Start with gross income, subtract federal + provincial tax, CPP, and EI, then map fixed expenses, debt payments, and what you're putting away. See your real monthly free cash flow and savings rate.
Key takeaway
Most planning conversations start here. Before you optimize your RRSP, your FHSA, or your portfolio, you need an honest read on what's coming in, what's going out, and what's left. A 15–20% savings rate on take-home is the typical "on track for a reasonable retirement" baseline; under 10% means the rest of the plan is fragile.
The calculator takes your gross income and runs it through the combined 2026 federal + provincial brackets for your province (not a flat rate, but the actual stepped calculation). Then it pulls out CPP (5.95% on earnings up to $71,300, plus 4% on the second tier to $81,200) and EI (1.66% up to $63,200). What's left is your real take-home: the number that actually lands in your bank account each pay period, give or take rounding from your employer's pay-period math.
Most people I work with know their salary cold but couldn't tell me their free cash flow within $1,000. That's the gap this calculator closes. From your take-home, subtract your fixed bills (rent or mortgage, utilities, insurance, transportation), variable spending (groceries, dining, subscriptions), debt payments, and what you're actively saving. What's left is genuinely free: money you could redirect to extra savings, an FHSA top-up, a lifestyle upgrade, or just breathing room. If the number's negative, your plan has a leak and finding it matters more than optimizing anything else.
The calculator's a simplification. It doesn't account for RRSP contributions reducing your taxable income (which would lower your tax bill below what we show), tax credits beyond the basic personal amount, dividend or capital-gain income, business or rental income, or Quebec's separate QPP/QPIP regime. For a salaried T4 employee in most provinces it's within a couple of percentage points of reality. For incorporated business owners drawing dividends, freelancers with multiple income sources, or anyone with a workplace pension, it'll be off. Bring it to a planner or accountant for those situations.
Illustrative only. Not financial, tax, or accounting advice. Use this to spot the shape of your cash flow, then verify with your most recent pay stub.
Pre-tax, pre-deduction salary or business income.
Used to estimate federal + provincial tax.
Rent/mortgage, utilities, insurance, transportation, phone.
Groceries, dining out, subscriptions, entertainment.
Credit-card minimums, student loans, car loan, line of credit.
What you're putting into RRSP / TFSA / FHSA / non-registered each month.
Illustrative only. Not financial, tax, or investment advice. Returns are assumed, not guaranteed; tax rules and rates current as of 2026.
This is the conversation Sam usually starts with. Once you can see the cash-flow shape clearly, the rest of the plan (where to save, what to pay down, what to insure) gets a lot more concrete. Sam will reach out with a 30-minute look.
Sam will see your inputs + outputs before reaching out. Want to pick a time directly?
Pick a time to chatRoughly: 10% of take-home is the floor most planners use as 'on the path.' 15–20% is solid for retiring around age 65 with a meaningful lifestyle. 25%+ is what people pursuing FIRE (financial independence) or early retirement target. The exact right number depends on age, debt, and what you want at the other end. A calculator is a starting point, not an answer.
The usual order: (1) capture any employer RRSP/RPP match (that's free money); (2) build a one-month emergency buffer in a HISA; (3) pay down anything above ~7% interest (credit cards, payday loans, some lines of credit); (4) then alternate between investing and additional debt paydown by comparing your expected investment return to the loan rate.
Three to six months of your fixed monthly expenses (the bills you can't quickly cut) in a high-interest savings account or money-market fund. Six months if you have variable income, dependents, or work in a layoff-prone industry. Three is enough for a dual-income household with steady jobs and no kids.
A starting framework: 50% of take-home pay to 'needs' (housing, utilities, transportation, groceries, insurance), 30% to 'wants' (dining out, subscriptions, hobbies, travel), 20% to savings + debt payoff above the minimum. Useful as a sanity check, not a budget. Most millennial households in major Canadian cities can't hit 50% on housing alone, so the percentages shift.
It's a reasonable estimate, based on combined federal + provincial brackets and approximate CPP + EI for 2026, assuming standard deductions. It doesn't model RRSP contributions reducing your taxable income, tax credits beyond the basic personal amount, business income, dividends, or capital gains, all of which can materially shift the number. Treat it as illustrative, not your tax return.