Updated Checked by the Tax-Services.ca editorial team How we check
Paycheque deductions in Canada come down to four things on most stubs: federal income tax, provincial income tax, CPP and EI. On a $60,000 salary paid every two weeks in Ontario, the engine behind our calculators puts them at about $486.94 per cheque, so $2,307.69 gross turns into roughly $1,820.76 in your account.
Which paycheque deductions come off a normal cheque?
Take that $60,000 example and split it up. Income tax is the biggest piece, and it’s an estimate of your whole year’s tax spread over 26 pay dates. CPP and EI are smaller and follow fixed rates. Here’s the stub line by line, worked out for Ontario.
| Line on the stub | Per biweekly cheque | For the year |
|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $2,307.69 | $60,000.00 |
| Federal income tax | $205.32 | $5,338.30 |
| Ontario income tax | $114.70 | $2,982.20 |
| CPP | $129.30 | $3,361.75 |
| EI | $37.62 | $978.00 |
| Net pay | $1,820.76 | $47,339.75 |
Add the four deductions up and you get $12,660.25 for the year, about 21% of gross. Spread over 12 months, the take-home is roughly $3,945 a month. Your own stub may add lines for a workplace pension, health benefits or union dues. Those come out before or after tax depending on the plan, so they change the picture a little.
Why is my CPP taken off before tax?
Partly. In our engine the extra slice of CPP, about 1% of pay above $3,500, comes off your income before tax is worked out, and the rest earns a credit. That’s why the taxable income on the yearly figures in our calculators sits a little below your salary.
The 2026 rate is 5.95% for you on pay between $3,500 and $74,600, plus 4% on pay between $74,600 and $85,000. The most you pay on that first band is $4,230.45 a year, and your employer matches it. The CRA’s CPP contribution rates and maximums page lists the $3,500 exemption and the 5.95% rate.
How much EI comes off?
For 2026 the EI rate is $1.63 per $100 of insurable earnings, up to $68,900. The most you can pay in the year is $1,123.07, and the CRA’s EI premium rates page confirms both. Quebec works differently because its own parental plan takes over part of the job, so the EI rate there is $1.30 per $100 and QPIP is added on top.
Can I change what comes off?
A few things you control. An RRSP contribution through payroll lowers the income tax taken at source. Put $3,000 a year into one on the same $60,000 salary and your take-home drops by only $2,246.22, not $3,000, because tax falls by $753.78. Try your own figures in the RRSP calculator.
You don’t choose your CPP or EI, and that’s the point. They follow the rates above. Income tax is the line that moves with your credits and any RRSP money, so that’s where a change shows up. If you started a job mid-year and the first stubs look light, the claim amounts on your TD1 form are the first thing to check.
Mistakes that make the stub look wrong
Most alarms are false. The first is comparing the stub to a yearly figure. Tax on a stub is a rough per-cheque guess, and your return is where the real tax gets set.
The second is a change in the middle of the year. A raise, a bonus or a second job moves the tax line, and the stub doesn’t always catch up at once. A bonus in particular can look heavily taxed on the day you get it. The bonus tax calculator shows what you really keep, and our page on tax on a bonus in Ontario goes through examples.
Third, there’s the end of the year, when CPP and EI stop once you hit the yearly caps. EI stops first, after $68,900 of pay, and CPP follows once you pass about $74,600. Earn that much and your net pay can jump late in the year, which feels like a small bonus from the paycheque gods. Our page on Canada payroll deductions has the dates for a $100,000 salary.
And the calculators have limits of their own. They don’t include benefits, pension plans or dues, so a real stub may differ by a few dollars. Try your figures in the payroll deductions calculator, then check the result against the stub.
What if the stub and the calculator disagree by a lot?
Start with the pay period. A weekly, biweekly and semi-monthly schedule give different per-cheque figures even on the same salary, since 26 cheques a year is not the same as 24. Then look for the extra lines: pension, benefits, union dues, a taxable benefit like a company car. If a gap of more than a few dollars is still left, ask your payroll department to walk you through the line. They can see your claim amounts, which no outside tool can.
The sources behind this page
CPP and EI rates and limits for 2026 come from the Canada Revenue Agency‘s payroll pages. The federal tax brackets come from the CRA’s 2026 rates page, dated June 2026. Ontario rates come from the provincial data file we keep, checked against the CRA payroll tables. We couldn’t confirm every small provincial detail, so treat the stub as the final word for your own pay. To go the other way, from a target net to a gross, use the net to gross calculator.
Frequently asked questions
What are the usual paycheck deductions in Canada?
Federal and provincial income tax, CPP (QPP in Quebec) and EI. Benefits, pension plans and union dues may be added by your employer.
How much comes off a $60,000 salary in Ontario?
About $486.94 per biweekly cheque, leaving roughly $1,820.76. Over the year that is $47,339.75 in net pay.
Why is my net pay different from the calculator?
Payroll systems estimate tax in steps, and benefits or dues are extra lines. A few dollars of difference is normal.
Do CPP and EI ever stop?
Yes. Each has a yearly maximum for 2026: $68,900 of insurable earnings for EI and $74,600 of pensionable earnings for the main CPP rate.
Does an RRSP contribution change my deductions?
It lowers the income tax taken at source. On $60,000 in Ontario, $3,000 into an RRSP cuts tax by about $754.
All payroll and salary calculators
- How Canadian income tax works: brackets and credits
How federal and provincial Canadian income tax stack up, what marginal and average rates mean, and how credits and deductions change your bill