If you run payroll in Canada you've probably heard of the PDOC — the CRA's Payroll Deductions Online Calculator. It's the official free tool for working out CPP, EI, and income tax per paycheque. This guide explains what PDOC does, how to use it, where it trips people up, and a quicker free alternative.
PDOC (sometimes searched as "pdoc cra" or "pdoc canada") is the Canada Revenue Agency's web calculator that computes statutory payroll deductions for a given pay period, province, and gross amount. It uses the same formulas the CRA publishes in the T4127 Payroll Deductions Formulas guide.
| Issue | What happens |
|---|---|
| No saved history | PDOC doesn't store results — you re-enter every employee, every run |
| Year-to-date maximums | It doesn't track CPP/EI annual maximums across pay runs for you |
| CPP2 second ceiling | Easy to overlook for higher earners ($71,300–$81,200 for 2025) |
| Manual TD1 entry | Wrong claim codes are the #1 source of withholding errors |
Our free Canadian payroll calculator uses the same CRA formulas for every province but presents results faster and cleaner for quick estimates. For a full payroll run with year-to-date tracking and remittances handled, see our Calgary payroll services — or learn the math in our step-by-step payroll deductions guide.
PDOC is the Canada Revenue Agency's Payroll Deductions Online Calculator — a free web tool that calculates CPP, EI, and income tax to withhold from an employee's pay for a given province and pay period, using the CRA's official payroll formulas.
Yes, PDOC uses the CRA's published formulas, so the per-cheque figures are accurate when you enter the correct province, pay frequency, and TD1 claim codes. The most common errors come from wrong TD1 codes or forgetting year-to-date CPP/EI maximums, which PDOC does not track for you.
No. PDOC calculates one pay period at a time and does not remember prior runs, so it won't automatically stop CPP or EI once an employee hits the annual maximum. Payroll software or a bookkeeper tracks year-to-date totals.
Yes — Swift Accounting's free payroll calculator uses the same CRA formulas for all provinces with a quicker interface for estimates, and a full payroll service handles year-to-date tracking and CRA remittances end to end.
Have questions about payroll? Swift Accounting Ltd. helps Calgary business owners get it right. Contact us for a free consultation.
