EI Premiums 2027: $1.64 Rate and $70,800 Maximum Insurable Earnings

Employment Insurance (EI) premiums for 2027 are $1.64 per $100 of insurable earnings outside Quebec, on earnings up to $70,800, according to Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC). The rate and the new maximum take effect Jan. 1, 2027, and the most an employee pays in the year is $1,161.12. This story adds what that means on a paycheque at three salaries, in and outside Quebec.

What are the EI premium rate and maximum for 2027?

ESDC’s notice, modified Oct. 27, 2026, says: “The maximum insurable earnings is $70,800 ($68,900 in 2026).” The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) lists the same figures in its EI premium table. Employers pay a share on top of the employee’s premium, shown in the last row.

Item	Outside Quebec, 2026	Outside Quebec, 2027	Quebec, 2026	Quebec, 2027
Maximum insurable earnings	$68,900	$70,800	$68,900	$70,800
Employee rate per $100	$1.63	$1.64	$1.30	$1.29
Maximum employee premium	$1,123.07	$1,161.12	$895.70	$913.32
Maximum employer premium	$1,572.30	$1,625.57	$1,253.98	$1,278.65

Sources: ESDC notice (employee figures), CRA “EI premium rates and maximums” (employer figures). ESDC’s 2027 actuarial report summary puts the 2027 employer rate at $2.30 per $100 of insurable earnings, and $1.81 per $100 for employers in Quebec.

Maximum insurable earnings rise $1,900 ($70,800 minus $68,900). Because the rate also rises one cent, the maximum employee premium goes up $38.05 ($1,161.12 minus $1,123.07) outside Quebec. In Quebec it goes up $17.62 ($913.32 minus $895.70) even though the rate falls.

Why is the EI rate lower in Quebec?

Quebec has its own parental insurance plan, so its workers pay a lower federal EI rate. In 2027 that rate is $1.29 per $100 in Quebec, one cent lower than the $1.30 of 2026.

How much will EI cost me per paycheque in 2027?

The premium is the rate times insurable earnings, up to the maximum. We worked it out for three yearly salaries, with 26 biweekly pays, and rounded to the cent. A pay of exactly half a cent rounds up. The 2026 column uses the 2026 rate and the $68,900 cap.

Outside Quebec, employee premium

Yearly salary	2026 per year	2027 per year	Change	2027 per biweekly pay
$40,000	$652.00	$656.00	+$4.00	$25.23
$60,000	$978.00	$984.00	+$6.00	$37.85
$90,000	$1,123.07	$1,161.12	+$38.05	$44.66

For example, $60,000 times $1.64 per $100 is $984.00, and $984.00 divided by 26 is $37.85. The $90,000 earner is capped: only the first $70,800 counts.

Quebec, employee premium

Yearly salary	2026 per year	2027 per year	Change	2027 per biweekly pay
$40,000	$520.00	$516.00	-$4.00	$19.85
$60,000	$780.00	$774.00	-$6.00	$29.77
$90,000	$895.70	$913.32	+$17.62	$35.13

Employer premium at the same salaries. CRA’s maximums imply that employers pay 1.4 times the employee premium: $1,161.12 times 1.4 is $1,625.57 after rounding. Applying 1.4 to the employee premiums above gives these 2027 amounts per employee per year.

Yearly salary	Outside Quebec, 2027	Change from 2026	Quebec, 2027	Change from 2026
$40,000	$918.40	+$5.60	$722.40	-$5.60
$60,000	$1,377.60	+$8.40	$1,083.60	-$8.40
$90,000	$1,625.57	+$53.27	$1,278.65	+$24.67

At what salary do I stop paying EI in 2027?

At $70,800 of yearly earnings. Anything above that is not subject to the premium. In 2026 the cutoff is $68,900. On 26 equal biweekly pays, $70,800 works out to $2,723.08 per pay, so a worker at exactly that salary pays premiums through the last pay of the year. Someone earning $90,000 a year (about $3,461.54 per pay) passes the cap during the 21st pay, after which no more EI premium comes off.

What are the maximum EI benefit rates from Dec. 27, 2026?

ESDC lists new benefit maximums “for claims beginning on or after December 27, 2026,” a Sunday, five days before the premiums change.

Benefit	2026	For claims from Dec. 27, 2026
Maximum weekly EI benefit rate	$729	$749
Extended parental benefit, weekly	$437	$449

That is $20 a week more on the standard maximum and $12 more on extended parental benefits. Mark both days on the December 2026 printable calendar and the January 2027 printable calendar; the sheet in the downloads box lists them with the rates side by side.

What about Canada Pension Plan contributions in 2027?

The earnings ceilings are out; the payroll maximums are not. The CRA’s page of registered plan limits, modified Oct. 28, 2026, lists the 2027 Year’s Maximum Pensionable Earnings (YMPE) at $76,700, up from $74,600, and the 2027 Year’s Additional Maximum Pensionable Earnings (YAMPE) at $87,400, up from $85,000.

The Canada Pension Plan (CPP) payroll page, “CPP contribution rates, maximums and exemptions,” modified Oct. 30, 2026, had no 2027 row when checked on Nov. 4, 2026, so the 2027 maximum contributions are not yet announced. Its 2026 row reads:

2026 CPP item	Amount
Year’s Maximum Pensionable Earnings (YMPE)	$74,600
Basic exemption	$3,500
Employee contribution rate	5.95%
Maximum employee contribution	$4,230.45

For other dates that shape the new year, see the Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) deadline for 2027, the benefit payment dates for November and December 2026 and Canada’s federal holidays in 2027.