Employee Cost Calculator

Enter the salary you plan to pay and see what the hire actually costs once the employer CPP match, the 1.4× EI premium and, where it applies, Ontario Employer Health Tax are added. Rates are current for the 2025 tax year.

2025 tax year rates All 13 provinces Updates as you type

The role

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How it works. On top of salary, an employer matches the employee's CPP and CPP2 contributions dollar for dollar and pays 1.4 times the employee's EI premium. Ontario employers whose annual payroll has used up the $1,000,000 EHT exemption also pay 1.95% Employer Health Tax on wages above it — pick that option to add EHT on this salary.

True annual cost

$0

$0 (0%) in employer costs on top of salary

Salary $0 Employer costs $0
Salary$0
Employer CPP match$0
Employer EI (1.4 × employee premium)$0
Ontario EHT (1.95%)$0
True annual cost$0

Excludes WSIB / workers-compensation premiums, benefits and vacation accrual — all of which add more.

An estimate is a starting point. Get your real number.

This calculator uses published rates. Your actual position depends on the credits, deductions and structure behind your numbers.

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What sits on top of the salary

The salary is the floor, not the cost. Every employer matches the employee's CPP — 5.95% up to the $71,300 ceiling plus the 4% CPP2 band to $81,200 — and pays 1.4 times the employee's EI premium; the 1.4 factor exists because employers control layoffs, the main driver of EI claims. On the default $80,000 salary those two alone add roughly $5,891 a year. Ontario's Employer Health Tax then applies at 1.95% once a private-sector employer's annual Ontario payroll passes the $1,000,000 exemption — below that, most small employers pay no EHT at all, which is why the calculator leaves it off by default.

If you are weighing a hire, run the same salary through the CPP & EI calculator to see both sides of the statutory contributions, and let our payroll service set up the withholding, remittances and year-end slips so the true cost never surprises you.

What this calculator does not cover

Workers-compensation premiums (WSIB in Ontario) are mandatory in most industries and vary widely by province and rate class, so they are not modelled here — nor are group benefits, vacation pay accrual, statutory holidays, recruiting or payroll administration, all of which push the real cost higher. Quebec payroll runs on its own plans and levies. For a hire-by-hire budget that includes those pieces, talk to our payroll team.

Employer payroll costs on top of salary
ItemRate
CPP match 5.95% + 4% CPP2 band
EI 1.4 × employee premium
Ontario EHT (over exemption) 1.95%

Rates reviewed for the 2025 tax year by Udit Gupta, Founder and Tax Accountant. Federal and provincial rates change annually, and this tool is an estimate for planning rather than tax advice. Confirm current figures before relying on them for a filing.

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Frequently asked questions

Budget the salary plus the statutory employer costs this calculator adds: the CPP and CPP2 match and 1.4 times the employee EI premium — about $5,891 on an $80,000 salary — plus 1.95% EHT for larger Ontario payrolls. Workers compensation, benefits and vacation accrual then push the total higher still.
The employer matches the employee’s CPP exactly: 5.95% of pensionable earnings up to $71,300 plus 4% on the CPP2 band to $81,200. For EI the employer pays 1.4 times whatever the employee pays, on insurable earnings up to $65,700. Both stop for the year once the employee hits each ceiling.
Employer Health Tax is an Ontario payroll tax of up to 1.95% of remuneration. Eligible private-sector employers get a $1,000,000 exemption, so most small businesses pay nothing; once total Ontario payroll is past the exemption, additional wages attract the tax. Pick the second option above to model a payroll that has already used the exemption.
A true independent contractor carries no CPP match, EI or EHT, so the same gross fee costs less. But the label does not decide the relationship — if CRA finds the person is really an employee, it can reassess both shares of CPP and EI plus penalties and interest. Get the classification right before banking the saving.
Workers-compensation premiums, which are industry- and province-rated; group benefits if you offer them; vacation pay of at least four percent in most provinces; statutory holiday pay; and the time or fees to run payroll itself. A rule of thumb is to leave headroom above the statutory total this tool shows rather than treating it as the ceiling.

What Canadians search about this

Answered plainly. Browse every question in the Canadian tax answers directory.

Most people pay through online or telephone banking, adding the CRA as a payee and choosing the exact account and year, such as a personal balance owing or an instalment. The alternatives are CRA My Payment with a debit card, pre-authorised debit scheduled in My Account, a credit card or e-transfer through a third-party provider that charges its own fee, or paying at your bank with a remittance voucher. For the 2025 tax year the balance was due 30 April 2026.
If you owe nothing, no penalty applies, but a refund and benefit payments such as the Canada child benefit and the GST/HST credit are held up until the return is processed. If you owe, a late-filing penalty is charged and interest runs on the balance and compounds daily from the day after the due date. For the 2025 tax year the deadline was 30 April 2026. File even if you cannot pay, because the penalty is driven by filing, not payment.
Multiply the pre-tax price by the combined rate for the province where the supply is made, then add that amount to the price. If the price already includes tax, divide the total by one plus the rate to get the pre-tax amount, and the difference is the tax. The rate depends on the province of supply rather than where your business sits, so verify the current rate for that province and confirm the item is not zero-rated or exempt.
Slips for employment insurance, Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security benefits follow the same timing as employment slips: they are issued by the last day of February for the previous calendar year. Service Canada posts them in My Service Canada Account and mails paper copies to the address it has on file. They also appear in CRA My Account, where the auto-fill feature in tax software can pull them straight into your return.
In Canada, tax revenue funds public services rather than a single account. Federal revenue pays for elderly benefits, the Canada child benefit, health and social transfers to the provinces, defence, debt interest and federal operations; employment insurance is funded separately by premiums. Provincial and municipal taxes fund health care delivery, schools, roads, policing and waste collection. Actual amounts appear each year in the federal budget and the Public Accounts of Canada, and in each province's budget.
Yes. Internet access is a taxable supply, so your bill carries GST at 5% for 2026, or your province's HST rate instead, and provincial sales tax where that province taxes telecommunications. Bundles of internet, television and phone are treated the same way. If you are registered and use the connection in your business, claim the tax on the business share as an input tax credit rather than expensing the whole amount.
Udit Gupta, founder of Tax Filings Canada

Rates and method reviewed by Udit Gupta

Ex Big 4 — Ernst & Young, Deloitte · International & cross-border tax specialist · CPA Canada (In-Depth Tax Program) · Chartered accountant, ICAI & MIA

Udit Gupta has over 15 years of experience helping corporations and business owners with corporate structuring, corporate tax filing, bookkeeping, payroll, GST/HST, cross-border tax and CRA representation. He is Big 4 trained, at Ernst & Young and Deloitte, and qualified as a chartered accountant in India and again in Malaysia. In 2014 he founded his accounting practice to serve entrepreneurs, startups and non-resident business owners across Canada. View full member bio.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India — member 521458 · Malaysian Institute of Accountants — member CA 44667 · Ex Big 4: Ernst & Young, Deloitte · CPA Canada (In-Depth Tax Program), completed 19 Dec 2023 · In-Depth GST/HST Part I, 12 Jul 2022 · Part II, 5 Jul 2023

Editorial policy. Every page is researched against primary sources — the Income Tax Act, CRA publications and CPA Canada guidance — and every rate or threshold is stated with the tax year it applies to.

Sources. CRA — Businesses · Income Tax Act (Justice Laws Website)

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