US/Canada – Employer Payroll Tax Comparison

We talk with many US businesses thinking about onboarding Canadians. We are often asked for a quote that includes the various non-salary costs. They are often surprised that Canada has much lower payroll taxes. Here’s a chart showing the difference between the taxes as of August 2021.

Canada Pension Plan (CPP) starts at $C3,500 and then ends at C$61,600.

Social Security and Medicare start at the first dollar. Social Security doesn’t top out until US$142,800. Medicare keeps going.

Note: There are other smaller taxes and fees like workers’ compensation and unemployment insurance. These tend to be similar in both countries.