What is the current EI premium rate?

The 2024 employee EI premium rate is 1.66 percent of insurable earnings outside Quebec (1.32 percent in Quebec). This tool lets you set the rate and defaults to the federal figure. Employers pay 1.4 times the employee amount.

What are maximum insurable earnings?

Maximum insurable earnings (MIE) is the annual cap above which no further EI premium is charged. For 2024 it is 63,200 CAD, giving a maximum employee premium of about 1,049 CAD. Earnings above the cap are not subject to EI.

Why does the employer pay more than the employee?

By law, Canadian employers contribute 1.4 times the employee's EI premium. So for every dollar an employee pays, the employer pays 1.40 dollars, reflecting the shared funding of the EI program.

Yes. Quebec residents pay a lower EI rate because Quebec runs its own parental insurance plan (QPIP). Set the rate to the Quebec figure (1.32 percent for 2024) if you work in Quebec.

Does EI come off before or after income tax?

EI is a statutory deduction taken from gross pay alongside CPP. It is calculated on insurable earnings, not on income after tax, and it reduces your take-home pay separately from income tax withholding.

Canada EI Premium Calculator

Employment Insurance (EI) premiums are a mandatory payroll deduction in Canada. Both the employee and the employer contribute, funding benefits such as job loss, sickness, and parental leave. This calculator applies the EI premium rate to your insurable earnings up to the annual maximum and shows the employee deduction plus the 1.4 times employer contribution.

How it works

EI is charged on insurable earnings up to a yearly cap called the Maximum Insurable Earnings (MIE). The formula is:

employee premium = min(insurable earnings, MIE) × EI rate
employer premium = employee premium × 1.4

For 2024 the federal employee rate is 1.66% and the MIE is 63,200 CAD, capping the employee premium at about 1,049 CAD per year. Quebec uses a lower rate (1.32%) because of its separate parental-insurance plan. Once earnings exceed the cap, no further EI is deducted for the rest of the year.

Example

An employee earning 50,000 CAD in insurable earnings outside Quebec pays 50,000 × 0.0166 = 830 CAD in EI. Their employer pays 830 × 1.4 = 1,162 CAD, for a combined annual cost of 1,992 CAD.

Notes

The defaults reflect 2024 federal figures. Adjust the rate and maximum each year as the government updates them, and use the Quebec rate if applicable. This estimates EI only — CPP and income tax are separate deductions.