Maximum assessable earnings (WCB)

The most a workers' compensation board counts of one worker's yearly pay when setting premiums and benefits. Each board sets its own cap every year.

Also called: maximum insurable earnings, WCB earnings cap, maximum assessable payroll, MAE

What maximum assessable earnings (WCB) means

Maximum assessable earnings is the highest amount of a single worker's earnings in a year that a workers' compensation board will count. Some boards call it maximum insurable earnings. Pay above the cap does not attract premiums, and the same cap usually limits the earnings used to work out that worker's wage-loss benefits.

For an employer, the cap matters when you report payroll and estimate your premium. If an employee earns more than the cap, you report only the capped amount for that person as assessable payroll. If you report everyone's full pay, you may overpay.

Each board sets its own cap, and most change it every year, usually publishing the next year's figure between August and December.

How it works

Work it out worker by worker. For each employee, take their assessable earnings for the year (what counts as earnings is set by your board) and compare it with the cap. Use whichever is lower. Add up the capped amounts for all workers to get your assessable payroll, then multiply by your rate per $100.

The cap only affects higher earners. For most small businesses, few if any employees earn above the cap, so the cap changes little. It matters most for owners or managers on a salary, or for skilled trades with a lot of overtime.

Keep an eye on the date. The cap applies to the calendar year, so a worker's earnings are counted up to the cap from January, and you stop counting once they reach it. A worker who reaches the cap in October adds nothing more to assessable payroll for the rest of that year.

Common mistakes: reporting full salaries above the cap, applying one province's cap to workers in another province, and using last year's figure after it has changed.

Maximum assessable earnings (WCB) by province

Each board sets its own cap. These are the 2026 maximum assessable or insurable earnings per worker, checked on 27 October 2026.

Where the work is done	The rule
British Columbia	WorkSafeBC: $127,500.
Alberta	WCB Alberta: $110,900.
Saskatchewan	WCB Saskatchewan: $108,223.
Manitoba	WCB Manitoba: $171,500.
Ontario	WSIB: $121,700.
Quebec	CNESST: $103,000.
New Brunswick	WorkSafeNB: $85,800.
Nova Scotia	WCB Nova Scotia: $79,900. Rises to $83,300 in 2027.
Prince Edward Island	WCB PEI: $89,300.
Newfoundland and Labrador	WorkplaceNL: $80,935.
Yukon	Yukon Workers' Safety and Compensation Board: $107,599. Rises to $111,580 in 2027.
Northwest Territories	WSCC: $116,000.
Nunavut	WSCC: $117,300.

Only Nova Scotia and Yukon had published 2027 figures when we checked.

Example: A New Brunswick machine shop

Kevin owns a machine shop in Fredericton with 5 employees. Four earn $60,000 each in 2026, and his shop foreman earns $95,000. WorkSafeNB's 2026 maximum assessable earnings is $85,800.

Kevin counts $60,000 for each of the four machinists ($240,000) and only $85,800 for the foreman, for a total assessable payroll of $325,800. If his rate were $2.00 per $100, his premium would be $325,800 divided by 100, times $2.00, which is $6,516. Reporting the foreman's full $95,000 would have added $184 to the bill.

Free WCB calculators

Staffkin's free WCB premium calculator applies each board's 2026 maximum assessable earnings to every worker for you, then multiplies by your rate.

Estimate your WCB premium

Free tools and guides for this

Questions about maximum assessable earnings (WCB)

What is the WCB maximum assessable earnings for 2026?

It depends on the board. In 2026 it ranges from $79,900 in Nova Scotia to $171,500 in Manitoba.

Do I pay WCB premiums on earnings above the maximum?

No. Earnings above the board's cap for a worker do not attract premiums for that year.

Does the cap limit injured workers' benefits?

Usually yes. Boards generally use the same cap as the most earnings they will use to calculate wage-loss benefits.

Official sources

General information for Canadian employers, not legal advice. Rules differ by province and territory and change over time, so check with your provincial employment standards office (or the federal Labour Program if you are federally regulated) before you rely on it. See employment standards by province.

Checked against official sources on 4 November 2026.