What gets deducted from a Canadian paycheque
For a typical T4 employee, gross-to-net deductions are stacked in this order: (1) federal income tax based on 5 brackets; (2) provincial or territorial income tax with its own brackets; (3) CPP base 5.95 % up to the YMPE plus CPP2 4 % on income between YMPE and YMPE2; (4) EI 1.64 % up to $65,700 maximum insurable earnings; (5) Quebec residents substitute QPP and QPIP for CPP and pay reduced EI. Federal and provincial Basic Personal Amount credits reduce tax owed, modelled here.
What this calculator doesn’t model
It assumes a single source of T4 employment income with no investment income, no RRSP contributions, no spouse or dependant credits, no tuition transfers, no Canada Workers Benefit, and no Quebec federal-abatement adjustment (16.5 % reduction in federal tax payable for QC residents). The Quebec abatement makes federal tax ~$2,000–$5,000 lower at the top of the income range than this calculator displays. For an exact figure run a real tax software (TurboTax, Wealthsimple Tax, UFile).
Use it as a salary-negotiation tool
A $5,000 raise in Ontario is worth ~$2,800 net once federal + provincial tax + CPP2 + EI claw it down. A $5,000 RRSP top-up at the same income returns ~$1,500 tax refund. Sign-on bonuses are taxed at the same marginal rate as your salary, but employers withhold at a flat-rate “bonus” schedule which usually over-deducts — you get the difference back at tax time.