EI Regular Benefit Calculator Canada

The calculator estimates the weekly Employment Insurance payment you would receive after a layoff, how long the claim runs, and the total the claim pays before and after the tax withheld from it. Two workers with the same salary can receive different weekly amounts because they live in different economic regions, so the result is less mechanical than people expect.

What the calculator works out

Enter the insurable earnings in your best weeks, the best weeks divisor for your region, and the number of weeks of benefits you are entitled to. The tool returns the weekly benefit, the weekly amount after tax withheld, the total value of the claim, the share of your normal pay EI replaces, and the weekly gap it leaves. It also shows the cash value of the unpaid waiting week, which people often forget to budget for.

How the weekly amount is built

Your insurable earnings are divided by the best weeks divisor to give average weekly insurable earnings. That figure is capped at the year’s maximum insurable earnings divided by 52. The 55% replacement rate is applied to the capped figure and rounded to the nearest dollar.

The published maximum weekly benefit is not a separate policy ceiling: it is the maximum insurable earnings divided by 52, times the replacement rate, rounded. For 2026, $68,900 / 52 × 55% gives $729.

Why the best weeks divisor changes the answer

Service Canada picks your highest-paid weeks and divides by a number that ranges from 14 in high-unemployment regions to 22 in low-unemployment regions. In a weak labour market fewer of your best weeks are counted, which raises the average and the weekly benefit.

If your weeks were uneven, a small divisor helps a lot, because the weak weeks drop out. If you worked steady full-time hours, the divisor matters much less. Because it comes from a regional table, the calculator asks you for it.

Weeks of entitlement, and the waiting week

The number of weeks you can claim comes from a table pairing your hours of insurable employment with your region’s unemployment rate, from 14 to 45 weeks. Doubling the weekly benefit or doubling the weeks has the same effect on the total, so look at both numbers.

One week is served without payment at the start of most claims. It does not use up an entitlement week, so the total is the same; it is delayed. The tool prices that week because the gap between your last pay cheque and your first EI deposit is where short-term cash problems appear.

A worked example

$33,000 of insurable earnings across 22 best weeks is $1,500 a week on average, above the weekly cap, so the benefit is the maximum $729 a week. Over 21 weeks the claim is worth $15,309. With 10% withheld, $1,530.90 is held back and $13,778.10 is deposited. EI replaces 48.6% of normal pay, leaving $771 a week uncovered, and the unpaid waiting week delays a further $729.

Now take a high-unemployment region with a divisor of 14 and insurable earnings of $12,600 over those best weeks. Average weekly earnings are $900, below the cap, so the benefit is $495 a week, the full 55%. With 45 weeks of entitlement the claim is worth $22,275, more in total than the higher earner received, because duration outweighs the weekly rate once the cap applies.

What the calculator does not model

It estimates a straightforward regular claim. It does not apply the working while on claim deductions, the family supplement for low-income claimants with children, sickness, maternity, parental, caregiving or fishing benefits, the treatment of severance and vacation pay that can delay a claim, or the year-end benefit repayment for higher earners who have claimed regular benefits before. It assumes you qualify, which depends on your hours of insurable employment and why your job ended.

Assumptions and limits

The replacement rate, the maximum insurable earnings and the maximum weekly benefit come from maintained data and change each January. The best weeks divisor and entitlement weeks are regional figures you supply from the Service Canada tables. Tax withheld is a rate you choose; the real tax on EI benefits depends on your whole year’s income and is settled when you file. This is a planning estimate, not a benefit decision and not financial advice. Only Service Canada can decide what you are entitled to.

About This EI Regular Benefit Calculator

Use this EI regular benefit calculator to get an instant, accurate estimate. The figures follow official Service Canada guidance and every rate and threshold is kept up to date for 2026. Adjust the inputs above to match your situation, or browse all our calculators to plan your next step.