EI compassionate care benefits calculator (2026)

In 2026, on a $52,000 salary with 15 weeks of care, EI compassionate care benefits pay $550 a week, $8,250 in total. The benefit is 55% of your average weekly insurable earnings: $52,000 a year is $1,000 a week, and 55% of that is $550. Enter your salary and your weeks above to see your own figure.

EI pays 55% of your average weekly insurable earnings, up to a weekly maximum of $729 in 2026. Earnings above the $68,900 yearly maximum ($1,325 a week) do not raise the benefit: on a $75,000 salary the weekly insurable earnings stop at $1,325, so the benefit is the capped $729 a week. One caveat: Service Canada averages your best weeks, not your salary divided by 52, so if your pay varies, your actual weekly amount may differ from this estimate.

Up to 26 weeks, within a 52-week window. The weeks can be shared between eligible family members, so one person does not have to take all 26. If you had an EI claim in the past 52 weeks, you may not get the full 26 weeks. Enter your own weeks above, up to 26, to see the total paid.

You generally need 600 insured hours of work in the 52 weeks before the start of your claim, regular weekly earnings down by more than 40% for at least one week, and a medical certificate from a doctor or nurse practitioner certifying that your family member has a serious medical condition with a significant risk of death within 26 weeks and needs care or support. Apply as soon as you stop working, and no later than four weeks after your last day of work.

Normally the first week of a claim is an unpaid waiting period. That waiting period is waived for all new claims for EI benefits that start between March 30, 2025 and October 9, 2027, so this calculator charges no waiting-period deduction and the total above starts from week one. The normal 1-week unpaid waiting period returns for claims starting after October 9, 2027.

Yes. EI compassionate care benefits are a federal program, so the amount is the same in every province, including Quebec. QPIP replaces only maternity and parental benefits in Quebec, not caregiving benefits. A Quebec claimant gets the same weekly benefit as a claimant elsewhere on the same earnings: for example, on a $40,000 salary with 8 weeks of care, the benefit is $423 a week either way.

EI compassionate care benefits count as taxable income and must be reported on your tax return, so the figures above are the gross benefit before tax. On a $40,000 salary with 8 weeks of care, the benefit is $423 a week, $3,384 in total, before tax. A separate low-income family supplement can raise the rate to as much as 80% of average weekly insurable earnings. It applies when your net family income is $25,921 or less per year, you have at least one child under 18, and you or your spouse receives the Canada Child Benefit. The supplement amount depends on the number of children in the family and their ages, with an extra amount for each child under 7. It shrinks as income rises, and nothing is payable at $25,921. If you and your spouse both claim EI at the same time, only one of you can receive the supplement, and it is generally better for the spouse with the lower benefit rate to receive it. Even with the supplement, your total weekly benefit cannot exceed $729 in 2026. It exists, but it is not modelled here, so treat the figure above as the standard 55% rate.