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Moving Provinces: What Happens to EI, CPP and Payroll Deductions

Updated

EI and the CPP are federal programs, so a move between provinces doesn’t reset them: your contributions, insurable hours and any claim you already have follow you. Three things do change. Your employer starts withholding the new province’s income tax, Quebec replaces the CPP with the QPP and EI parental benefits with QPIP, and the number of hours you need for a new EI claim depends on the unemployment rate where you live when you apply. This page covers those payroll and benefit effects; the moving provinces guide covers the rest of a move, from health coverage to your driver’s licence.

Your pay stub after a move

DeductionDoes it change when you move?
Federal income taxNo: the federal brackets are the same in every province
Provincial income taxYes: withheld at the new province’s rates once payroll has your new address
CPP contributionsNo, unless you start or stop working in Quebec (QPP)
EI premiumsNo between provinces outside Quebec; employees in Quebec pay a lower EI rate because QPIP replaces EI parental benefits
QPIP premiumsStart if you work in Quebec, stop if you leave

The EI employee rate is 1.63% of insurable earnings outside Quebec and 1.30% in Quebec in 2026; the EI contribution rates page has the maximums. If payroll keeps withholding at your old province’s rates for part of the year, the difference is settled on your tax return, which uses the province you lived in on December 31; the tax implications of moving provinces page explains that rule.

CPP and QPP when you move

Outside Quebec, the CPP works the same way in every province, so a move doesn’t change your contributions or your future pension. Working in Quebec means contributing to the Quebec Pension Plan instead, and leaving Quebec for a job elsewhere switches you back to the CPP.

FeatureCPP (outside Quebec)QPP (Quebec)
Employee contribution rate, 20265.95%6.30%
On earnings up to (YMPE)$74,600The same ceiling
Second tier (CPP2 or QPP2)4% on earnings from the YMPE up to $85,000The same rate and band
Run byService Canada (benefits) and CRA (contributions)Retraite Québec

The QPP employee rate is 0.35 percentage points above the CPP rate. Contributions to both plans count toward your pension: when you apply, the plan of the province you live in pays a single pension that takes your CPP and QPP contributions into account. If you contributed to both plans in the same year, for example because you changed jobs across the Quebec border, CRA Form RC381 (Inter-Provincial Calculation for CPP and QPP Contributions and Overpayments) works out whether you overpaid. Rates, maximums and the CPP2 tier are covered in CPP contribution rates.

EI when you move

Hours you need for a new claim

To qualify for EI regular benefits you need between 420 and 700 insurable hours, depending on the regional rate of unemployment in the EI economic region where you live when you apply. Moving from a region with high unemployment to one with low unemployment raises the number of hours you need, and the reverse lowers it. The hours you’ve already worked don’t reset. The full table and the other conditions are on how to apply for EI.

If you’re already on EI

Your situationWhat a move changes
On EI regular benefitsYour claim continues; report the new address to Service Canada
On EI maternity or parental benefitsYour claim continues; update your address
On QPIP benefits and leaving QuebecAsk the QPIP administrator how the move affects your claim before you go
Planning a new claimThe hours you need depend on where you live when you apply

Parental benefits in Quebec

Parents who live in Quebec get maternity, paternity and parental benefits from the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan instead of EI, with its own rates, weeks and coverage for self-employed workers. The QPIP guide compares it with EI, and the maternity and parental benefits guide covers EI outside Quebec.

Updating Service Canada after a move

What to updateHow
Address for EI, CPP and OASOAS: My Service Canada Account. EI and CPP: Service Canada by phone (1-800-206-7218 for EI), by call-back request or in person
Address on an active EI claimAlso report it in your next biweekly report
Direct deposit detailsService Canada by phone, call-back request or in person (My Service Canada Account can’t change EI or CPP banking details at this time)

Your CRA address is separate, and CRA uses it for the Canada Child Benefit, the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit and provincial credits; the tax implications page explains how to update it.

Sources

The figures and rules on this page come from these sources, last checked against them between September 5, 2026 and September 28, 2026. How we check facts.