Vacation Pay Calculator for Canada
The statutory minimum for every province and territory, including the rules generic calculators miss: Saskatchewan's 5.77%, Quebec's 3-year threshold, and BC's vacation pay on vacation pay.
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Your numbers
The formula: vacation pay = gross vacationable wages × your jurisdiction's rate. The result updates as you type, and every rate and threshold comes from the jurisdiction's employment standards legislation, verified against official sources in August 2026.
Minimum vacation pay
$2,600
per vacation year, before deductions
- Vacationable wages
- $65,000
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. This is 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.
Try Wagepoint, Get a $150 Gift CardSee the full Wagepoint offer termsHow this works
Built the way a CPA checks payroll
Every figure traces to a provincial employment standards rule, not a rounded national average.
The calculator multiplies gross vacationable wages by your jurisdiction's statutory rate, choosing the tier your completed years of service have reached. It carries the details that separate correct payroll from almost-correct payroll: Saskatchewan's fractional 5.77% and 7.69% rates, Quebec's three-year threshold, the federal 8% tier at ten years, Yukon's flat 4%, and the BC definition of wages that makes vacation pay itself vacationable.
The full write-up behind these numbers, with worked examples for BC, Ontario, Alberta and Quebec and the termination payout math, is in our guide on how to calculate vacation pay in Canada. Rates verified August 2026 by Sebastien Prost, CPA.
Reference
Every jurisdiction at a glance
The same data the calculator runs on.
| Jurisdiction | Starting minimum | Increases | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| British Columbia | 2 weeks (4%) | 3 weeks (6%) after 5 years | BC counts vacation pay you already paid as vacationable wages, so vacation pay compounds. |
| Alberta | 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. |
| Saskatchewan | 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. |
| Manitoba | 2 weeks (4%) | 3 weeks (6%) after 5 years | |
| Ontario | 2 weeks (4%) | 3 weeks (6%) after 5 years | |
| Quebec | 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. |
| New Brunswick | 2 weeks (4%) | 3 weeks (6%) after 8 years | The Act words the threshold as "more than eight years" of service. |
| Nova Scotia | 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. |
| Prince Edward Island | 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. |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 2 weeks (4%) | 3 weeks (6%) after 15 years | The 3-week bump takes 15 years, the longest threshold in Canada. |
| Yukon | 2 weeks (4%) | No automatic increase | Yukon has no automatic statutory increase; more vacation comes from the employment contract. |
| Northwest Territories | 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. |
| Nunavut | 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. |
| Federal (Canada Labour Code) | 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. |
When to stop calculating
This math is exactly what payroll software is for
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 automatically on a final pay.
Wagepoint
Canadian payroll from $20/mo plus $4 per employee: CRA remittances, T4s, ROEs, and vacation accrual tracked per employee. New customers who sign up through our referral link receive a $150 gift card after their first payroll.
Comparing options first? Our best payroll software in Canada guide covers Wagepoint against Payworks, Rise and QuickBooks Payroll.
Vacation pay FAQ
The rules employers ask about most, answered by a CPA.
How is vacation pay calculated in Canada?
Is this calculator accurate for my province?
What counts as vacationable wages?
How do I calculate vacation pay per pay run?
Does vacation pay increase automatically at an anniversary?
What happens to vacation pay when an employee leaves?
Is vacation pay taxable?
Can an employer pay vacation pay on every cheque instead of when vacation is taken?
The bottom line
Get the minimum right, then automate it
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