Rates verified by Sebastien Prost, CPA Checked against each employment standards act Last verified August 2026The statutory minimum for all 14 jurisdictions, including the rules generic calculators miss: Saskatchewan's 5.77%, Quebec's three-year threshold, and BC's vacation pay on vacation pay.
The formula: vacation pay = gross vacationable wages × your jurisdiction's rate. Every rate and threshold comes from the jurisdiction's employment standards legislation, verified against official sources in August 2026.
$2,600
per vacation year, before deductions
Rises to 6% and 3 weeks after 5 years, 2 more years for this employee.
Statutory minimums only. Employment contracts can promise more, never less. General information, not legal or payroll advice.
Tired of tracking this by hand? Wagepoint applies your province's rate, bumps it at the anniversary, and books the accrual on every pay run.
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The calculator picks the tier your years of service have reached, so the anniversary bump shows up the year it applies.
Saskatchewan at 5.77% and 7.69%, Quebec at three years not five, the federal 8% tier at ten years, Yukon flat at 4%, BC making vacation pay itself vacationable.
Each figure comes from the jurisdiction's employment standards legislation, verified August 2026. The full worked examples and termination payout math are in the guide below.
Read the full method with worked examples for BC, Ontario, Alberta and Quebec in how to calculate vacation pay in Canada.
The same data the calculator runs on. Your selection is highlighted.
| Jurisdiction | Starting minimum | Increases | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 weeks (4%) | 3 weeks (6%) after 5 years | BC counts vacation pay you already paid as vacationable wages, so vacation pay compounds. | |
| 2 weeks (4%) | 3 weeks (6%) after 5 years | Alberta uses a narrower wage base than BC or Ontario: overtime and general holiday pay are excluded. | |
| 3 weeks (5.77%) | 4 weeks (7.69%) after 10 years | Saskatchewan starts at 3 weeks (5.77%), the highest minimum in Canada. A 4% payroll default underpays from day one. | |
| 2 weeks (4%) | 3 weeks (6%) after 5 years | ||
| 2 weeks (4%) | 3 weeks (6%) after 5 years | ||
| 2 weeks (4%) | 3 weeks (6%) after 3 years | Quebec bumps to 3 weeks after 3 years, not 5. First-year employees earn 1 day per completed month. | |
| 2 weeks (4%) | 3 weeks (6%) after 8 years | The Act words the threshold as "more than eight years" of service. | |
| 2 weeks (4%) | 2 weeks (6%) after 7 years; 3 weeks (6%) after 8 years | The 6% rate starts a year before the third week: wages from the 8th year of service (after 7 completed years) accrue at 6%, and the 3-week vacation follows the 8th year. | |
| 2 weeks (4%) | 3 weeks (6%) after 5 years | PEI moved to 3 weeks (6%) for service beyond 5 years; many older summaries still say 8. | |
| 2 weeks (4%) | 3 weeks (6%) after 15 years | The 3-week bump takes 15 years, the longest threshold in Canada. | |
| 2 weeks (4%) | No automatic increase | Yukon has no automatic statutory increase; more vacation comes from the employment contract. | |
| 2 weeks (4%) | 2 weeks (6%) after 5 years; 3 weeks (6%) after 6 years | 6% applies to wages from year 6 (once 5 years are completed); the first 3-week vacation follows year 6. | |
| 2 weeks (4%) | 2 weeks (6%) after 5 years; 3 weeks (6%) after 6 years | 6% applies to wages from year 6 (once 5 years are completed); the first 3-week vacation follows year 6. | |
| 2 weeks (4%) | 3 weeks (6%) after 5 years; 4 weeks (8%) after 10 years | Applies to federally regulated industries: banks, airlines, telecom, interprovincial transport. |
One employee, one province: a calculator is enough. Employees in two provinces, an anniversary that flips someone to 6% mid-year, a Saskatchewan hire accruing at 5.77%: that is when the spreadsheet starts quietly underpaying people. Payroll software applies each employee's provincial rate and tenure on every run and pays out the balance on a final pay.
From $20/mo + $4 per employee
Canadian-built. CRA remittances, T4s and ROEs handled automatically, vacation accrual tracked per employee at the right provincial rate. New customers who sign up through our referral link receive a $50 gift card after their first payroll.
The calculator gives you the statutory floor for any employee in Canada. The errors we find in real books are never the formula; they are the missed anniversary bump and the wrong vacationable base. Software that tracks both is cheaper than one Employment Standards complaint.
Sebastien Prost, CPA · Founder, LedgerLogic · Rates verified August 2026
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