Give your money a plan

Income less commitments

Monthly income is entered take-home pay, or the 2026 annual employment estimate divided by 12, plus other net income. Expenses include your mortgage or rent payment, other housing costs, essentials, transport, other debt payments, savings and flexible spending. Each category is rounded to cents. Annual totals are monthly totals multiplied by 12.

For example, $6,000 of monthly net income, $2,000 housing and $3,000 other spending and savings leave $1,000 unallocated. With $500 of savings included, that $500 is already set aside, not available again for the mortgage.

Choose realistic amounts

Account for annual bills, maintenance and irregular income using monthly provisions. Other net income must already be after any tax and deductions. This does not verify benefits, employment stability or the size of your emergency reserve. Negative unallocated cash is a shortfall, not borrowing capacity. Calculators and information only, not financial advice.

FCAC: Making a budget. Connect the budget to a mortgage payoff goal.

Full-year planning, with regional context

We use reviewed 2026 full-year brackets, basic personal credits, the Canada employment amount, base pension and EI credits, and deductions for enhanced CPP or QPP. Ontario includes surtax, its basic tax reduction, and the health premium. British Columbia uses its full-year 5.60% first rate and $690 tax reduction, rather than July’s catch-up withholding figures. Manitoba and federal personal amounts phase out where applicable; Yukon follows the federal personal amount and adds its employment credit.

Québec includes its federal abatement, provincial workers’ deduction, QPP, reduced EI rate, and QPIP. Québec’s basic personal credit replaces separate provincial contribution credits. Northwest Territories and Nunavut estimates include their employee payroll taxes, assuming you normally work there for the year.

What to enter

Assumes one employer, age 18 to 64, a full year of employment, and the same province or territory for work and residence. Annual pension and RRSP deductions are assumed eligible for deduction. Confirm your RRSP room with CRA; it cannot be inferred from this year’s salary alone.

What is outside this estimate

Tax-return-only low-income reductions and refundable benefits, family and age credits, tuition, donations, Québec living-alone credits, northern deductions, investment or self-employment income, pension adjustments, and employer matching are excluded. Personal circumstances can change the result. This is a basic-credit planning model, not a tax return or an official payroll withholding engine.

Annual net pay is divided evenly for the pay-frequency view. Actual cheques vary when CPP or EI reaches its yearly limit, with bonus withholding, and with mid-year payroll catch-up changes. Deduction-based tax reductions are not a guaranteed refund and do not include changes to income-tested benefits.

Independent checks

A $100,000 Ontario salary with no optional deductions gives an estimated annual take-home of $74,206.13, including a $750 health premium. The same simplified Québec illustration gives $69,585.10. These worked examples reconcile federal and provincial brackets, credits, and employee contributions.

• CRA 2026 payroll formulas and contribution limits
• CRA July 2026 amendments, including full-year Option 2 values
• CRA 2026 federal, provincial and territorial brackets
• Revenu Québec 2026 tax, QPP, QPIP and workers' deduction
• Revenu Québec workers' deduction calculation
• Northwest Territories employee payroll tax
• Nunavut employee payroll tax