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🍁 A Canadian Creation By Chris Coffin · updated Sep 29, 2026

Take-home pay calculator for Canada

Enter your salary and province in the calculator above and you will see what actually lands in your account: your take-home pay after federal income tax, provincial or territorial income tax, CPP or QPP, and EI. It covers all thirteen provinces and territories for the 2026 tax year, including Quebec's separate provincial system.

There is no account and no sign-up, and nothing you type ever leaves your browser. Every calculation runs on your own device.

What comes off your paycheque in 2026

Four separate deductions come out of employment income in Canada, and they each work differently. Most people think of it as one lump called "tax," which is why the first paycheque at a new salary is so often a surprise.

  • Federal income tax. Charged in brackets, not as one flat rate: 14% on the first $58,523, 20.5% to $117,045, 26% to $181,440, 29% to $258,482, and 33% above that. Only the dollars inside each band are taxed at that band's rate.
  • Provincial or territorial income tax. Thirteen separate systems, each with its own brackets, its own basic personal amount, and in Ontario a surtax on top. This is the single biggest reason two people earning the same salary take home different amounts.
  • CPP. 4.95% base plus 1% enhanced on earnings between $3,500 and $74,600, then CPP2 at 4% on the slice from $74,600 to $85,000. Above $85,000 you stop contributing for the year.
  • EI. 1.63% on earnings up to $68,900, then nothing further.

Quebec runs its own versions of all of this: QPP instead of CPP at a higher 5.3% base rate, QPIP at 0.43% up to $103,000 for parental benefits, and a reduced federal EI rate of 1.30% precisely because QPIP covers what EI covers elsewhere. Quebec also lets workers deduct 6% of their employment income, up to $1,450 in 2026, on the Quebec return only. Treating Quebec as "CPP and EI, but slightly higher" gets both the total and the labels wrong, so this calculator models it separately.

What $85,000 actually looks like

Here is the same $85,000 salary run through this calculator in every province and territory, for 2026, with no bonus and no extra deductions:

Ranked from most to least kept. Employment income only. No bonus, no RRSP deduction, no other deductions, no spouse, no age credit, no pension income. Single filer. Every figure is generated from the same tax engine the calculator above runs, not entered by hand.

Take-home pay by province, $85,000 salary, 2026
Province or territory Federal tax Provincial tax CPP/QPP + EI Total deductions Take-home pay Effective rate
Nunavut NU $10,227 $1,725 $5,770 $17,721 $67,279 20.8%
Northwest Territories NT $10,227 $3,492 $5,770 $19,489 $65,511 22.9%
British Columbia BC $10,227 $4,401 $5,770 $20,397 $64,603 24%
Yukon YT $10,227 $4,581 $5,770 $20,577 $64,423 24.2%
Alberta AB $10,227 $4,970 $5,770 $20,966 $64,034 24.7%
Ontario ON $10,227 $5,324 $5,770 $21,321 $63,679 25.1%
Saskatchewan SK $10,227 $6,766 $5,770 $22,762 $62,238 26.8%
Manitoba MB $10,227 $7,572 $5,770 $23,568 $61,432 27.7%
New Brunswick NB $10,227 $7,614 $5,770 $23,610 $61,390 27.8%
Newfoundland NL $10,227 $8,027 $5,770 $24,023 $60,977 28.3%
PEI PE $10,227 $8,650 $5,770 $24,646 $60,354 29%
Quebec QC $8,494 $10,290 $6,156 $24,940 $60,060 29.3%
Nova Scotia NS $10,227 $9,550 $5,770 $25,546 $59,454 30.1%

Same job, same salary, and a $7,825 a year gap between the top and the bottom of that table. Worth noticing in the Quebec row: the federal tax is actually lower there ($8,494 against $10,227 everywhere else), because of the Quebec abatement. The provincial bill more than makes up for it.

Why the same salary is worth different amounts across the country

Because the provincial layer is genuinely different everywhere, and the ranking is not as fixed as the folklore suggests. "Alberta has the lowest taxes" is the usual shorthand, and at $85,000 it is not true, British Columbia comes out ahead. Alberta only overtakes BC somewhere between $85,000 and $150,000, once BC's higher bands start to bite. At $250,000 Alberta is clearly ahead. Which province wins depends on how much you earn, not just on which province it is.

The territories are the genuine outlier: Nunavut leaves the most in your pocket at every income level tested, helped by low rates and a cost-of-living credit. At the other end, Quebec's provincial rates run highest in the country, funding services other provinces charge for separately. Ontario adds a surtax once your provincial tax passes a threshold, which raises the effective rate above what the posted brackets suggest. Ontario also charges the Ontario Health Premium, collected with provincial tax: nothing on taxable income under $20,000, rising in steps to $750 a year from about $72,600, and a maximum of $900 above about $200,600. It is already included in the Ontario row above.

Comparing a job offer in one province against your current salary in another is one of the few times this arithmetic really matters, and it is exactly where a national-average calculator will mislead you by thousands of dollars a year.

Bracket math, not a flat average rate

A lot of free take-home pay calculators apply a single average tax rate to your whole income. It is quick, and it is wrong at both ends of the scale. This one runs the real thing:

  • Actual brackets, federal and provincial, applied band by band.
  • The basic personal amount, including its phase-out from $16,452 down to $14,829 between $181,440 and $258,482 of income.
  • The Canada employment amount, a credit on the first $1,501 of employment income.
  • The base-versus-enhanced CPP split, which most calculators skip entirely: base contributions generate a non-refundable credit, while enhanced and CPP2 contributions are deducted from income instead. The two are taxed differently and the difference is real money.

What happens after you know your take-home pay

Most paycheque calculators stop at the number. This one is the first step of a connected plan, and that is the whole point of it: the take-home figure you just calculated feeds directly into everything else, so you never retype it.

  • A budget built on your real after-tax income rather than your gross salary, using the 50/30/20 split.
  • TFSA, RRSP and FHSA projections based on what you can actually afford to contribute once the budget is set, plus the tax refund an RRSP contribution earns.
  • A retirement date, with CPP and OAS modelled against the savings rate those contributions imply, including a Coast FIRE calculation.
  • Your net worth, debt payoff and housing decisions, all running off the same set of numbers.

Change your salary later and every one of those updates at once. That is the part a standalone calculator cannot do.

What this calculator does not do

It is an estimate for planning, not a payroll system or a tax return. It models one person with employment income. It does not handle self-employment income, rental or dividend income, union dues, or the full set of credits and deductions a real return can claim, and it will not match your T4 to the dollar. If you need an exact figure for a legal or filing purpose, use the CRA's own payroll calculator or talk to an accountant.

This page is one view of the full Finance Simulator, where the same numbers drive your budget, investments, retirement date and net worth.

Nobody was asked to say this

50 public comments so far, quoted from public posts without names. Nothing paid for, nothing invented.

A CFP and CPA
This is very impressive. I like it a lot and previously paid for something similar before our planning software mostly covered this. For reference, I'm a CFP and CPA […]. Nice work!
Public comment · r/CanadaPersonalFinance, read it on the supporters page→
Checked by a sceptic
This is great! Thanks for sharing your work. I can also vouch for the fearful that this does not appear to be saving data anywhere external to your local browser
Public comment · r/CanadaPersonalFinance, read it on the supporters page→
Stayed twenty minutes
Wow, it's actually the most helpful financial calculation tool I have used online. Kudos to you, I just spent 20+ minutes playing around with it.
Public comment · r/fican, read it on the supporters page→

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Frequently asked questions

How much tax is deducted from my paycheque in Canada?

It depends on your salary and your province, but four things come off employment income: federal income tax, provincial or territorial income tax, CPP or QPP contributions, and EI premiums. For most salaried employees the combined total lands somewhere between 20% and 35% of gross pay. Enter your salary and province in the calculator above to see your own figure rather than an average.

What is the difference between gross pay and net pay?

Gross pay is your salary before anything is deducted. Net pay, also called take-home pay, is what actually arrives in your bank account after income tax, CPP or QPP and EI come off. Job offers and salary bands are quoted in gross, which is why the first paycheque often looks smaller than expected.

Does this calculator work for Quebec?

Yes, and Quebec is modelled separately rather than approximated. Quebec residents pay QPP instead of CPP at a higher 5.3% base rate, pay QPIP premiums for parental benefits, and pay a reduced federal EI rate because QPIP covers what EI covers in the rest of the country. Quebec's own provincial tax brackets are applied too, along with the Quebec worker deduction (6% of employment income, up to $1,450 in 2026).

How accurate is this take-home pay calculator?

It uses real federal and provincial tax brackets for 2026, the basic personal amount including its high-income phase-out, the Canada employment amount, and the correct split between base and enhanced CPP contributions. For one person with employment income it lands very close. It is still an estimate for planning: it does not model every credit and deduction a real tax return can claim, so it will not match your T4 to the dollar.

What are the 2026 CPP and EI maximums?

For 2026, CPP contributions apply to earnings between $3,500 and $74,600 at 4.95% base plus 1% enhanced, with CPP2 adding 4% on the slice from $74,600 to $85,000. EI premiums are 1.63% on earnings up to $68,900. Once you pass those ceilings you stop contributing for the rest of the year, which is why take-home pay rises partway through the year for higher earners.

Which province has the lowest income tax?

It depends on how much you earn, which is why the usual shorthand is unreliable. The territories are lowest overall, with Nunavut leaving the most in your pocket at every income level. Among the provinces, British Columbia beats Alberta at a typical salary such as $85,000, and Alberta only pulls ahead somewhere above that as BC's higher bands take effect. Quebec is highest in the country, though it funds services that cost extra elsewhere. Run your own salary through the calculator and switch provinces to compare.

Can I include a bonus or pre-tax deductions?

Yes. A bonus can be entered as a dollar amount or as a percentage of your base salary, and it flows through tax the same way salary does. You can also add recurring deductions and mark each one as pre-tax or after-tax, so pension contributions, group benefits and similar payroll items land in the right place.

Is my salary information private?

Yes. Everything you type into the calculator (salary, savings, balances, goals) stays in your browser. It is never sent to me or anyone else unless you share a plan link yourself, there is no account or login, and you can wipe it at any time with the reset option in the app. What does get collected is how the site is used, never your numbers: Google Analytics counts visits and which features people use, with its advertising features switched off. It is the only tracking on the site, in either mode. If you send feedback, only what you write in that form (and your email, if you add one) reaches me.

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