EI Premiums Explained: 2025 Rates and Rules

Employment Insurance (EI) is Canada’s income-replacement program for Canadians who lose their jobs, take parental leave, or need to care for a seriously ill family member. Most employees pay EI premiums every payday. Here is how the 2025 calculation works.

2025 EI Key Figures

Parameter	2025 Amount
Maximum Insurable Earnings (MIE)	$65,700
Employee premium rate (outside Quebec)	1.64%
Employer premium rate (outside Quebec)	2.296% (1.4 × employee rate)
Maximum employee premium	$1,077.48
Maximum employer premium per employee	$1,508.47
Employee premium rate (Quebec)	1.32%
Employer premium rate (Quebec)	1.848%
Maximum employee premium (Quebec)	$867.24

How the Calculation Works

EI premiums are straightforward — a flat percentage of insurable earnings up to the maximum:

EI premium = Employment income × 1.64%, up to $1,077.48.

Once your insurable earnings hit $65,700, premiums stop for the rest of the calendar year.

Worked Example: $52,000 Salary

Employee earning $52,000 in Ontario:

EI premium = $52,000 × 1.64% = $852.80

Employer contribution = $852.80 × 1.4 = $1,193.92

The employee has not reached the maximum, so premiums continue on every dollar up to $65,700.

Worked Example: $80,000 Salary

Employee earning $80,000 in British Columbia:

Insurable earnings are capped at $65,700.

EI premium = $65,700 × 1.64% = $1,077.48 (maximum)

Employer contribution = $1,077.48 × 1.4 = $1,508.47

The employee hits the maximum well before year-end. Once the employer’s payroll system sees $65,700 in insurable earnings, no further EI is deducted.

The 1.4x Employer Rate

Employers contribute at 1.4 times the employee rate. This is a fixed statutory multiplier — employers cannot negotiate a lower rate unless they have an approved employer-sponsored wage-loss replacement plan that reduces the risk to the EI program.

If an employer has an approved plan, Service Canada can reduce the employer premium to as low as the employee rate. The employer must pass at least five-twelfths of the premium reduction savings back to employees.

Quebec: QPIP Reduces EI Premiums

Quebec operates its own parental benefits program: the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan (QPIP). Because QPIP covers maternity, paternity, parental, and adoption benefits, Quebec residents do not pay the same EI rate as other Canadians — their EI rate is lower (1.32%) since EI does not need to fund those parental benefits in Quebec.

Region	Employee rate	Max employee premium
All provinces except Quebec	1.64%	$1,077.48
Quebec	1.32%	$867.24

Quebec employees also pay QPIP premiums separately (employee rate: 0.494% in 2025, up to $65,700 insurable earnings).

What EI Covers

EI is not just for layoffs. The program covers:

• Regular benefits: job loss through no fault of your own (layoff, shortage of work)
• Maternity benefits: 15 weeks for the biological mother
• Parental benefits: 40 weeks standard (55% rate) or 69 weeks extended (33% rate), shared between parents
• Sickness benefits: up to 26 weeks if you cannot work due to illness, injury, or quarantine
• Compassionate care benefits: up to 26 weeks to care for a critically ill or dying family member
• Family caregiver benefits: up to 35 weeks (adult) or 35 weeks (child)

The benefit rate is 55% of your average insurable weekly earnings (up to the maximum weekly benefit of approximately $695 in 2025).

Eligibility: Insurable Hours

To qualify for regular EI benefits, you generally need between 420 and 700 insurable hours in the past 52 weeks (the exact number depends on the unemployment rate in your region). The higher your region’s unemployment rate, the fewer hours required.

Self-employed individuals do not pay EI premiums by default and are not entitled to regular benefits. However, self-employed Canadians can opt in to the EI program voluntarily to access special benefits (sickness, maternity, parental, compassionate care). Once opted in, they pay the employee-rate premium on their self-employed earnings.

EI as a Tax Credit

EI premiums paid appear in Box 18 of your T4. They generate a non-refundable federal tax credit at 15%. On $1,077.48 in premiums, the federal credit is worth $161.62. Each province also offers a provincial credit on EI premiums.

Multiple Employers in One Year

If you work for more than one employer in the same calendar year and pay more than the $1,077.48 maximum in total EI premiums, you can claim the EI over-contribution as an additional credit on your T1 return (Schedule 10). Your individual employers cannot coordinate premium caps — each employer withholds based on insurable earnings paid by that employer.

Key Takeaways

• The 2025 maximum insurable earnings are $65,700; the employee premium rate is 1.64%.
• Maximum employee EI premium in 2025 is $1,077.48.
• Employers contribute at 1.4 times the employee rate — $1,508.47 maximum per employee.
• Quebec residents pay a reduced EI rate (1.32%) because QPIP covers parental benefits provincially.
• EI covers regular job loss, maternity/parental, sickness, and family caregiver benefits.
• Self-employed Canadians can opt in voluntarily to access special EI benefits.