Avanti Software

Canadian Payroll Guide

Payroll can be complicated. From keeping up on regular legislative changes, calculating deductions and remittances, to running payroll and managing year-end—it’s a lot.

To help you stay up-to-date and organized, we put together a comprehensive Canadian Payroll Guide. You can use the guide to access the latest information from local governments and industry leaders like the National Payroll Institute. Think of this as your resource for all the information you need to pay your employees accurately and on time.

Avanti’s Canadian Payroll Guide

Statutory Holidays

CPP/QPP & eCPP/eQPP

EI/QPIP Information

Parental Leave & Benefits

Federal & Provincial Tax Credits

Pension Adjustment Limits

Workers' Compensation

Vacationable Earnings

Employee Tax Slips

In this guide, we aim to provide you with general payroll information, but when in doubt, please refer to the Canadian Revenue Agency’s (CRA) T4001 Employers' Guide - Payroll Deductions and Remittances. This legislation defines all the withholding, remitting, and reporting obligations you have as an employer. It does not apply if you are self-employed and require coverage under the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) or employment insurance (EI).

Notice a typo or error? Have questions not featured in this guide?
‍Let us know! Send an email to mkrstanovic@avanti.ca – we're happy to help.

Additional Resources

Managing Year-End

We don’t need to tell you how challenging year-end can be. To lend a hand, we’ve put together comprehensive year-end resources to help you with everything from preparation to managing employee tax slips. Our goal is to make the process as smooth as possible for you.

Payroll Calculators

Gross Salary Calculator

Need to start with an employee’s net (after-tax) pay and work your way back to gross pay? Check out our Gross Salary Calculator.

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Bonus Calculator

Have a specific bonus amount you’d like your employee to receive after taxes? Avanti’s easy-to-use Bonus Calculator will determine the right pre-tax amount.

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How the right technology sets you up for success

The future of Canadian payroll is evolving and with the right tools, payroll professionals are positioned to move into stronger strategic roles.

The key is using powerful payroll software to your advantage. By automating time-consuming tasks, you can focus on big-picture initiatives. With real-time data and analytics, you can make informed decisions faster, identify trends, and flag inefficiencies. And with assured regulatory compliance, you can place your energy where it counts.

Reduce time-consuming payroll tasks

Manual tasks eat up a lot of your time, but they don’t have to with the right tools. Find out how much time you could save each week on tedious manual tasks like collecting time and attendance data, producing payroll journal entries, creating reports, and more.

Save Time on Payroll

Finding the right HCM solution

If you’re thinking about a new payroll and HR solution, we’ve got you covered with our in-depth HCM Buyer’s Guide. In it, you’ll find information on the value of HCM as well as an extensive feature list and comparison guide to help you align your needs to the right solution.

HCM Buyer's Guide

Making sense of legislation

When you have questions about legislation that you can’t make sense of or need clarification on legislative updates, visit the National Payroll Institute (NPI), formerly the Canadian Payroll Association.

Better yet, we recommend becoming a member! There are countless benefits to membership, including compliance resources, access to Payroll Advisors and NPI’s Payroll InfoLine for all your burning questions, professional certification programs, and more.

NPI is your partner in Canadian payroll, helping you stay ahead of constantly changing issues, trends, compliance, and legislation!

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Disclaimer: The information provided in this guide is for informational purposes only. It is not professional financial or legal advice nor is it intended to be a substitute therefore. Where there are discrepancies between the guide and information provided by the federal government, provincial government, or the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) or Revenu Québec, defer to the guidelines provided by the governing agencies.