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Maternity leave allowance

Last updated on October 17, 2025

Sometimes called a "top up", the maternity leave allowance supplements the amount you receive from Employment Insurance (EI) during your maternity leave.

Eligibility

You're eligible for the allowance if you're receiving EI benefits and are:

Amount

Benefit waiting period allowance

For claims starting between March 30 and October 11, 2025, Employment Insurance is waiving the one-week waiting period before they process your first payment. If you meet the maternity leave allowance eligibility criteria, you may want to consider serving this waiting period.

Serving the waiting period means you will receive an allowance of 85% of your basic pay for the EI waiting period if:

  • You are required by Employment Insurance to serve a one-week waiting period for Employment Insurance Maternity benefits, and
  • You qualify for maternity leave allowance

The maternity allowance amount is calculated as follows:

85% of your weekly gross basic pay (weekly earnings)
minus
Employment Insurance (EI) weekly gross maternity benefit
minus
any additional earnings reported
equals
your weekly gross maternity leave allowance amount
(for up to 15 weeks)

Salary used to calculate the allowance

  • The allowance is calculated according to your base position, except if you're on a temporary assignment (TA)
  • Your allowance will be recalculated if your position's wage increases during your leave for certain reasons (for example, across the board increases)

If you're on a TA at the time of your leave:

  • Your allowance is calculated based on the TA salary
  • If your TA is scheduled to end during your leave and does end, your allowance is recalculated using the basic pay amount for your base position for the rest of your leave

If your earnings change at any time during your maternity leave:

  • You are required to report the earnings to both EI and your employer to avoid overpayment
  • Your allowance will be reduced dollar-for-dollar based on the earnings that are reported

Income tax implications

Income tax is deducted from maternity leave allowance and EI payments. You may want to discuss your personal tax situation with an independent financial adviser.

You can choose to have additional taxes deducted to cover the income earned from both sources.

Submit a federal TD1 form (Canada Revenue Agency) through an AskMyHRRestricted Access service request using the categories: Myself (or) My Team or Organization > Submit a Form or Document > Direct Deposit/Tax Forms (TD1) or by fax to 250-652-2155.

Remember to complete a TD1 when you return to work if you wish to stop having additional taxes deducted.

Not claiming, or choosing to defer, the allowance

If you're not sure you want to claim the maternity leave allowance for whatever reason, including that you have not decided if you’ll return to work after your leave, you may choose to defer the allowance.

You can defer the allowance up to the end of the return-to-work repayment period. The return-to-work repayment period is 6 months or the length of your leave, whichever is longer. Let your supervisor know if you choose to defer.

Refer to the Benefits while on leave or layoff page to learn about your benefits.

Have questions?

Contact AskMyHR (IDIR restricted) by submitting a service request using the categories: Myself (or) My Team or Organization > Pay > Allowances & Reimbursements