CPP Contribution Rates 2026 | CPP, CPP2 & EI Maximum Contributions

Contributions are worked out on pensionable earnings: for employees, employment income before tax; for the self-employed, net self-employment income. Your employer deducts them from each pay, and deductions stop for the rest of the calendar year once you reach the maximum, which is why take-home pay can rise late in the year. If you had more than one employer and paid more than the maximum in total, the excess is refunded when you file (see the overpayment section below).

CPP1 — First Component

CPP1 is the original Canada Pension Plan. It applies to all pensionable employment earnings between the $3,500 basic exemption and the YMPE ($74,600 in 2026). This is the contribution that the vast majority of Canadians make as any employee earning $74,600 or more will hit the maximum CPP1 contribution by year-end.

The math is straightforward: ($74,600 − $3,500) × 5.95% = $71,100 × 5.95% = $4,230.45. Employers contribute an equal $4,230.45, meaning each maximally-contributing employee generates $8,460.90 in total CPP1 contributions on their behalf each year. For self-employed individuals, there is no matching employer so they pay both sides themselves at 11.90%, which is why the self-employed maximum is exactly double the employee maximum. The CPP for self-employed guide covers the deduction mechanics, quarterly instalments, and how to claim the employer-half deduction at filing.

CPP2 — Second Component (Enhancement)

CPP2 is the newer enhancement tier introduced in 2024. It applies to earnings in the band between the YMPE ($74,600) and the Year’s Additional Maximum Pensionable Earnings (YAMPE, $85,000). Only workers who earn above $74,600 make CPP2 contributions, and the band is relatively narrow at just $10,400 wide which is why the maximum CPP2 contribution is modest compared to CPP1.

The calculation: ($85,000 − $74,600) × 4% = $10,400 × 4% = $416.00. CPP2 contributions are deducted from income rather than claimed as a credit; CPP enhancement and CPP2 covers how both parts of the enhancement are taxed and what they add to your pension.

Total Maximum Contributions This Year

When you combine CPP1 and CPP2, the total annual contribution burden for 2026 is as follows. These figures represent the maximum payable so workers earning less than $74,600 will contribute less, since CPP1 is capped at the YMPE and CPP2 does not apply at all.

Self-employed Canadians bear the full $9,292.90 cost because no employer exists to pay the matching half. Self-employed people pay both the employee and the employer share of CPP contributions on their net business income (11.90% above the basic exemption up to the first earnings ceiling, plus 8% CPP2 between the first and second ceilings), worked out on Schedule 8 and paid with the income tax return. A non-refundable tax credit is claimed on half of the base contributions, and the other half, the first additional contributions and all CPP2 contributions are deducted from income. Those deductions (line 22200 of the return) offset part of the extra cost, but the cash outlay is still double that of an employee with the same earnings.

CPP Contribution Rate History

The first phase of the CPP enhancement, from 2019 to 2023, gradually raised the CPP1 rate from 4.95% in 2018 to the current 5.95%. The rate has been stable at 5.95% since 2023. CPP2 was layered on top starting in 2024, applying to the new upper earnings band that had not existed previously. The table below shows how maximum contributions have grown over this period.

The most structurally significant change in this table is the introduction of CPP2 in 2024, an entirely new contribution tier that didn’t exist before. A worker earning $85,000 who maximized contributions in 2023 paid $3,754.45. The same worker in 2024 paid $4,055.50 — a $301 increase, though CPP2 was not the only driver: about $188 of it came from the new CPP2 tier, and the remaining $113 came from CPP1’s own YMPE ceiling rising from $66,600 to $68,500, an ordinary annual indexation increase that would have happened with or without CPP2. The CPP1 rate itself (5.95%) was unchanged.

The increase from 2024 to 2025 was larger than the one when CPP2 was introduced: the maximum total employee contribution rose by $375. That’s because CPP2’s earnings band more than doubled that year, from $4,700 in 2024 to $9,900 in 2025, as the second ceiling finished its two-year phase-in (it now sits 14% above the YMPE), on top of the usual yearly increase in both ceilings. In 2026 the band grew only a little, to $10,400, so the maximum rose by a smaller $216, even though both ceilings kept rising and the CPP2 rate stayed at 4%.

The CRA’s table of rates, maximums and exemptions has every year back to 1966; your own record is on your Statement of Contributions.

Who Pays CPP?

You contribute to the CPP if you are over 18, work in Canada outside Quebec and earn more than $3,500 a year; contributions stop when you turn 70, and from 65 someone already receiving a CPP or QPP retirement pension can choose to stop. By age and situation:

The 65–70 opt-out is not available just for reaching 65; it requires that you are already receiving a CPP or QPP retirement pension. Employees who meet that condition file CRA Form CPT30 with their employer. Self-employed individuals who meet it do not file CPT30 (a form built around an employer relationship) and instead complete the applicable section of Schedule 8 when filing their return. For those who do continue contributing after 65 and are already receiving CPP, and are under age 70, each additional year of contributions generates the Post-Retirement Benefit (PRB), which will increase your retirement income.

Combined CPP and EI Maximums

CPP and EI are both payroll deductions taken from each pay. The table below shows the combined maximum for 2026.

The employer pays more in EI than the employee (1.4× the employee rate), which is why the employer total exceeds the employee total even though CPP contributions are equal.

Self-employed: this table’s Employee/Employer split doesn’t apply the same way. Self-employed workers pay both CPP shares themselves (11.90% for CPP1, 8.00% for CPP2 — see the self-employed row in the table above) and generally don’t pay EI premiums at all unless they’ve voluntarily opted into EI special benefits. Report self-employed CPP contributions on the applicable section of Schedule 8 (Canada Pension Plan Contributions and Overpayment) when filing your T1 return.

EI 2026 key numbers at a glance:

EI premiums apply to insurable earnings up to $68,900. Unlike CPP, there is no basic exemption and EI is deducted from the first dollar earned. For the full breakdown of EI rates, benefit entitlements, and the Quebec QPIP, see the EI contribution rates page.

CPP Contributions and Your Future CPP Benefit

Your contributions build your CPP retirement pension. Service Canada keeps a record of your earnings and contributions, your Statement of Contributions, in My Service Canada Account. Years with earnings at or above the YMPE count the most, and the enhanced contributions made since 2019 (including CPP2) add to the pension as they build up (CPP enhancement and CPP2). To estimate the pension itself, use the CPP calculator; the maximum CPP payment page has this year’s maximums.

The CPP Tax Credits at Filing

The base part of your CPP contributions (4.95% of the 5.95%) is claimed as a non-refundable tax credit on line 30800. The enhanced part, the first additional 1.00% and all of CPP2, is deducted from income on line 22215, up to $1,127.00 for an employee in 2026. The table in CPP enhancement and CPP2 sets out each part.

CPP Overpayment Refund

Workers with multiple employers in a year or who change jobs mid-year may end up over-contributing to CPP. Each employer withholds CPP independently based on annualized pay, without knowing what other employers have withheld. If the combined total exceeds the maximum, then you have overpaid.

Complete Schedule 8 (Canada Pension Plan Contributions and Overpayment) if all your contributions in the year were to CPP. Complete Form RC381 (Inter-Provincial Calculation for CPP and QPP Contributions and Overpayments) instead if you contributed to both CPP and QPP in the same year, typically because you lived or worked in Quebec for part of it. Either form calculates the amount, if any, of your overpayment to enter on line 44800 of your return, which is then refunded or used to reduce your tax balance owing.

Related Pages

• Canada Pension Plan hub
• CPP2 Contributions Guide
• CPP for the Self-Employed
• Is CPP Taxable?
• CPP Contribution History
• Maximum CPP Payment Amounts
• CPP Calculator
• CPP Contribution Calculator Canada 2026
• CPP Payment Dates 2026
• When to Take CPP
• EI Contribution Rates 2026
• Payroll Tax Calculator