Scenario A
Dental assistant
—
Included annual cost
BC dental hiring cost calculator · 2026 · Free tool
A new team member.
A clearer cost picture.
Look beyond the hourly rate. Compare two full-year hiring budgets, including employer contributions and the costs you choose to add.
See the assumptionsBritish Columbia · 2026 rates · CAD. One employee per scenario, employed throughout a full calendar year. Not a take-home pay, mid-year start, or payroll-remittance calculator.
For a standard CPP- and EI-eligible employee, with no special contribution exemptions or reduced employer EI rate. Contractor and associate compensation are outside this tool’s scope.
What your assumptions add up to
The cost beyond the wage.
Scenario B
Dental assistant
—
Included annual cost
Both bars use the same scale. Wages include any added vacation allowance. The table below provides the exact amounts.
| Cost item | Scenario A | Scenario B |
|---|---|---|
| Regular wages | — | — |
| Additional cash wages | — | — |
| Added vacation allowance | — | — |
| Employer CPP | — | — |
| Employer CPP2 | — | — |
| Employer EI | — | — |
| Non-taxable benefits | — | — |
| WorkSafeBC allowance | — | — |
| Employer health tax allowance | — | — |
| Other non-wage costs | — | — |
| Included annual cost | — | — |
“Not entered” is not zero. These are subtotals of the costs included, not a guarantee of the complete cost of employment. Employee income tax and employee CPP/EI deductions are already part of gross wages—not extra employer costs.
Transparent by design
What goes into the estimate.
Start with the cash wages.
Regular wages = hourly wage × paid hours per week × paid weeks. Additional cash wages are added once. The selected vacation allowance is 4% or 6% of those wages, or zero extra when your vacation budget is already included. This is a simplified allowance, not a statutory vacation-pay ledger.
Add the employer’s share.
We apply the 2026 employer CPP, CPP2 and standard EI rates to the model’s gross cash wages, using the annual limits below. Each cost item is rounded to cents before adding the total. The employee’s share is not added again.
Keep practice-specific costs visible.
Add employer-paid non-taxable benefits, other non-wage costs, and your own WorkSafeBC and incremental employer health tax allowances. We do not guess an insurance classification, exemption or practice-wide payroll total.
Compare budgets—not paycheques.
The month and pay-period views simply divide the annual budget. Actual payroll depends on payment timing, year-to-date amounts, employee eligibility and pay-period exemptions. A mid-year start needs a separate calculation.
A worked example
Illustrative only: $35 per hour × 32 paid hours × 50 weeks gives $56,000.00 in regular wages. Adding a 4% vacation allowance gives $2,240.00 more. The model adds $3,257.03 in employer CPP, $0.00 in CPP2 and $1,329.04 in employer EI. With $2,400.00 in non-taxable benefits and $500.00 in other non-wage costs, the included annual budget is $65,726.07.
WorkSafeBC and employer health tax are excluded from this example. No additional holiday, sick-leave, overtime or replacement-staffing allowance has been added. This example stays fixed when you change the calculator.
2026 rates used
- Employer CPP
- 5.95% above the $3,500 annual exemption, up to $74,600 in pensionable earnings; maximum $4,230.45. [1]
- Employer CPP2
- 4% on earnings above $74,600 up to $85,000; maximum $416. [5]
Rates checked September 15, 2026. This tool is fixed to the 2026 rate year; it does not automatically update for future years.
Before you make the hire.
How do I avoid counting vacation pay twice?
If your paid weeks or additional wages already include the vacation budget, choose “Already in paid weeks / extra wages.” Otherwise choose an added allowance and exclude the same vacation pay from those inputs. BC generally requires at least 4% vacation pay and at least 6% after five years; actual BC vacation pay uses previous-year wages, including vacation pay already paid. Entitlement and timing require separate review. Vacation pay does not replace the requirement to take vacation time. [3]
Does this include statutory holidays, sick leave or overtime?
Not automatically. Include paid time in your wage assumptions or add an annual cash-wage allowance, but do not count it in both places. The tool does not determine eligibility, daily overtime, holiday premiums, replacement staffing, termination obligations or legal compliance. A weekly total of 40 hours does not rule out daily overtime.
Why are WorkSafeBC and employer health tax left blank?
WorkSafeBC premiums depend on your assessable payroll and applicable rate, including experience rating. BC employer health tax depends on the employer’s remuneration and may involve associated-employer or other special rules. Use your practice’s assessment or professional advice to estimate the added cost for each scenario. Blank means excluded, not exempt. [4] [7]
Can I estimate the cost of extra hours for an existing employee?
Yes. Put the employee’s complete current full-year wage budget in Scenario A and their complete proposed full-year budget in Scenario B. The difference estimates the added cost under those assumptions. Do not enter only the extra shift’s wages: annual CPP and EI limits apply to the employee’s total with that employer. To compare that increase with a separate new hire, calculate the new hire’s full-year budget separately; comparing two employees’ total costs does not account for an existing employee you keep.
Are my figures saved or sent to Orus?
The calculator uses your browser’s memory only. It does not store your entries, send them to Orus, or add them to an enquiry. Reset or reload clears your changes. Do not enter employee names, SINs, banking information or payroll records. Following a source link visits that source’s website.
Sources & scope
Prepared by Orus Management, providing dental bookkeeping and payroll support for practices in Greater Vancouver. Meet the people behind Orus. This free calculator is an educational budgeting aid; no signup is required. This is not employment, legal or tax advice, a payroll deduction calculation, or a guarantee of the cost of a hire. Confirm the role’s classification, wage requirements, vacation treatment and employer obligations with your payroll adviser.
A steadier payroll routine
Plan the hire.
Make the everyday easier.
Orus helps dental practices organize recurring payroll, records and approvals around an agreed process.