CA Tax Tools

Employer Payroll Cost Calculator

Turn an advertised salary into the employer's total Canadian payroll cost, including statutory contributions and optional workplace costs.

01INPUTS

Employee and workplace costs

02RESULTS

Total annual employer cost

$90,819

$7,568 per month

Cost above salary

$10,819

13.5% above base salary

Statutory payroll cost

$6,019

Employer CPP/QPP, EI and QPIP

03BREAKDOWN
Base salary$80,000
Employer CPP$4,446
Employer EI$1,572
Benefits estimate$4,000
Workers' compensation estimate$800

Workers' compensation rates vary by province and industry; enter your own rate. This estimate excludes vacation pay, employer health tax, payroll levies and optional pensions unless you include them in the benefits percentage.

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Included

2026 employer CPP/QPP, CPP2/QPP2, EI, Quebec QPIP, benefits percentage and a user-entered workers' compensation estimate.

Not automatically included

Vacation pay, employer health tax, pension matching, industry levies, recruiting cost and equipment. Add recurring items to the benefits percentage.

Frequently asked questions

What payroll costs does an employer pay above salary?

At minimum, employers match CPP or QPP contributions and pay employer EI premiums. Quebec employers also pay QPIP. Benefits, workers’ compensation and provincial payroll levies may add more.

Does the employer pay the employee income tax?

No. The employer withholds employee income tax from gross pay and remits it, but the employer’s own statutory cost is CPP or QPP, EI and, in Quebec, QPIP.

Is employer EI the same as employee EI?

No. The standard employer premium is 1.4 times the employee EI premium, including the lower Quebec EI rate unless the employer has an approved reduced multiple.

Run the employee side in the payroll deductions calculator, or check CRA remittance timing.

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