You have just lost your job, you file an Employment Insurance claim, and one question comes before all the others: how much will you receive? The calculation fits into a single formula, but every piece of it deserves an explanation. Here is how your weekly benefit is worked out in 2026, and what is left of it once tax is taken off.
The formula: 55% of your insurable earnings
For most people, the benefit works out to 55% of average weekly insurable earnings. Two expressions in that sentence need unpacking.
Insurable earnings are the part of your pay on which you paid Employment Insurance premiums. For an ordinary employee, that is simply their pay.
The weekly average is those earnings brought back to a typical week. And Service Canada does not average all of your working weeks: it keeps only your best ones.
An example to make it concrete: with average weekly insurable earnings of $1,000, the benefit works out to $550 a week, which is 55% of $1,000.
Your "best weeks": 14 to 22, depending on your region
The number of weeks used depends on the unemployment rate in your region. Where unemployment is highest, the calculation uses the best 14 weeks; where it is lowest, the best 22.
The arithmetic explains why this detail matters: the fewer weeks you keep, the more the average leans on the best-paid ones, and the higher the benefit for the same salary.
So the full calculation reads like this: add up the insurable earnings of the best weeks, divide by the number of weeks used, then multiply the result by 55%.
The ceiling: $729 a week in 2026
The benefit does not climb forever. Since January 1, 2026, the maximum yearly insurable earnings amount is $68,900, and that ceiling translates into a maximum benefit of $729 a week.
$68,900 a year works out to $1,325 a week. Above that level of earnings, your benefit stops growing.
| Average weekly insurable earnings | Weekly benefit |
|---|---|
| $600 | $330 |
| $1,000 | $550 |
| $1,325 | $729 |
| $1,600 | $729 |
The family supplement: up to 80% for modest incomes
A family whose net income does not exceed $25,921 a year, and whose children receive the Canada Child Benefit, may qualify for the family supplement.
This supplement acts on the rate itself. Instead of 55% of average insurable earnings, it can raise the benefit to as much as 80%. It is the main case in which the basic rate is exceeded.
What you pay to be covered
Employment Insurance is insurance: you pay in while you work, and you draw on it when you lose your job.
In Quebec, the employee premium rate is 1.30% of insurable earnings in 2026, against 1.63% elsewhere in Canada. Because insurable earnings stop at $68,900, the annual premium never exceeds $895.70, however large the salary. The employer pays a premium equal to 1.4 times the employee's.
On a gross salary of $68,900 — exactly the insurable ceiling — here is the full set of mandatory deductions for a Quebec employee in 2026:
| What gets withheld | Annual gross | Share of gross |
|---|---|---|
| Federal tax | −$6,073 | 8.8% |
| Provincial tax | −$6,977 | 10.1% |
| QPP | −$4,120 | 6.0% |
| Employment Insurance | −$896 | 1.3% |
| QPIP | −$296 | 0.4% |
| Total withheld | −$18,362 | 26.7% |
| Annual net | $50,538 | 73.3% |
The "Employment Insurance" line in that table is the price of the coverage. The other lines are a reminder that it is far from the heaviest deduction on a Quebec pay stub. To see what your own salary leaves net, the calculator does the work in seconds.
Before the first payment: hours, waiting period and tax
The amount is only half the story. Three rules decide when the money arrives, and how much of it is left.
Between 420 and 700 insurable hours
You need to have accumulated between 420 and 700 hours of insurable employment during the qualifying period — generally the 52 weeks immediately before the start date of your claim. The exact threshold depends, here again, on the unemployment rate in your region.
One week is never paid
Before the first payment comes a week with no benefit: this is the waiting period, the equivalent of the deductible on an insurance policy. After that, count on roughly 28 days from the date you filed for the first payment to arrive, provided you are eligible and have supplied all the required information.
The benefit is taxable
Employment Insurance benefits are taxable income. Federal and provincial tax are deducted straight from your payments. In other words, the $729 weekly maximum is a gross amount: what lands in your account is lower.
Three figures to remember
To estimate your benefit, three things are enough: your average weekly insurable earnings, the number of best weeks used in your region, and the $729 ceiling that caps the whole thing.
The rest depends on your file, and only Service Canada can set the exact amount. If your industry is going through a rough patch rather than outright layoffs, see also the real impact of the tariff war on your pay.
Frequently asked questions
How much will I receive in EI benefits?
For most people, the benefit is 55% of average weekly insurable earnings. That average is calculated on your best weeks of work — 14 to 22 of them, depending on the unemployment rate in your region. In 2026 the amount cannot exceed $729 a week, because insurable earnings are capped at $68,900 a year.
What is the maximum EI benefit in 2026?
$729 a week. That maximum comes from the ceiling on yearly insurable earnings, set at $68,900 since January 1, 2026. Brought back to a weekly figure, that ceiling works out to $1,325 of insurable earnings: above that, the benefit stops growing, whatever the salary.
How does Service Canada choose my "best weeks"?
Service Canada keeps the weeks in which your insurable earnings were highest during your qualifying period. Their number ranges from 14 to 22 depending on the unemployment rate in your region: 14 where unemployment is highest, 22 where it is lowest. The earnings of those weeks are added up, divided by their number, then multiplied by the 55% rate.
How many hours do I need to qualify for EI?
Between 420 and 700 hours of insurable employment accumulated during the qualifying period — generally the 52 weeks immediately before the start date of your claim. The exact threshold depends on the unemployment rate in your region.
Are EI benefits taxable?
Yes. Employment Insurance benefits are taxable income. Federal and provincial tax are deducted straight from each payment. The $729 weekly maximum is therefore a gross amount, not what reaches your bank account.
When will I get my first EI payment?
One week is never paid: this is the waiting period, which works like the deductible on an insurance policy. After that, the first payment arrives about 28 days after you file, provided you are eligible and have supplied all the required information.