CPP, EI, and QPIP Maximums for 2026: What Your Canadian Pay Stub Should Show

Understanding CPP Contribution Limits

CPP is calculated on pensionable earnings between the basic exemption ($3,500) and the Year's Maximum Pensionable Earnings (YMPE: $74,600 for 2026). The base contribution rate is 5.95% for employees, matched by the employer. On pensionable earnings between YMPE and the Year's Additional Maximum Pensionable Earnings (YAMPE: $85,000 for 2026), a second-tier CPP2 contribution of 4.00% applies — also matched by the employer.

For an employee earning $74,600 or more in 2026, base CPP comes to 5.95% × ($74,600 − $3,500) = $4,230.45.

For an employee earning $85,000 in 2026, CPP2 adds 4.00% × ($85,000 − $74,600) = $416.00, for a combined CPP total of $4,646.45.

Some pay stubs show base CPP and CPP2 as separate lines; others combine them into a single "CPP" total. Both are acceptable. The T4 reports base CPP in Box 16 and CPP2 in Box 16A.

Employer matching contributions usually don't appear on the employee's stub, though some payroll systems include them in an "employer contributions" section for transparency.

When CPP Contributions Stop ("Max-Out")

Steady-income employees often max out base CPP partway through the year. Once YTD pensionable earnings hit $74,600, the base CPP line drops to zero for the rest of the year. CPP2 then takes over up to YAMPE; once YTD reaches $85,000, that stops too.

If you work multiple jobs in the same year, each employer withholds independently up to its own maximum, which can result in over-contribution. You reconcile and claim the excess on your tax return.

On biweekly pay, base CPP typically maxes out around pay period 14-15 for salaries near or above the YMPE.

EI Contribution Limits and Provincial Rates

EI caps at Maximum Insurable Earnings (MIE) of $68,900 for 2026 (up from $65,700 in 2025). Outside Quebec, the employee premium rate is 1.63% — $1.63 per $100 of insurable earnings. That works out to a maximum employee contribution of $1,123.07 for the year (1.63% × $68,900). Employers pay 1.4 times the employee rate, so the employer premium is 2.282%.

For Quebec residents, the federal EI rate is reduced to 1.30% because parental benefits are carved out to QPIP. The maximum Quebec employee EI contribution is $895.70. Employers pay 1.4 times that — 1.82% in Quebec.

When YTD insurable earnings hit the MIE, EI withholding stops for the rest of the year. Mid-year province changes flip the rate on the effective date.

Quebec: QPP and QPIP

Quebec is the most distinct payroll jurisdiction in Canada because it operates two programs that don't exist elsewhere.

Québec Pension Plan (QPP). Quebec residents contribute to QPP instead of CPP. The mechanics are similar — same $3,500 exemption, same $74,600 YMPE, same $85,000 YAMPE — but the rates are different. For 2026, Quebec temporarily reduced the base QPP rate from 5.4% to 5.3% as part of the Fall 2025 Economic and Fiscal Update. The first-additional QPP contribution is 1.0%, for a combined employee rate of 6.3% on earnings between $3,500 and $74,600. A second-additional QPP rate of 4.00% applies on earnings between $74,600 and $85,000 (matching CPP2). Employers match.

A Quebec employee earning $74,600 contributes 6.3% × $71,100 = $4,479.30 in base + first-additional QPP — about $250 more than the comparable CPP figure of $4,230.45.

Québec Parental Insurance Plan (QPIP). QPIP funds maternity, paternity, parental, and adoption benefits for Quebec residents. For 2026 the employee premium is 0.430% on insurable earnings up to $103,000, for a maximum employee contribution of $442.90. The 2026 rate is a decrease from 0.494% in 2025. (Note: a few secondary sources still list 0.455% — the official Revenu Québec and RQAP rate for 2026 is 0.430%.)

Quebec does not run its own EI system. Quebec employees still pay federal EI at the reduced 1.30% rate for non-parental benefits (unemployment, sickness, compassionate care). QPIP supplements EI; it doesn't replace it.

Worked Example: Ontario vs Quebec at $90,000

The two-province comparison highlights how the same gross pay generates different source deductions.

Ontario employee, $90,000 gross (2026):

• Base CPP: 5.95% × $71,100 = $4,230.45
• CPP2: 4.00% × $10,400 = $416.00
• EI: 1.63% × $68,900 = $1,123.07
• Federal income tax: roughly $11,500 (TD1 claims at the basic personal amount)
• Ontario provincial tax: roughly $4,700
• Total source deductions: roughly $21,970

Quebec employee, $90,000 gross (2026):

• Base QPP (5.3%) + first-additional QPP (1.0%): 6.3% × $71,100 = $4,479.30
• Second-additional QPP: 4.00% × $10,400 = $416.00
• QPIP: 0.430% × $90,000 = $387.00
• Federal EI (Quebec reduced rate): 1.30% × $68,900 = $895.70
• Federal income tax (after 16.5% Quebec abatement): roughly $8,500
• Quebec provincial tax: roughly $10,300
• Total source deductions: roughly $24,980

Quebec's higher provincial tax is partially offset by the federal abatement, but the QPP / QPIP / EI structure consistently leaves Quebec residents with somewhat higher payroll deductions than an Ontario peer at the same gross. Numbers are illustrative; actual deductions depend on TD1 / TP-1015.3-V elections and any benefits.

How to Verify Maximums on Your Pay Stub

Watch the YTD columns. Outside Quebec, the key thresholds are: base CPP maxes at $4,230.45 (YMPE $74,600), CPP2 maxes at $416 (YAMPE $85,000), and EI maxes at $1,123.07 (MIE $68,900). In Quebec, base + first-additional QPP maxes at $4,479.30, second-additional QPP at $416, QPIP at $442.90, and federal EI at $895.70.

After your YTD reaches a cap, the corresponding line on the next pay stub should drop to zero. If it doesn't, payroll missed the threshold and you'll need to reconcile on your T1.

Changing employers mid-year resets the new payroll system's tracking to zero. Each employer withholds independently up to its own maximum, which can produce over-contribution. The excess is reconciled on your tax return.

Self-Employed Considerations

Self-employed workers cover both the employee and employer portions through the personal tax return, not through payroll source deductions. For CPP that means roughly 11.9% on earnings between the basic exemption and YMPE, plus 8.0% between YMPE and YAMPE. For QPP the equivalent figures are 10.6% and 8.0% for 2026. EI is not paid by self-employed workers by default (an opt-in special-benefits program exists). When self-employed workers build pay stubs for income verification, the document should be labelled as a self-employment income statement rather than an employer-issued pay stub.

Updates and Verification

The 2026 figures here (YMPE $74,600, YAMPE $85,000, EI MIE $68,900, EI rate 1.63% / 1.30% in Quebec, QPP base 5.3% + 1.0% additional, QPIP 0.430% on $103,000 MIE) come from CRA, Service Canada, Retraite Québec, and Revenu Québec announcements made in late 2025. Rates and ceilings reindex each January. Always confirm current-year values against the official sources:

• CPP / YMPE / YAMPE: CRA — CPP contribution rates, maximums and exemptions
• EI / MIE: Service Canada — EI premium rates
• QPP: Retraite Québec — Contributions to the QPP
• QPIP: Revenu Québec — QPIP rates and MIE