How Much Tax Is Deducted From a Paycheck in BC?

A typical British Columbia employee keeps about 77 cents of every dollar earned after mandatory payroll deductions, so on a $65,000 salary roughly 23% comes off the top. How much tax is deducted from a paycheck in BC depends on four separate amounts your employer withholds: federal income tax, BC provincial income tax, Canada Pension Plan contributions, and Employment Insurance premiums. Your exact figure moves with your salary, the personal tax credits you’ve claimed on your TD1 forms, and any taxable benefits your employer adds to your income.

What a Real BC Paycheck Looks Like

Here is how the deductions play out for a single BC worker earning $65,000 a year, paid biweekly across 26 pay periods, claiming only the basic personal amounts:

Gross pay per period: $2,500.00
Federal income tax: approximately $277
BC provincial income tax: approximately $123
CPP contribution: approximately $141
EI premium: approximately $41
Total deductions: approximately $582
Net (take-home) pay: approximately $1,918

That works out to roughly 23.3% of gross pay lost to mandatory deductions, with about $49,850 landing in your account over the year. The split is close to even between income taxes and social insurance contributions. At this salary level, CPP alone takes more than BC provincial tax does, which surprises people who assume income tax is the biggest single line.

Your own numbers will differ if you claim extra credits, pay union dues, contribute to a workplace pension, or have asked your employer to withhold additional tax. Earners above $74,600 also see CPP2 deductions, and those above roughly $100,000 hit higher marginal brackets that push the effective rate closer to 30%.

Federal Income Tax Rates for 2026

Canada uses a progressive tax system, so each layer of your income is taxed at a higher rate as you climb. For 2026, the federal government cut the lowest bracket rate from 15% to 14%, which means workers at every income level keep slightly more than in prior years.¹

14% on the first $58,523
20.5% on the portion from $58,523 to $117,045
26% on the portion from $117,045 to $181,440
29% on the portion from $181,440 to $258,482
33% on anything above $258,482

A common misunderstanding: moving into a higher bracket does not mean all of your income is taxed at the new rate. If you earn $70,000, only the $11,477 above the first threshold is taxed at 20.5%. Everything below $58,523 stays at 14%.

British Columbia Provincial Tax Rates for 2026

On top of federal tax, BC applies its own progressive brackets. Budget 2026 raised the lowest provincial rate from 5.06% to 5.60%, which adds about $76 per year for the average taxpayer.² The remaining thresholds were bumped up 2.2% for inflation.³

5.60% on the first $50,363
7.70% on the portion from $50,363 to $100,728
10.50% on the portion from $100,728 to $115,648
12.29% on the portion from $115,648 to $140,430
14.70% on the portion from $140,430 to $190,405
16.80% on the portion from $190,405 to $265,545
20.50% on anything above $265,545

Combined with the federal side, a BC resident earning around $100,000 faces a top combined marginal rate of about 28.2% on their highest dollars. Someone earning over $265,545 hits a combined top marginal rate of 53.5%.³

Canada Pension Plan Contributions

CPP is a mandatory retirement savings program for employees between 18 and 65. Your employer takes 5.95% of your pay and matches it. The contribution applies only to earnings between the $3,500 basic exemption and the yearly maximum pensionable earnings of $74,600. Once your year-to-date earnings pass the ceiling, CPP deductions stop for the rest of the year.⁴

The maximum an employee can pay into CPP in 2026 is $4,230.45. On a biweekly schedule under the ceiling, expect roughly $145 to $175 per paycheck depending on salary.

CPP2 for Higher Earners

A second CPP tier applies once your earnings pass the first ceiling. You pay an additional 4% on income between $74,600 and $85,000, with a maximum CPP2 contribution of $416 for 2026.⁵ If you earn under $74,600, CPP2 does not touch your paycheck.

Employment Insurance Premiums

EI covers temporary income if you lose your job through no fault of your own. In 2026, BC employees pay EI at 1.63% on insurable earnings up to $68,900, with a yearly maximum of $1,123.07.⁶ After you reach that cap, EI deductions stop for the calendar year. On a biweekly paycheck of $2,500, EI runs about $40.75.

The Basic Personal Amount and TD1 Forms

Your paycheck deductions are not calculated on your full income. Both governments shield a first slice of earnings through the basic personal amount. For 2026, the federal basic personal amount is $16,452, worth about $2,303 in tax savings at the 14% lowest rate.⁷ For high earners above roughly $177,000, the federal amount tapers down to $14,829. British Columbia’s basic personal amount is $13,216, which saves about $740 at the 5.60% rate.⁸

You tell your employer about these credits through the federal TD1 and provincial TD1BC forms.⁹ Beyond the basic amount, the forms let you claim credits for supporting a spouse, having a disability, or caring for a dependent. If you qualify for extra credits and skip the forms, your employer withholds based only on the basic amount, and you overpay tax all year until it comes back at filing time.

Things That Change Your Deductions

Taxable Benefits

Not everything on your pay stub is cash. If your employer provides certain perks, the CRA treats them as taxable income, which raises your gross earnings and the tax withheld. Common examples include employer-provided vehicles, group life insurance premiums paid by the employer, parking, low-interest or interest-free loans, and tuition payments.¹⁰ For a company car used personally, the operating expense portion of the benefit is calculated at $0.34 per personal kilometre for 2026.¹¹ The benefit shows on your stub as extra income you never received in cash, and withholding rises to match.

Pre-Tax Deductions

Some paycheck deductions work in your favour. Contributions to a registered pension plan through your employer come off your pay before income tax is calculated, so less tax is withheld per period compared to someone at the same gross salary with no pension contribution. Union dues and professional fees do not reduce your pay for CPP or EI purposes but do lower your taxable income at filing, typically appearing in box 44 of your T4. Group RRSP contributions made through payroll may reduce your withholding if your employer adjusts the tax calculation, while individual RRSP contributions made outside payroll only produce a benefit at filing time.

Working Two Jobs at Once

If you hold more than one job at the same time, each employer treats their paycheck as your only income and applies the full basic personal amount. That effectively shields double the income during the year, and you end up owing at filing. To avoid the surprise, check the “More than one employer or payer at the same time” box on the TD1 at your second job and enter $0 for personal tax credits, which tells that employer to withhold without applying the basic amount.¹² You can also request a flat additional dollar amount of tax per pay period on the TD1, which is useful if you have side income, investment income, or rental income not being withheld against elsewhere.

Overtime Paychecks

BC requires time-and-a-half after eight hours in a day (up to 12) and double time past 12, with weekly overtime starting after 40 hours.¹³ Payroll systems annualize each paycheck to estimate tax, so a single heavy overtime check gets taxed as if you earned that amount every period. The withholding often looks disproportionately high, but the excess typically comes back at filing once your actual annual income lands in a lower effective bracket.

1
Canada Revenue Agency. Tax Rates and Income Brackets for Individuals
2
BC Budget. Budget 2026 Backgrounder – Updating the Tax System
3
Government of British Columbia. Personal Income Tax Rates
4
Canada Revenue Agency. CPP Contribution Rates, Maximums and Exemptions
5
Canada Revenue Agency. Second Additional CPP (CPP2) Contribution Rates and Maximums
6
Canada Revenue Agency. EI Premium Rates and Maximums
7
Canada Revenue Agency. Payroll Deductions Tables – General Information
8
Government of British Columbia. B.C. Basic Personal Income Tax Credits
9
Canada Revenue Agency. TD1BC 2026 British Columbia Personal Tax Credits Return
10
Canada Revenue Agency. Employers’ Guide – Taxable Benefits and Allowances
11
Canada Revenue Agency. Automobile Provided by the Employer
12
Canada Revenue Agency. Get the Completed TD1 Forms From the Individual
13
Government of British Columbia. Overtime Pay