’s published figures. Ontario’s come from its own schedule as shown in the CRA payroll tables. Every result on this page is an estimate from our calculators, which run one worker with one job and no extras, so a person with several jobs, a union or a workplace pension should expect the real numbers to differ.
Frequently asked questions
What taxes come off an employee's pay in Canada?
Federal and provincial income tax, CPP or QPP, and EI. Quebec has its own pension and parental insurance plans.
What are the 2026 CPP and EI rates?
CPP is 5.95% on pay between $3,500 and $74,600, with a 4% second layer up to $85,000. EI is 1.63% up to $68,900.
Why is my pay stub different from an estimate?
Payroll software spreads tax across the year, and the CPP and EI lines end when you hit their caps.
Does an RRSP contribution lower CPP or EI?
No. It lowers income tax only.
Who sends my deductions to the CRA?
Your employer takes them from your pay and remits them. Your T4 slip shows the totals.
- Self-employed taxes in Canada: income, CPP and GST
How tax works when you are self-employed in Canada: reporting income and expenses, paying both halves of CPP, instalments and when to register for GST
Information only. This page is general information, not tax, legal or accounting advice. Tax-Services.ca is an independent publisher: we don't prepare or file tax returns or offer tax services, and we have no connection with the CRA, Revenu Québec, any government or any company named on this page. Check the figures that matter with an official source or a qualified professional.