Enter your corporate profit and personal income needs to see a side-by-side after-tax comparison across salary, dividends, and the Zenbooks blended approach.
2026 Rates | All Canadian Provinces | CPP, SBD and Dividend Tax Credit Included
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Your Situation
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Income & Province
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Your Results
Your Personal Situation
These factors affect which compensation structure makes the most sense for you. Check everything that applies.
Which of these apply to you?
Planning to contribute to RRSPSalary creates RRSP room at 18% of earned income, up to $33,810 in 2026. Dividends create none.
Planned RRSP contribution this year
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Default: $20,000. Adjust to your planned contribution.
Have a lower-income spouse or partnerSalary-generated RRSP room lets you contribute to a spousal RRSP. Withdrawals are taxed in their lower-rate hands in retirement.
Have child care expensesThe child care expense deduction requires earned income (salary). Dividend-only earners cannot claim it.
Annual child care costs
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Default: $8,000 (CRA maximum for one child under 7). Adjust as needed.
Significant medical expensesThe medical expense credit applies to amounts above 3% of net income. Income level affects how much of the credit you can claim.
Estimated annual medical expenses
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Default: $5,000. Adjust to your actual costs.
Spouse or partner's net income (for their 3% threshold calculation)
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Default: $50,000. Medical expenses are often best claimed by the lower-income spouse. This field calculates the 3% threshold on their income instead.
Applying for a mortgage or major loan soonLenders treat T4 salary as stable and predictable. Dividend income may be discounted or averaged by underwriters.
Moving expenses to deductMoving expense deductions require earned income at the new location. Dividends do not qualify.
Retirement Investment Strategy
How you plan to build wealth in retirement significantly affects which structure makes the most sense long-term.
How do you plan to invest for retirement? (choose the closest match)
A Note on CPP from Zenbooks
CPP contributions appear in the numbers below. Here is how we think about them.
CPP is not just a cost. It is a retirement security foundation.
At Zenbooks, our view is that CPP broadly breaks even over a lifetime when you compare what you pay in versus what you receive in retirement. But the pure math undersells it. CPP is inflation-indexed, creditor-proof, and survives bankruptcy. For a business owner living with financial risk every day, CPP provides a guaranteed income floor that no investment portfolio can fully replicate. It also includes a disability benefit if you are unable to work. For many entrepreneurs, it is the only source of truly guaranteed retirement income they will ever have. That security has real value.
Corporate and Personal Numbers
Enter your expected 2026 figures. All amounts in Canadian dollars.
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Quebec note: Quebec uses the Quebec Pension Plan (QPP) instead of CPP, and residents file a separate provincial return with Revenu Quebec. The figures shown are approximate. We recommend speaking with a Zenbooks advisor for Quebec-specific planning.
Your 2026 Compensation Comparison
Your target: after-tax cash in hand
Each scenario below shows the gross amount and total tax cost required to put this same amount in your pocket.
What Your Personal Situation Is Worth
These estimates use 2026 rates and your stated inputs. They represent the approximate tax value of each factor under a salary or blended structure compared to dividends only. Actual values depend on your complete tax return. A Zenbooks advisor can calculate the precise figure for your situation.
On CPP: More Than the Numbers Show
The salary and blended scenarios include CPP contributions as a cost. But CPP is not purely a tax. It builds a guaranteed, inflation-indexed retirement benefit that is protected from creditors and survives business failure. For a business owner with no employer pension, CPP may be the most reliable income you will ever have in retirement. The Zenbooks view: the security it provides is worth the cost.
Important caveat: this analysis assumes a standard CCPC with no special tax accounts.
If your corporation has amounts in its Capital Dividend Account (CDA), Eligible or Non-Eligible Refundable Dividend Tax on Hand (ERDTOH or NERDTOH), or a General Rate Income Pool (GRIP), the optimal structure can change significantly. These accounts can allow you to pay dividends with little or no personal tax. A complete analysis requires your full corporate tax return. Book a call to get the full picture.
Your Retirement Strategy and Compensation
How These Numbers Are Calculated
All three scenarios target the same after-tax cash in hand using your stated personal income need. The gross amount drawn differs because each approach has a different tax cost to produce the same net amount.
Salary scenario: The corporation pays a salary large enough that, after personal income tax and employee CPP, you net your target amount. The corporation deducts the salary plus employer CPP. Any corporate profit remaining after salary and employer CPP is taxed at the small business or general corporate rate.
Dividend scenario: No salary is paid. The corporation pays tax on its full profit first (at 12.2% or lower on the first $500,000 under the small business deduction). A dividend is then paid from after-tax corporate funds. The dividend is grossed up on your personal return and a dividend tax credit is applied, recognizing the corporate tax already paid.
Zenbooks blended approach: A base salary covers your personal income need, building RRSP room and qualifying for deductions like child care expenses. The balance of corporate profits stays inside the corporation at the lower tax rate. When additional personal cash is needed beyond the base (a renovation, a vehicle, a family trip), it is drawn as an on-demand dividend. This keeps tax cost low while preserving flexibility and retirement savings capacity.
CPP: 2026 rates. YMPE $74,600, basic exemption $3,500, rate 5.95% each side. CPP2 applies on earnings $74,600 to $85,000 at 4% each side. Both employer and employee CPP are included as a cost to the overall structure.
Ready to build your optimal compensation structure?
These numbers are a starting point. Your actual optimal split depends on your corporate history, retained earnings, special tax accounts, and long-term goals. Our team builds these plans every day.
Important disclaimer
This tool provides illustrative estimates only using 2026 published federal and provincial tax rates. It does not constitute tax advice. Results assume a Canadian-controlled private corporation (CCPC) eligible for the small business deduction, a single shareholder-employee, no prior-year corporate tax accounts (CDA, RDTOH, GRIP), and no other personal income sources. Actual outcomes depend on your specific corporate structure, carried-forward amounts, passive income, family income, and other factors. Please consult a qualified CPA before making compensation decisions. Zenbooks Tax Services Professional Corporation is regulated by CPA Ontario. Rates current as of April 2026.