EI Max 2026: Maximum Insurable Earnings, Rate & Premium

For 2026, the maximum EI premium an employee pays is $1,123.07 — 1.63% of insurable earnings up to the $68,900 maximum. Your employer pays 1.4 times whatever comes off your cheque on top of that, so the true per-employee maximum flowing into the program is considerably higher.

What the EI premium is

Employment Insurance is the federal program that pays temporary benefits when you lose a job through no fault of your own, and during certain life events such as parental leave, sickness, or caregiving. The premium is the payroll deduction that funds it. Unlike income tax, it is a flat rate on your earnings up to a yearly ceiling, and it stops once you reach the cap.

It shows up as its own line on your pay stub and in box 18 of your T4 slip.

The 2026 rate and maximum

For 2026, the employee EI premium rate is 1.63% on insurable earnings, up to a maximum of $68,900 in earnings for the year. That puts the most an employee pays in EI premiums at $1,123.07.

The rate is the same regardless of income. Someone earning $40,000 pays 1.63% of their earnings, and someone earning $200,000 pays 1.63% only on the first $68,900. Earnings above the ceiling are not insurable, so no premium applies to them.

Both the ceiling and the rate move a little each year. Here is how 2026 compares to 2025:

What counts as insurable earnings

Insurable earnings are most amounts you receive from employment: salary, wages, most bonuses, commissions, and many taxable benefits. The premium is charged on these up to the annual ceiling of $68,900.

Some payments are not insurable, including certain retiring allowances and some types of income that are not tied to performing work. The practical point for most employees is simple: your regular pay is insurable, and the deduction stops once your year-to-date insurable earnings reach the ceiling. The CPP & EI max-out calculator estimates the pay period that happens for your salary and pay frequency.

What your employer pays

You are not the only one paying into EI on your behalf. Employers pay 1.4 times the employee premium for each worker. So for every dollar of EI deducted from your cheque, your employer contributes one dollar and forty cents on top.

That means the total premium flowing into the system for a maxed-out employee is the employee maximum of $1,123.07 plus the employer's 1.4 times share. It is a real cost of employment that does not appear on your pay stub but sits behind every hire.

Quebec pays a lower rate

Quebec residents pay a reduced federal EI rate. That is because Quebec administers its own parental insurance program, the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan, and parental benefits there are funded through QPIP rather than EI.

So a Quebec employee sees two things a worker elsewhere does not: a lower EI premium, and a separate QPIP deduction. The combined cost is in a similar range to the standard EI rate, but it is split across two programs with different ceilings and rules.

Self-employed coverage is optional

Self-employed people are not automatically covered by EI and do not pay the regular premium on their business income. Instead, they can choose to register for EI special benefits, which covers things like maternity, parental, sickness, and caregiving leave, but not regular benefits for losing work.

Once you opt in, you pay the employee premium rate on your self-employment earnings and you have to stay in the program for a minimum period before you can collect. It is a deliberate decision rather than an automatic deduction, so it is worth weighing the premium against how likely you are to use the covered benefits.

Frequently asked questions

Is the EI premium the same as income tax? No. EI is a flat-rate contribution that funds the Employment Insurance program and stops at an annual ceiling. Income tax is progressive and applies to your full taxable income.

Why did my EI deduction disappear later in the year? Once your year-to-date insurable earnings reach $68,900, you have paid the maximum premium of $1,123.07 and the deduction stops until January. See the date your EI deductions stop for how that date is worked out.

Do I get EI premiums back if I never claim benefits? Generally no. Premiums fund the program as a whole, the same way an insurance premium is not refunded just because you did not file a claim. The exception is genuine over-payment, for example from holding two jobs, which is reconciled on your tax return.

Does my employer pay EI too? Yes. Employers pay 1.4 times the employee premium for each worker, on top of what is deducted from your pay.

How do I estimate my EI premium for the year? The Take-Home Pay Calculator breaks out EI alongside CPP and income tax for any salary and province.