CPP, EI hikes hitting Canadian paycheques

Working Canadians can expect a hit to the wallet as they welcome in 2013, mostly in the form of higher payroll deductions.

Besides the bills many people will face from holiday shopping, there will be increases to Canada Pension Plan and Employment Insurance premiums.

Canadians earning at least $47,400 will pay $891.12 in EI premiums this year, up $51.50. Employers will pay $1,247.57 per employee, an increase of $71.61.

For anybody earning at least $51,100, Canada Pension Plan contributions are going up $49.50 to $2,356.20, with the employer’s share jumping the same amount.

CPP benefits will increase by 1.8 per cent for those already receiving them.

The maximum CPP retirement benefit for new recipients will increase from $986.67 to $1,012.50 per month. This increase is calculated on the average yearly maximum pensionable earnings for the last five years.

In British Columbia, workers will be hit with higher payroll health tax hikes for the fourth consecutive year.

The increased Medical Services Premium in B.C. means an individual making over $30,000 will have to pay $66.50, up from $64.

A family of three or more will end up paying $133 a month, up from $128, and the rate for two-person famlies will increase from $116 to $120.50

In Ontario, the new year means the top tax rate for the biggest earners in the province — those earning more than $500,000 — will increase by just under two percentage points from last year.

Elsewhere, a greater number of taxpayers in Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Manitoba will enter higher tax brackets and therefore be subject to more income tax.

An extra income tax bracket will be added in Quebec, along with a higher rate of health tax for the wealthiest and greater contribution rates for the province’s pension plan and its parental benefits plan.

Quebecers will also be hit with increases in the so-called "sin taxes" on alcohol and tobacco.