Employment Insurance Rates Canada
Maximum Insurable Earnings (MIE) Calculation
EI Premium Reduction Program for Employers
EI Premium Tables for Payroll Deductions
Quebec Employment Insurance Rates
Maximum insurable earnings (MIE) for 2026 is $68,900, up 4.87% from $65,700 in 2025. The maximums payable by employers and employees for 2026 is up 4.2% from 2025.
| Year | Maximum Insurable Earnings (MIE) |
Employee Rate |
Employee Maximum |
Employer Rate |
Employer Maximum |
Self- Employed Rate |
Self- Employed Minimum Earnings (1) |
EI Clawback Threshold (2) |
| 2026 | $68,900 | 1.63% | $1,123.07 | 2.282% | $1,572.30 | 1.63% | $9,254 | $86,125 |
| 2025 | 65,700 | 1.64% | 1,077.48 | 2.296% | 1,508.47 | 1.64% | 8,826 | 82,125 |
| 2024 | 63,200 | 1.66% | 1,049.12 | 2.324% | 1,468.77 | 1.66% | 8,492 | 79,000 |
| 2023 | 61,500 | 1.63% | 1,002.45 | 2.282% | 1,403.43 | 1.63% | 8,255 | 76,875 |
| 2022 | 60,300 | 1.58% | 952.74 | 2.212% | 1,333.84 | 1.58% | 8,092 | 75,375 |
| 2021 | 56,300 | 1.58% | 889.54 | 2.212% | 1,245.36 | 1.58% | 7,555 | 70,375 |
| 2020 | 54,200 | 1.58% | 856.36 | 2.212% | 1,198.90 | 1.58% | 7,279 | 67,750 |
| 2019 | 53,100 | 1.62% | 860.22 | 2.268% | 1,204.31 | 1.62% | 7,121 | 66,375 |
| 2018 | 51,700 | 1.66% | 858.22 | 2.324% | 1,201.51 | 1.63% | 6,947 | 64,625 |
| 2017 | 51,300 | 1.63% | 836.19 | 2.282% | 1,170.67 | 1.63% | 6,888 | 64,125 |
| 2016 | 50,800 | 1.88% | 955.04 | 2.632% | 1,337.06 | 1.88% | 6,820 | 63,500 |
| 2015 | 49,500 | 1.88% | 930.60 | 2.632% | 1,302.84 | 1.88% | 6,645 | 61,875 |
| 2014 | 48,600 | 1.88% | 913.68 | 2.632% | 1,279.15 | 1.88% | 6,515 | 60,750 |
| 2013 | 47,400 | 1.88% | 891.12 | 2.632% | 1,247.57 | 1.88% | 6,342 | 59,250 |
| 2012 | 45,900 | 1.83% | 839.97 | 2.562% | 1,175.96 | 1.83% | 6,222 | 57,375 |
| 2011 | 44,200 | 1.78% | 786.76 | 2.492% | 1,101.46 | 1.78% | 6,000 | 55,250 |
| 2010 | 43,200 | 1.73% | 747.36 | 2.422% | 1,046.30 | 1.73% | n/a | 54,000 |
| 2009 | 42,300 | 1.73% | 731.79 | 2.422% | 1,024.51 | n/a | n/a | 52,875 |
| 2008 | 41,100 | 1.73% | 711.03 | 2.422% | 995.44 | n/a | n/a | 51,375 |
| 2007 | 40,000 | 1.80% | 720.00 | 2.520% | 1,008.00 | n/a | n/a | 50,000 |
| 2006 | 39,000 | 1.87% | 729.30 | 2.618% | 1,021.02 | n/a | n/a | 48,750 |
| 2005 | 39,000 | 1.95% | 760.50 | 2.730% | 1,064.70 | n/a | n/a | 48,750 |
| 2004 | 39,000 | 1.98% | 772.20 | 2.772% | 1,081.08 | n/a | n/a | 48,750 |
(1) This is the minimum net self-employment earnings that must have been earned in the previous year in order to claim benefits.
See EI benefits for self-employed people on the Canada.ca website.
(2) EI clawback threshold is 1.25 x maximum insurable earnings
See our article on EI for the Self-Employed.
The 2026 rates are outlined on the 2026 Employment Insurance Premium Rate page.
The rates for each year can be found by access to the Summary of the Actuarial Report on the EI Premium Rate for each year.
Although there is no basic exemption for employment insurance, if an employee's insurable earnings are $2,000 or less during any year, their EI premiums are refunded in whole.
The MIE is indexed to the annual percentage increase in the average weekly earnings of the industrial aggregate in Canada, as published by Statistics Canada. The 2026 % increase is calculated as:
the average for the 12-month period ending April 30, 2025
divided by
the average for the 12-month period ending April 30, 2024
This % increase is then multiplied by the prior year MIE calculated before rounding, and is then rounded down to the nearest multiple of one hundred dollars.
EI rates were previously set by the Canada Employment Insurance Financing Board (CEIFB), which was dissolved. A new rate-setting mechanism, which sets the EI premium rate annually at a seven-year break-even rate, took effect in 2017. The break-even rate for 2026 is 1.63% (1.64% for 2025), and the premium rate is also 1.63% (1.64% for 2025).
Self-employed persons who opt into the Employment Insurance program will pay the employee rate, and are eligible only for special benefits. The annual self-employment income required to qualify for special benefits increases annually, as shown in the above table. See our article on employment insurance for the self-employed.
EI premiums are not payable in some employment situations. See our article Who has to pay EI premiums?
Employers who provide their employees with a short-term disability plan may be able to pay less than the 1.4 x employee rate that most employers pay. See EI Premium Reduction Program - For Employers.
Premium rates for current and earlier years can be found on the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) web page EI premium rates and maximums.
For more information on the EI clawback, see our article EI benefit repayment (EI clawback).
For EI premium tables for calculating payroll deductions, see the CRA publication T4032 Payroll Deduction Tables. See the Government of Canada web page Annual Reports on the EI Premium Rate and Maximum Insurable Earnings for more information on how the rates and insurable earnings levels are calculated.
See also our article on Take Home Pay Calculators.
Maximum insurable earnings (MIE) for 2026 is $68,900, up 4.87% from $65,700 in 2025. The maximums payable by employers and employees for 2026 is up 4.07% from 2025.
| Year | Maximum Insurable Earnings (MIE) |
Employee Rate |
Employee Maximum |
Employer Rate |
Employer Maximum |
| 2026 | $68,900 | 1.30% | $895.70 | 1.820% | $1,253.98 |
| 2025 | 65,700 | 1.31% | 860.67 | 1.834% | 1,204.94 |
| 2024 | 63,200 | 1.32% | 834.24 | 1.848% | 1,167.94 |
| 2023 | 61,500 | 1.27% | 781.05 | 1.778% | 1,093.47 |
| 2022 | 60,300 | 1.20% | 723.60 | 1.680% | 1,013.04 |
| 2021 | 56,300 | 1.18% | 664.34 | 1.652% | 930.08 |
| 2020 | 54,200 | 1.20% | 650.40 | 1.680% | 910.56 |
| 2019 | 53,100 | 1.25% | 663.75 | 1.750% | 929.25 |
| 2018 | 51,700 | 1.30% | 672.10 | 1.820% | 940.94 |
| 2017 | 51,300 | 1.27% | 651.51 | 1.778% | 912.11 |
| 2016 | 50,800 | 1.52% | 772.16 | 2.128% | 1,081.02 |
| 2015 | 49,500 | 1.54% | 762.30 | 2.156% | 1,067.22 |
| 2014 | 48,600 | 1.53% | 743.58 | 2.140% | 1,041.01 |
| 2013 | 47,400 | 1.52% | 720.48 | 2.130% | 1,008.67 |
| 2012 | 45,900 | 1.47% | 674.73 | 2.060% | 944.62 |
| 2011 | 44,200 | 1.41% | 623.22 | 1.970% | 872.51 |
| 2010 | 43,200 | 1.36% | 587.52 | 1.900% | 822.53 |
| 2009 | 42,300 | 1.38% | 583.74 | 1.930% | 817.24 |
| 2008 | 41,100 | 1.39% | 571.29 | 1.950% | 799.81 |
| 2007 | 40,000 | 1.46% | 584.00 | 2.040% | 817.60 |
| 2006 | 39,000 | 1.53% | 596.70 | 2.140% | 835.38 |
Note: Quebec started providing their own parental benefits beginning January 1, 2006, so their EI rates are lower. See the article on the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan.
The 2026 rates are outlined on the 2026 Employment Insurance Premium Rate page.
Revised: October 01, 2025