Most Canadians have no idea their CPP and EI deductions come with an expiry date. Both stop the moment you reach the annual maximum, which means your late-year paycheques can quietly grow by hundreds of dollars. Enter your salary below to discover the exact month your 2026 deductions shut off and how much extra take-home pay that puts in your pocket. For a line-by-line look at everything else taken from your pay, see our complete payroll deductions breakdown. To estimate both contributions together before they max out, run our CPP and EI deductions calculator. And if you only want the EI side of the picture, our Employment Insurance premium calculator shows your premiums on their own, right up to the annual maximum.
CPP/EI Max-Out Calculator 2026
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2026 CPP and EI maximums explained
Three numbers control the whole story: the contribution rate, the earnings ceiling, and the annual maximum. Here are the official 2026 figures from the Canada Revenue Agency:
| Deduction | 2026 rate | Earnings it applies to | 2026 annual maximum |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPP | 5.95% | $3,500 to $74,600 | $4,230.45 |
| CPP2 | 4.00% | $74,600 to $85,000 | $416.00 |
| EI | 1.63% | First $68,900 | $1,123.07 |
The $3,500 CPP basic exemption means the first $3,500 you earn each year is CPP-free. After that, you pay 5.95% on every dollar up to the Year’s Maximum Pensionable Earnings (YMPE) of $74,600, which caps your regular CPP at $4,230.45 for the year. Earn more than $74,600 and the second tier, CPP2, adds 4% on earnings between $74,600 and $85,000, up to $416. EI is simpler: you pay 1.63% on your first $68,900 of insurable earnings, for a maximum of $1,123.07. Unlike CPP, EI has no basic exemption.
Once your cumulative deductions for the year reach these maximums, your employer is required to stop deducting. That exact moment is what the calculator above finds for you.
How the max-out works month by month
Your employer does not wait until December to do this math. Every pay period, payroll software deducts CPP at 5.95% of your pensionable pay for that period, minus your per-period share of the $3,500 exemption, but never more than your remaining room under the $4,230.45 annual maximum. EI works the same way at 1.63% against the $1,123.07 cap. The software tracks your running total all year, and the pay period in which the total hits the cap is your max-out period.
On a regular monthly salary the pattern is especially clean. If you earn $74,600 or more, your monthly CPP deduction is exactly one-twelfth of the annual maximum, about $352.54, so you max out in December. Earn less and you never reach the ceiling at all. EI follows the same pattern against its $68,900 ceiling, about $93.59 a month. Biweekly pay spreads the same annual totals over 26 smaller deductions, which is why biweekly earners often max out weeks earlier, in October or November.
Two honest caveats before you run your numbers. First, lower earners never max out: at $60,000 a year, for example, neither CPP nor EI reaches its ceiling, so every paycheque looks the same. Second, the late-year jump is a deduction stopping, not a raise. Your gross pay does not change; you simply keep money that used to be deducted.
Worked examples: $60,000, $90,000 and $120,000
$60,000 salary, paid monthly. Your CPP is about $280.15 a month and your EI is $81.50 a month. Over 12 months that totals $3,361.80 in CPP and $978.00 in EI, both short of the annual maximums. Result: neither deduction maxes out in 2026, and your take-home pay stays flat from January to December.
$90,000 salary, paid monthly. Your CPP is about $352.54 a month, CPP2 about $34.67 a month, and EI about $93.59 a month. All three reach their annual maximums with the December paycheque: $4,230.45 of CPP, $416.00 of CPP2, and $1,123.07 of EI. Compared with a hypothetical year with no annual maximums, you keep about $1,460 extra.
$120,000 salary, paid monthly. The monthly deductions are identical to the $90,000 case because the per-period ceilings bind: about $352.54 of CPP, $34.67 of CPP2, and $93.59 of EI, all maxing out in December. But the extra take-home versus a no-maximum world is much larger, about $4,934, because without ceilings the deductions would have kept climbing on your full salary.
$90,000 salary, paid biweekly. The timing shifts: CPP maxes out around pay period 22, in late October, while EI and CPP2 finish with the final December paycheques. Try both frequencies in the calculator to see how your own pay schedule changes the picture.
What changes on your paycheque after you max out
From the max-out period onward, the CPP or EI line on your pay stub drops to zero, or to a smaller final amount in the max-out period itself, and your net pay rises by exactly that amount. Nothing else changes: your gross pay, your income tax, and any benefit or retirement deductions continue exactly as before. You do not need to do anything. Your employer’s payroll system tracks the running totals automatically.
One common surprise: if you work two jobs at once or change employers mid-year, each employer tracks your maximums separately, so you can end up overpaying. The Canada Revenue Agency fixes this when you file your tax return and refunds the excess CPP contributions and EI premiums. Your employer also stops paying its matching share once you max out, which is one reason payroll departments watch these ceilings closely.
Figures on this page are verified against the 2026 CRA payroll deduction tables (T4127). This calculator covers CPP and EI only; income tax has no annual maximum and keeps coming off every paycheque. For the complete after-tax picture, see how much tax comes off an Ontario paycheck.
A note for Quebec: QPP and QPIP
Quebec runs its own plans. Instead of CPP, Quebec workers contribute to the Quebec Pension Plan (QPP) at a higher contribution rate, and instead of standard EI they pay a lower EI rate plus premiums to the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan (QPIP). The rates, ceilings, and max-out months are therefore different in Quebec. Every figure and result on this page uses the federal CPP and EI numbers that apply in the rest of Canada. If you work in Quebec, run your numbers through our Quebec paycheck calculator instead.
Frequently asked questions
In which month do CPP deductions stop in 2026?
It depends on your pay. If you are paid monthly and earn at least $74,600 a year, your CPP deductions stop in December, when the $4,230.45 annual maximum is reached. If you are paid biweekly at a high salary, the maximum can arrive earlier, often in October or November. If you earn less than the ceiling, CPP never maxes out and the deduction runs all year.
When do EI premiums stop in 2026?
EI premiums stop once you have paid $1,123.07 for the year, which happens when your insurable earnings pass $68,900. On a monthly salary of $68,900 or more, that is December. On biweekly pay at higher salaries it can happen a few pay periods earlier. Below the ceiling, EI is deducted from every paycheque.
Why is my December paycheque bigger than my January paycheque?
Most likely because you maxed out CPP, CPP2, or EI. In January every deduction is running; by December, one or more of them may have hit its annual maximum and dropped to zero, so your net pay rises even though your gross pay is unchanged. Run the calculator above to see exactly which deductions stop and when.
Do CPP and EI max out in the same month?
Not always. They have different ceilings ($74,600 for CPP versus $68,900 for EI), so EI usually maxes out first. On a monthly salary above both ceilings, both land in December. On biweekly pay, a $90,000 earner maxes out CPP around pay period 22 in late October, while EI finishes in December.
What is CPP2 and when does it stop?
CPP2 is the second CPP tier added in 2024. It charges 4% on earnings between $74,600 and $85,000, up to $416 a year in 2026. If you earn $85,000 or more, it maxes out in December on monthly pay. Earn less than $74,600 and you never pay CPP2 at all.
What happens if I overpay CPP or EI because I changed jobs?
Each employer tracks your annual maximums separately, so starting a new job mid-year can restart the deductions and push you over the cap. You do not lose the money: the CRA refunds excess CPP contributions and EI premiums when you file your income tax return.