Checked 15 October 2026. What was checked. How these pages are maintained.
How vacation pay is estimated
Vacation pay = gross wages × vacation percent. 4% of wages is about 2 weeks on a 52-week year (2 ÷ 52 ≈ 3.85%, rounded to 4% in most employment standards). 6% is about 3 weeks. Some jobs pay vacation as time off instead of a cash percent. This page does not apply a specific province's rules. Ontario, for example, generally uses 4% until five years of service, then 6%. Confirm with your employment standards office or contract.
This is an estimate of gross vacation pay, not net pay and not tax advice.
Worked example
On $52,000 of wages, 4% vacation pay is $2,080. That is the usual two-week statutory percent (2 ÷ 52). At 6% the same wages are $3,120, about three weeks.
Ontario generally moves from 4% to 6% after five years with the same employer. Some union contracts pay more from day one. Vacation percent is often calculated on gross wages including overtime. This is not a net-pay figure.
A percent that stands in for weeks
Four percent of wages is the usual stand-in for two weeks, because 2 ÷ 52 is about 3.85 percent and employment standards round that to 4. Six percent stands in for three weeks. On a $1,840 biweekly gross, 4 percent is $73.60 of vacation pay that period. Twenty-six of those periods are $47,840 of wages and 4 percent is $1,913.60 for the year. At 6 percent the same wages are $2,870.40. The form will also do 8 percent, or a custom percent a contract names.
Cash on each cheque and a paid week off are often alternatives, not a stack. Getting both, without a contract that says so, double-counts. This page only multiplies. It does not know whether you already took the time.
What the percent multiplies
Vacation pay is often calculated on gross wages including overtime, not on the straight-time base alone. If the $1,840 already includes overtime, use it. If you leave overtime out, the vacation dollars come out low. The result is still gross. Tax, CPP, and EI can apply to vacation pay the way they apply to other wages. Ontario generally moves from 4 percent to 6 percent after five years with the same employer. Other provinces and union agreements differ, including the service length that triggers the higher percent. The EI calculator and the CPP calculator are the payroll cousins, and they use the year’s insurable or pensionable earnings, not this vacation slice by itself.
Where this sits on a paycheque
Four percent of wages is not take-home pay. A paycheque is not the hourly rate times the hours shows the other deductions on a $60,000 year.
Common questions
Is vacation pay on overtime too?
Often yes — vacation percent is usually applied to gross wages including overtime. Use the total you were paid in the period.
Do I get both time off and 4%?
Usually one or the other, or time off that is paid. Your contract or provincial rules decide. This tool only multiplies wages by a percent.
When does 6% start?
In several provinces, after five years with the same employer. Some contracts are more generous from day one.