EREditorial team · Updated 14 Oct 20267 min read14 providers compared11 sources
CA$6,294 employer cost a month on your own payroll, CA$70,000 salaryNot all-in: what it leaves out is under the cost table.
≈8% employer CPP and EI on a CA$70,000 salary, outside Quebec
2 steps with the CRA and the employee before the first remittance
21 EOR providers, if you would rather not run payroll
On your own Canadian payroll you deduct income tax, CPP and EI from each pay, add the employer's CPP and EI, and send them to the CRA by the 15th of the next month as a regular remitter. Outside Quebec the employer share adds ≈8%.
Short answer
The payroll account with the CRA has to be open before the first remittance due date.
CPP2 has no basic exemption: it is charged only on a band of earnings above the CPP maximum.
The employer's EI premium is 1.4 times the employee's, up to the yearly maximum of insurable earnings.
T4 slips for the year are due by the last day of February.
On this page
Before the first payday
The order is set by the first remittance, not the first hire. An employer has to register for a payroll account with the CRA before the first remittance due date.[1] From each new employee it needs a social insurance number and completed TD1 forms.[2] From the first pay on, the employer deducts income tax, CPP contributions and EI premiums, including on taxable benefits and allowances.[3] The set-up steps list both.
How CPP, CPP2 and EI build up over a year
Each federal line has its own floor and cap. CPP is charged at 5.95% on earnings above a basic exemption of CAD 3,500, up to CAD 74,600.[4] CPP2 starts there: 4% up to CAD 85,000, with no exemption of its own.[5] The employer’s EI premium is 1.4 times the employee’s, on insurable earnings up to CAD 68,900.[6] Once a cap is reached, that line costs nothing more that year, so the cost per pay falls late in the year. The cost table applies this to the example salary.
Remittances, year end and pay statements
A regular remitter sends the deductions and its own share by the 15th of the following month.[7] The T4 return for the year is due by the last day of February.[8] Federally regulated employers give a written pay statement with each payment; provinces set the rule for everyone else.[9] The obligations table holds the deadlines. Provincial payroll taxes, workers’ compensation and vacation pay sit outside the federal lines, and Quebec runs its own pension and parental plans. Without a Canadian company yet, the EOR page covers the other route.
Registering as an employer
With your own entity, these steps run one after another before the first payroll.
Get the employee's social insurance number and their completed TD1 forms.
Running payroll: deadlines and filings
Each pay period the employer deducts income tax, CPP contributions and EI premiums from remuneration, including taxable benefits and allowances, and remits them with its own share of CPP and EI.[3]
Income tax, CPP and EI withheld, plus the employer's CPP and EI share. A regular remitter pays by the 15th day of the next month; remitter type depends on average monthly withholding.
Federally regulated employers give a written statement with each payment of wages showing the period, hours, rate, deductions and the sum received; provinces set the rule for other employers.
With each payment of wages
What one hire costs
Monthly cost of an employee on CA$70,000 a year, on your own payroll.
Assumes: outside Quebec; provincial payroll taxes and health levies vary.
Total to employer, a monthCA$6,294
Gross salaryCA$5,83393%
Employer contributionsCA$4617%
Percentages are shares of the total, not of salary.
Federal lines only, for 2026. The EI employer rate is 1.4 times the 1.63 employee rate. Quebec employees pay into the Quebec Pension Plan and a Quebec parental insurance plan instead of the federal CPP and part of EI, so Quebec is not covered. Provincial payroll taxes and health levies, workers' compensation and vacation pay are not included.
Global payroll providers
All 14 global payroll providers we score: those working in Canada first, then the rest, each by our global payroll score. Working in Canada: 12 (2 by their global payroll coverage list, the rest inferred from their EOR coverage). How we score
Enterprise teams and small and growing businesses (SMEs), in RemotePass's own words
Not for
Buyers who must review EOR contract terms up front: no EOR agreement is public
Top pro
EOR from $349 per employee a month with tax included; 13 of 20 other EOR prices in dollars start higher
Top con
No EOR agreement is public: the Terms say EOR runs under a separate Consultant Agreement "available on the Site", which we did not find. The public legal documents are the Terms, the Privacy Policy and the Acceptable Use Policy
Companies from startups to enterprises, going by Multiplier's segment pages
Not for
Buyers who need the deposit amount before signing: Multiplier calculates it per contract
Top pro
Own SOC 2 (Type I and II), SOC 3 and ISO 27001:2022 on its security page; the AWS certifications listed there are kept apart as the host's
Top con
The "from" prices assume an annual contract. Monthly EOR costs $499 on Core and $559 on Growth, about 11% of countries are priced differently, and compliance-mandated add-ons come on top of EOR and COR
Companies from startups to enterprises: Playroll has pages for each, and its case studies include startups under 100 staff and mid-market firms of 100 to 1,000
Not for
Contractors who want to be paid other than through Payoneer, the only payout route Playroll uses
Top pro
Its own country pages document EOR hiring in 151 countries + 6 territories, against a claim of 180+
Top con
A refundable deposit of one month's salary per EOR employee; the unused part comes back within two months of the last working day, or once claims are settled if that is later
Startups, growing companies and enterprises, the three segments Pebl writes a page for
Not for
Buyers who need a Contractor of Record: we list Pebl for contractor management, not COR
Top pro
Own SOC 2 Type 2 report and ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certificate, both on Pebl's security page
Top con
No live support channel named: Pebl lists its Alfie AI assistant, in-house experts and a Help Center; its pages say 24/7 support and do not say who answers
Startups, scaling companies and enterprises, the three groups Native Teams writes for
Not for
Buyers who want to read the EOR or COR agreement before talking to sales: the terms of service are the only contract text online
Top pro
EOR from $99 per employee a month, below all 20 other per-employee EOR prices in USD we compare
Top con
The terms of service are the only contract text online. The EOR and COR agreements are not published, and the terms say a separate signed contract takes precedence
Small businesses, including teams under 10 employees, startups and enterprises: the segments Rippling has pages for
Not for
Buyers who want to compare an EOR price before a sales call
Top pro
Contractor onboarding in 185+ countries and payments in 50+ local currencies, per its contractor page; 160 countries + 2 territories are documented here
Top con
No price for EOR, contractor management or global payroll: the pricing page asks for a custom quote
Crypto and web3 teams paying contractors in stablecoins or crypto, a segment Rise names (startups, web3 startups, DAOs, global agencies)
Not for
Companies that need an EOR in countries beyond the US and the UK today
Top pro
Prices are published per head: $49 a contractor a month (discounts for startups and non-profits), $299 for Agent of Record, $399 an employee for EOR
Top con
EOR is documented in 2 countries (US, UK) against a claim of 90+. The parent, Rise Works, Inc., is on the GLEIF register; no own entity is documented in either country
4.2Our score 4.2 of 10Limited dataOur global payroll score
Global payroll price
Custom quote
ServicesEOR · Payouts · Contractors · Payroll
Best for
Startups, SMBs, agencies and enterprises: the segments Remozo names for its contractor product
Not for
Buyers whose security review asks for SOC 2 or ISO 27001 held by Remozo itself
Top pro
Contractor payouts claimed in 190+ countries; 98 are listed one by one in Remozo's help centre
Top con
Contractor plan from 3% per payout: for contractor payouts, 2 of the 6 other percentage prices we compare are lower and 1 the same. The contractor page says from 1.5%, which we do not score
One hire on CA$70,000 a year, through your own entity and through an EOR, from the figures on this page and the EOR page. The own-entity cost leaves out what running the entity costs, so the two columns are not like for like.
Canada: own entity and EOR for one hire
Compared
Own entity
Employer of Record
Before the first hire
2 set-up and registration steps
No entity: the EOR’s entity employs
Employer cost a month, before any provider fee
CA$6,294
CA$6,294
Provider fee a month
–
US$99 to US$699 a month (18 providers, USD); €399 a month (one provider, EUR)
Fewer than 3 providers publish a fee in CAD, so no total with the fee is given; fees in other currencies are not converted.
Neither figure is all-in: both leave out the costs named under the cost table.
A regular remitter pays them by the 15th day of the following month. Which remitter type applies depends on the business's average monthly withholding.
What is CPP2?
The second additional CPP contribution, charged at 4% on employee and employer alike, in 2026 on the slice of earnings from CAD 74,600 up to CAD 85,000. It has no basic exemption.
Do employers in Quebec pay CPP?
No. Quebec employees pay into the Quebec Pension Plan and a Quebec parental insurance plan instead of the federal CPP and part of EI, so the cost figures on this page leave Quebec out.
What is the penalty for not deducting payroll tax in Canada?
The CRA can assess 10% of the CPP, EI and income tax not deducted, on top of the amounts themselves.
Works in Canada
