CPP for self-employed people: 2026 rates, maximums and tax relief

How much CPP do self-employed people pay?

A self-employed person pays 11.9% CPP on net self-employment earnings above the $3,500 basic exemption and up to the 2026 year's maximum pensionable earnings of $74,600. The most anyone pays in 2026 at that rate is $8,460.90. Earnings from $74,600 to $85,000 attract a further 8% second additional contribution, CPP2, capped at $832.

The contribution is based on net income from Form T2125, not on gross sales. It is calculated on Schedule 8 of your T1 return and added to your balance owing on line 42100, so it is due April 30, 2027 along with your income tax. Residents of Quebec contribute to the QPP instead: for 2026, Retraite Québec sets the self-employed rate at 12.6% on earnings from $3,500 to $74,600, plus the same 8% second additional contribution up to $85,000, for a maximum of about $9,791.

Why self-employed CPP contributions cover both shares

An employee pays 5.95% of pensionable earnings in 2026 and the employer pays a matching 5.95%. When you work for yourself, you are both parties, so you pay the combined 11.9%. The same doubling applies to CPP2: 4% for an employee plus 4% from the employer becomes 8% for you.

The benefit side mirrors this. Your contributions build your own CPP retirement, disability and survivor entitlements in the same way an employee's combined contributions do. Paying less CPP by under-reporting income also means a smaller pension later.

CPP self-employed 2026 rates and limits

For comparison, the 2025 limits were $71,300 for maximum pensionable earnings and $81,200 for the CPP2 ceiling. The 2027 limits are not yet announced; the government usually publishes them in early November.

What is CPP2 for self-employed earners?

CPP2 is the second additional CPP contribution, introduced in 2024 as the last stage of the CPP enhancement. It applies only to the slice of earnings between the year's maximum pensionable earnings ($74,600) and the year's additional maximum pensionable earnings ($85,000 for 2026). If your net self-employment income is $74,600 or less, you pay no CPP2 at all.

At the top of the range the extra cost is $832 for 2026, but all of it is tax deductible, which lowers the after-tax cost to well under that figure for anyone in the second federal bracket or higher.

Is CPP deductible for self-employed people?

Partly deductible and partly a credit. The CRA splits self-employed contributions this way: half of the 9.9% base contribution is claimed as a non-refundable tax credit, and the other half of the base, the 2% first additional contribution, and all CPP2 are deducted from income. Schedule 8 carries the credit amount to line 31000 and the deduction to line 22200.

• Credit (line 31000): 4.95% of pensionable earnings, worth 14% federally in 2026 plus your provincial lowest rate.
• Deduction (line 22200): the other 4.95%, the 2% enhancement and all CPP2, which lowers taxable income at your marginal rate.
• Not on the T2125: CPP is a personal contribution, so it is never entered as a business expense.

Worked example: CPP at three self-employed income levels

The table applies the 2026 rates to three levels of net self-employment income for someone with no employment income. Figures are calculated by the editorial team from the CRA's published rates and limits.

Take the $60,000 case. Pensionable earnings are $60,000 minus $3,500, or $56,500. CPP is 11.9% of $56,500, which is $6,723.50. Of that, $2,796.75 is claimed as a credit, saving about $391.55 in federal tax at 14%, and $3,926.75 is deducted from income. No CPP2 applies because income is below $74,600.

At $90,000 the CPP portion is capped at $8,460.90 and CPP2 is capped at $832, for a total of $9,292.90. Any profit above $85,000 attracts no further CPP. To see these contributions alongside income tax, use the self-employed tax calculator.

Special situations that change your CPP

• You also have a T4 job. Employee CPP already deducted counts toward the annual maximum, so Schedule 8 reduces what you owe on self-employment earnings.
• You are 65 to 70 and receiving a CPP pension. You can elect to stop contributing; for self-employment earnings the election is made on Schedule 8.
• You turned 18, turned 70 or died during the year. The exemption and maximums are prorated by month.
• You live in Quebec. You contribute to the QPP, not the CPP. On the federal return, a Quebec resident with only QPP contributions uses the Quebec version of Schedule 8, and one who also has CPP contributions, for example from a job outside Quebec, uses Form RC381.
• Your net income is $3,500 or less. No CPP is payable on it.

Gig workers often have both a T4 job and platform income, so the first point matters to them; see taxes for Uber and delivery drivers. Expenses reduce CPP as well as income tax, because they lower net earnings, which is one more reason to claim every deductible business expense.

Paying self-employed CPP contributions on time

Nobody withholds CPP from self-employment income, so it is part of your net tax owing when the CRA decides whether you must pay quarterly instalments. If your combined income tax and CPP owing exceeds $3,000 ($1,800 in Quebec), plan for instalments. The overview of self-employed taxes in Canada shows where CPP fits with the other deadlines.