CPP, EI & QPIP Maximums 2026: Canadian Pay Stub Guide

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 the 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 typically don't appear on the employee's stub, though some payroll systems include them in an "employer contributions" section.

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, after which CPP2 applies up to the YAMPE; once YTD reaches $85,000, that stops as well. The higher the salary, the earlier the cap: on biweekly pay, a $135,000 salary crosses the YMPE around pay period 15, while a $90,000 salary doesn't get there until period 22 or so. A salary exactly at the YMPE maxes out on the final run of the year.

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

EI Contribution Limits and Provincial Rates

EI is capped 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), yielding 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, making the maximum Quebec employee EI contribution $895.70 (employers pay 1.4 times that, 1.82%). 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 operates two programs that don't exist elsewhere in Canada, making it the most distinct payroll jurisdiction in the country.

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 differ. 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), with employers matching in both cases.

A Quebec employee earning $74,600 contributes 6.3% × $71,100 = $4,479.30 in base + first-additional QPP, roughly $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 decreased from 0.494% in 2025. (Some secondary sources still list 0.455%; the official Revenu Québec and RQAP figure 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), so QPIP supplements EI rather than replacing it.

Worked Example: Ontario vs Quebec at $90,000

This comparison isolates the statutory pension, EI, and parental-insurance deductions. Income-tax withholding is omitted because it depends on federal and provincial TD1 elections, Quebec's TP-1015.3-V, credits, benefits, and the payroll period.

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
• CPP, CPP2, and EI total: $5,769.52

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
• QPP, QPIP, and EI total: $6,178.00

At this income, the listed Quebec social-program deductions are $408.48 higher than the listed Ontario deductions. That is not a complete take-home-pay comparison; income-tax withholding and other deductions must be calculated separately.

How to Verify Maximums on Your Pay Stub

Check the YTD columns against these thresholds. Outside Quebec: 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.

Once 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, so each employer withholds independently up to its own maximum; any resulting over-contribution is reconciled on your tax return.

Self-Employed Considerations

Self-employed workers cover both the employee and employer portions through the personal tax return rather than 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 12.6% and 8.0% for 2026. EI is not paid by self-employed workers by default, though 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, so confirm current-year values against the official sources:

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