Filing Your Return
Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Employment Insurance (EI)

How do I get back CPP, QPP or EI premiums that I overpaid?

Sometimes, an employee may pay too much Canada Pension Plan (CPP), Québec Pension Plan (QPP), or Employment Insurance (EI) premiums during the year.  Usually this is because the employee has changed jobs.  When a new job is started, CPP/QPP and EI premiums are calculated without regard to premiums paid at the old job, so it is possible to pay more than the maximum annual amount.

When you file your tax return, you will fill out Schedule 1 for your non-refundable tax credits.  On line 308 you will enter the lesser of

On line 310 you will enter the lesser of

Unless you are a resident of Québec, any excess CPP premiums that you paid should be entered on line 448 of the tax return.

Any excess EI premiums should be entered on line 450 of the federal tax return.

There may be a situation where the CPP or QPP and EI premiums have been overpaid, even though the maximum amount of premium for the year was not paid.  If you are filing your tax return manually, you will enter on lines 308 and 310 of schedule 1 the actual amounts of CPP or QPP and EI premiums paid.  It is not necessary to calculate the overpayment yourself.  When Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) receives your tax return, it automatically calculates any overpayment and refunds it to you.  If you use tax software to file your return, any overpayment should automatically be calculated, and entered on lines 448 for CPP and 450 for EI.

CRA has a form on which you can calculate your overpayments, if desired.  It is form T2204 - Employee overpayments of CPP contributions and EI premiums.  This form would be submitted with your tax return.

For more information on and annual maximums for CPP, QPP and EI premiums, see our CPP and EI page.

Employers - Recovering EI and CPP overpayments

Québec residents - CPP/QPP overpayments

Québec residents will claim any overpayment of CPP or QPP on line 452 of the Québec tax return.  If CPP or QPP has been overpaid, even though the maximum amount of premium for the year was not paid, Revenue Québec will calculate the overpayment.  To ensure that they calculate the overpayment properly, the total CPP and QPP must be entered on line 98 of the Québec income tax return.  Québec residents can refer to the Guide to the Income Tax Return - Line 452 for more information.