Business Calculators
Sales commission calculator.
Enter a sale amount and commission rate to see what's owed. Add an optional quota threshold and accelerator rate for anything sold above it — a common structure for sales reps.
Inputs
Commission owed
Fill the form and press Calculate.
How the accelerator works
With no quota threshold set, commission is simply the sale amount times your rate. With a threshold set, this calculator splits the sale in two: everything up to the threshold earns the base rate, and only the portion above the threshold earns the (usually higher) accelerator rate — the same marginal logic as a tax bracket, applied to a single sale or a period's total sales.
CPP and EI on self-employed commission income
If you're an employee paid partly or fully by commission, your employer handles CPP and EI deductions the normal way, split between you and the employer. This note is for self-employed commission reps — independent contractors, agents, and reps who invoice rather than receive a T4.
CPP is mandatory and doubled. A self-employed person pays both the employee and employer portions of CPP on net self-employment income above the basic exemption, calculated on Schedule 8 of the T1. For 2026 that's a combined rate of 11.90% (double the 5.95% employee rate) on income between the $3,500 basic exemption and the $74,600 Year's Maximum Pensionable Earnings, capping the self-employed contribution at $8,460.90 for the year.
EI is generally not charged, and generally not available. Self-employed commission income normally carries no EI premiums at all, and correspondingly there's no regular EI safety net if the work dries up — no employer half exists to trigger the deduction either way. There is a voluntary opt-in to EI special benefits (maternity, parental, sickness, and family caregiver benefits, up to 55% of earnings to a maximum of $729/week in 2026) through registration with the Canada Employment Insurance Commission, but it requires a waiting period before a claim and locks in ongoing premiums once used, for as long as you remain self-employed.
Sources, read 29 September 2026: CRA — CPP contribution rates, maximums and exemptions (2026 rate, YMPE, exemption, self-employed maximum); Canada.ca — EI special benefits for self-employed people (benefit types and the 2026 $729/week maximum).
Frequently asked questions
Does the accelerator apply retroactively to the whole sale?
Not in this calculator's model. It applies the accelerator rate only to the portion above the threshold, which is how most quota-accelerator plans are structured. Some employer plans instead pay the higher rate on the entire amount once a threshold is crossed — check your specific commission agreement, since both structures exist in practice.
Is commission income taxed differently from salary?
No — for an employee, commission is employment income taxed the same as salary, just reported with a T4 that may show a commission flag. For a self-employed rep, it's business income reported on the T2125, taxed at your marginal rate with no special commission tax treatment.
Why would a self-employed rep opt into EI at all if it costs money going forward?
The special benefits (especially parental and sickness) can be worth far more than the premiums for someone planning a family or with a real health risk. It's a deliberate trade-off, not a safety net for lost business — regular EI for a slow sales quarter or a lost contract still isn't available either way.
Disclaimer
Educational only, not tax or legal advice. Commission plan structures vary by employer and contract — confirm your specific plan's rules, and confirm current CPP/EI rates and thresholds at canada.ca before relying on this for a return.