Updated Checked by the Tax-Services.ca editorial team How we check
The CPP and EI maximum for 2026 is $4,230.45 in CPP and $1,123.07 in EI for an employee outside Quebec, before any second-tier CPP. Those caps stop the day your pay for the year passes $74,600 for CPP and $68,900 for EI.
What are the 2026 CPP and EI maximums?
Both plans take a percentage of your pay up to a yearly ceiling. Reach the ceiling and the deductions stop until January, which is why high earners often see their net pay jump in the last months of the year.
| Item | Employee | Employer |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum pensionable earnings (CPP) | $74,600 | |
| Basic exemption (CPP) | $3,500 | |
| Earnings that pay CPP (first tier) | $71,100 | |
| CPP rate, first tier | 5.95% | 5.95% |
| Maximum CPP, first tier | $4,230.45 | $4,230.45 |
| CPP2 range | $74,600 to $85,000 | |
| CPP2 rate and maximum | 4%, $416.00 | 4%, $416.00 |
| Maximum insurable earnings (EI) | $68,900 | |
| EI rate outside Quebec | 1.63% | 2.282% |
| Maximum EI premium | $1,123.07 | $1,572.30 |
So the full CPP maximum for someone earning $85,000 or more is $4,646.45 for the employee, and the same for the employer. The employer’s EI rate is 1.4 times yours.
How is the CPP maximum worked out?
The first $3,500 of your pay is exempt, and CPP is charged on everything between $3,500 and $74,600. That’s $71,100, and at 5.95% it gives the $4,230.45 cap.
The second tier, CPP2, only touches pay above $74,600, up to $85,000. It costs 4% and adds at most $416.00. Earn less than $74,600 and you never pay it.
Your employer matches your CPP dollar for dollar, so what your job costs on top of your salary is higher than your pay stub suggests.
What does $80,000 in Ontario pay?
The first tier reaches its cap of $4,230.45. The extra $5,400 above $74,600 pays 4%, or $216.00, so your CPP for the year is $4,446.45 and your employer pays the same. EI is capped too: your pay passes $68,900, so you pay the full $1,123.07 and your employer pays $1,572.30.
Now picture someone self-employed with $80,000 of net business income. The self-employed tax calculator shows CPP of $8,892.90, exactly double the employee figure, because you pay both halves. Half of the base part comes back as a deduction on your return, which softens the blow.
What does a $50,000 salary pay?
Most people sit nowhere near these caps, so here’s a more typical case. Take Marc in Saskatoon, who earns $50,000. His CPP is $50,000 minus $3,500, times 5.95%, which is $2,766.75. His EI is 1.63% of $50,000, or $815.00. Together that’s $3,581.75 for the year, and his employer adds its own share on top.
At $80,000 paid every two weeks, the EI cap arrives first. Each cheque carries about $50.15 of EI (1.63% of $3,076.92), so the $1,123.07 maximum is used up around the 23rd of 26 pays. The last few cheques of the year then arrive without EI, which is the bump in take-home people notice in the fall. Your payroll system may land a pay or so either side, so treat it as a ballpark.
What do self-employed people pay?
11.9% on earnings between $3,500 and $74,600, up to a maximum of $8,460.90. The second tier costs 8% on pay above $74,600, up to $832.00. The self-employed tax calculator leaves EI out.
There’s no payroll cheque to hold the money back, so set it aside through the year and pay it with your return. If the bill looks big, run your tax and CPP bill before April.
How does Quebec differ?
Quebec runs its own pension plan, the QPP, and its own parental insurance plan, the QPIP. For 2026 the QPP uses the same $74,600 ceiling and $3,500 exemption. Its maximum is $4,479.30 for the first tier and $416.00 for the second.
Because Quebec has its own parental plan, its EI premium is lower: 1.3%, with a maximum of $895.70 on earnings up to $68,900. The QPIP charge comes on top, reported at 0.43% of pay up to $103,000, or $442.90 at most. We couldn’t read that figure directly, so confirm it with Revenu Québec.
What does an $80,000 salary cost the employer?
The stub shows what comes off your pay, but the employer carries its own half. For the $80,000 Ontario example above, the employer's CPP is $4,446.45, the same as yours, and its EI is $1,572.30. Those two lines add up to $6,018.75 on top of the salary, so the payroll cost of the job is about $86,018.75 before any other employer costs we haven't looked at here.
That gap is worth knowing in two situations. If you're negotiating pay, remember the employer's cost runs higher than the number on the offer letter. If you're thinking about contracting instead, the self-employed figures on this page show you pay both halves of CPP yourself, so a rate that sounds higher may not leave you better off. Run your own case in the calculators before you decide.
When do the caps arrive on a monthly or biweekly schedule?
The caps are yearly, so the pay frequency decides which cheque feels the change. Take $80,000 a year. Paid monthly, each pay is about $6,667. EI stops once your year-to-date pay passes $68,900, which lands during the 11th monthly pay, and the first-tier CPP stops once pay passes $74,600, which lands in the 12th. Paid every two weeks, the earlier example puts the EI cap around the 23rd of 26 pays.
Your payroll system may land a pay or so either side of these, because each employer handles the yearly exemption and rounding its own way, so treat the timing as a ballpark. The takeaway is simple. A bigger cheque near the end of the year doesn't mean a raise. It means a cap was reached. If you change jobs mid-year, each employer may deduct again, and any extra gets sorted out when you file your return.
What mistakes cost people money?
- Mixing up gross and net. The caps apply to pay before deductions, not to what lands in your account.
- Expecting the caps to arrive in one particular pay. The month is different for everyone, based on how much you earn per pay.
- Forgetting CPP2. It starts above $74,600, so a raise or bonus can trigger it.
- Confusing employee and employer. The employer share never comes out of your pay.
Want to see your own cheque? The payroll deductions calculator shows CPP and EI for each pay period, though a real pay stub can differ by a few dollars, especially in the month a cap is reached.
The CRA lists the same ceiling, exemption and maximum on its CPP contribution rates, maximums and exemptions page if you want to check our math.
Your CPP contributions also build your pension, and the CPP calculator estimates what you may receive. EI works the other way. If you lose your job, the EI calculator estimates your weekly benefit from the same insurable earnings.
Our sources
CPP, QPP and EI figures for 2026 come from the published rates and maximums of the Canada Revenue Agency and Revenu Québec, checked on 29 September 2026. The QPIP figures come from a secondary source. No level of government runs or endorses this site.
Frequently asked questions
What's the maximum CPP contribution in 2026?
An employee pays up to $4,230.45 on the first tier, plus up to $416.00 in CPP2 if pay passes $74,600. That's $4,646.45 together.
What's the maximum EI premium in 2026?
Outside Quebec it's $1,123.07, which is 1.63% of insurable earnings up to $68,900. In Quebec it's $895.70.
Do employers pay CPP and EI too?
Yes. Your employer matches your CPP, and pays 1.4 times your EI premium, up to $1,572.30.
What do self-employed people pay?
Both halves of CPP: at most $8,460.90 on the first tier and $832.00 on the second. The calculator leaves EI out.
Is Quebec different?
Yes. It uses the QPP instead of CPP, has a lower EI rate and adds QPIP premiums for parental benefits.