CPP overpayment refund: line 44800 for employees, PD24 for employers

Who gets the overpaid CPP or EI back, and by when?

It depends on why too much was taken. If your payroll overdeducted, both shares can come back. If the employee simply had more than one employer, only the employee's share does: the CRA says an employer isn't entitled to a refund of its share in that case, for CPP canada.ca and for EI canada.ca.

The 4 year limit for CPP comes from section 38 of the Canada Pension Plan laws-lois.justice.gc.ca, and the 3 year limit for EI from section 96 of the Employment Insurance Act laws-lois.justice.gc.ca. The CRA applies the same limits to the employer's application canada.ca. As of October 2026, that leaves 2022 as the oldest CPP year and 2023 as the oldest EI year still open, both closing December 31, 2026.

How much comes back on the T1 when your client had two jobs in 2026?

Less than total deducted minus the maximum, because Schedule 8 nets any CPP2 your client should have paid against the base overpayment. Line 24 of the schedule adds the base and first additional excess to the CPP2 difference, which goes negative when neither job reached the YMPE, and only the net goes on line 44800 canada.ca. The 2026 schedule isn't out as of October 2026, so this example runs the 2025 method on the 2026 figures from CPP max 2026.

Worked example: your client earns $60,000 at job A and $40,000 at job B in 2026, outside Quebec, and each employer spreads the $3,500 basic exemption over a full year.

Schedule 8 still gives the credit and deduction on the required amounts: $3,519.45 of base contributions on line 30800, and $1,127 on line 22215 ($711 first additional plus $416 of CPP2). The CPP2 your client never paid through payroll is effectively paid out of the refund.

EI has no second tier, so the excess is simply the difference. The two employers deducted $978.00 and $652.00 at 1.63%, which is $1,630.00 against the $1,123.07 maximum from EI max 2026, so $506.93 comes back on line 45000 canada.ca. Your client can check the figure on Form T2204 canada.ca.

The employers stay out of pocket. Their CPP and CPP2 together come to $5,533.50, which is $887.05 more than the $4,646.45 one employer would have paid. Their EI at 1.4 times comes to $2,282.00, which is $709.70 more than $1,572.30. None of that is refundable.

What do you do when your own payroll took too much?

Fix it in the same calendar year if you can. Reimburse the employee, adjust your payroll records, and use the credit that creates on your payroll account to reduce your remittances later in the same year. Leave the reimbursed amount off the T4 canada.ca. No PD24 is needed.

If you can't reimburse the employee, report the total CPP or EI actually deducted on the T4, overpayment included, and correct the pensionable or insurable earnings canada.ca. The CRA credits the excess to the employee when they file their return canada.ca. Where the slip is already filed and the earnings boxes were wrong, the fix goes on a T4 amendment.

Then ask for your own share back. The CRA takes the request through its online services once you sign in to your CRA account, which it calls the faster route, or on Form PD24 by mail. You can send it with your information return or later, up to 4 years after the end of the year for CPP and 3 years for EI canada.ca. PD24 is the employer's application for overdeducted CPP or EI canada.ca.

One shortcut is off the table: you can't recharacterize the pay, for example from salary to dividends, to make a deduction error disappear canada.ca.

Why can an employee overpay CPP without reaching the maximum?

Because the maximum is prorated by month in some years. Schedule 8 counts only the months CPP applied: after the month your client turned 18, months without a CPP or QPP disability pension, months up to a CPT30 election at 65 to 69, months up to the month they turned 70, and months up to death canada.ca. Payroll that kept deducting past those points creates an overpayment the T1 refunds. For the election itself, see CPT30.

EI has its own small earnings rule. If your client's insurable earnings for the year are $2,000 or less, all the premiums are refunded laws-lois.justice.gc.ca. They claim nothing on line 31200 and put the amount on line 45000 instead canada.ca. Insurable earnings are in T4 box 24, or box 14 when box 24 is blank.

Where does the excess go for Quebec and interprovincial workers?

A client who lived in Quebec on December 31 doesn't use line 44800. Excess QPP is claimed on the Revenu Québec return, and the CRA points to line 452 of the Revenu Québec guide canada.ca. A client outside Quebec whose T4 shows QPP contributions completes Form RC381 instead of Schedule 8 canada.ca.

Excess EI for a Quebec resident still goes on line 45000, but through Schedule 10. The refund is first reduced by any QPIP premiums owed on line 31210, and that portion is transferred to Revenu Québec canada.ca.

When can a successor employer avoid restarting deductions?

When a business is bought or restructured partway through the year, the new employer may count what the old one already deducted for CPP and EI. It applies when the new employer immediately succeeds the old one through the formation or dissolution of a corporation or the acquisition of all or part of a business, with the former employer's agreement or by operation of law, under CPP section 9(2) and EI Act section 82.1 canada.ca.

It's optional, and "immediately" allows a reasonable delay. Where the conditions aren't met, the new employer starts from zero like any other new employer, and the employee recovers the excess on the T1 canada.ca. If you're unsure whether a reorganization qualifies, the CRA takes CPP/EI ruling requests canada.ca.