A bonus is taxed as part of your employment income for the year. This calculator shows what one adds to your income tax, CPP or QPP and EI, and how much of it you keep, in any province or territory, using the 2026 rates in this site’s data. It is part of the income tax hub.
How the calculator works
It works out your income tax, CPP or QPP, EI and (in Quebec) QPIP on your salary alone, then on your salary plus the bonus. The difference is what the bonus costs you for the year. The model is the same as the salary after tax calculator: a single person with employment income only, claiming the basic credits.
What a bonus adds to your tax
The whole bonus sits on top of your salary, so it is taxed at your marginal rate, and at a higher rate for any part that crosses into the next bracket. CPP and EI come off it too, until you reach their maximums for the year: $4,230.45 of CPP, $416.00 of CPP2 and $1,123.07 of EI for 2026.
For an Ontario employee:
| Salary | Bonus | Extra income tax | Extra CPP and EI | Bonus kept | Share kept |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $5,000 | $928 | $379 | $3,693 | 73.9% |
| $80,000 | $10,000 | $2,906 | $200 | $6,894 | 68.9% |
| $100,000 | $10,000 | $3,174 | $0 | $6,826 | 68.3% |
| $150,000 | $20,000 | $8,976 | $0 | $11,024 | 55.1% |
| $250,000 | $50,000 | $26,409 | $0 | $23,591 | 47.2% |
Income tax includes the Ontario surtax and Health Premium. At the lower salaries, CPP and EI take a share of the bonus; above $85,000 of salary they are already at their maximums and nothing more comes off for them.
A $10,000 bonus on an $80,000 salary, by province or territory:
| Province or territory | Extra income tax | Bonus kept |
|---|---|---|
| Alberta | $2,989 | $6,811 |
| British Columbia | $2,764 | $7,036 |
| Manitoba | $3,259 | $6,542 |
| New Brunswick | $3,381 | $6,419 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | $3,430 | $6,370 |
| Nova Scotia | $3,643 | $6,157 |
| Ontario | $2,906 | $6,894 |
| Prince Edward Island | $3,636 | $6,164 |
| Quebec | $3,534 | $6,223 |
| Saskatchewan | $3,234 | $6,566 |
| Northwest Territories | $2,852 | $6,948 |
| Nunavut | $2,695 | $7,105 |
| Yukon | $2,891 | $6,909 |
How tax is withheld from a bonus
Employers deduct CPP contributions, EI premiums and income tax from bonuses, up to the CPP and EI maximums for the year. For the income tax, the CRA’s method (Guide T4001) doesn’t treat the bonus as if it were your normal pay:
- Your employer first subtracts from your total pay for the year, including the bonus, amounts such as registered pension plan contributions, union dues, a deduction for living in a prescribed zone, an amount the CRA has authorized, and RRSP or FHSA contributions it withholds that it has reasonable grounds to believe you can deduct.
- If your total pay for the year, including the bonus, is $5,000 or less after amounts such as pension plan and RRSP contributions are subtracted, your employer deducts 15% tax from the bonus (10% in Quebec).
- Above that, your employer divides the bonus by the number of pay periods in the year, adds that to your regular pay, finds the extra tax on the higher pay and multiplies it by the number of pay periods; that total is withheld from the bonus.
- When more than one bonus is paid in a year, the calculation takes every bonus paid that year into account.
Because the bonus is spread over the year in this calculation, the tax withheld is close to the extra tax the bonus adds for the year, which is what the calculator shows. If the amount withheld from your pay and bonus over the year doesn’t match the tax you owe, the difference becomes a refund or a balance owing when you file.
Ways to keep more of a bonus
Have it paid into your RRSP. An RRSP contribution your employer withholds from your pay and sends to your RRSP, whether a regular amount or a lump sum, reduces the pay that tax is withheld on, with no letter from the CRA, as long as your employer has reasonable grounds to believe you can deduct it (generally because you have confirmed it or given it a copy of your RRSP deduction limit statement); your RRSP contributions still can't be more than your deduction limit. You need the room: Your RRSP deduction limit is your unused room from past years plus the lesser of 18% of last year's earned income and the year's dollar limit, minus your pension adjustment, plus any pension adjustment reversal and minus any net past service pension adjustment. On your return the contribution is deducted, offsetting the extra income tax in the tables above. See the RRSP contribution room calculator.
Contribute to your RRSP or FHSA yourself. A contribution you make on your own is deducted on your return, so the tax saving comes as a refund instead of at the time of the bonus.
Timing. Tax depends on the year’s total income, so a bonus received in a year when your other income is lower is taxed at a lower marginal rate. Whether the timing can be changed is up to your employer.
What to do with the money once it arrives, including a worked RRSP example, is covered in what to do when you get a bonus.
Related calculators
- Salary after tax calculator: take-home pay on your salary
- Withholding tax calculator: what comes off each paycheque
- Marginal tax rate calculator: the tax on your next dollar
- Income tax calculator: tax with other income and deductions
- RRSP calculator: the tax saved by a contribution
Sources
The figures and rules on this page come from these sources, last checked against them between September 5, 2026 and October 1, 2026. How we check facts.
- Canada Revenue Agency: Payroll Deductions Formulas - 123rd Edition Effective July 1, 2026
- Canada Revenue Agency: CPP contribution rates, maximums and exemptions
- Canada Revenue Agency: Second additional CPP (CPP2) contribution rates and maximums
- Canada Revenue Agency: EI premium rates and maximums โ Calculate payroll deductions and contributions
- Canada Revenue Agency: Employersโ Guide โ Payroll Deductions and Remittances
- Canada Revenue Agency: How contributions affect your RRSP deduction limit
- Government of Canada: 2026 Personal Tax Credits Return