Canada's tax rates vary so much by province — Here's who pays the most (& the least)
Most taxpayers know that how much tax you pay in Canada depends on how much you make — but you might not realize it also depends a lot on where you live.
While every Canadian has to file a return with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), what you actually owe can be very different from province to province — like, thousands of dollars different.
That's because your total income tax bill is made up of two parts: one for the federal government, and one for your province or territory. And while the federal part stays the same no matter where you live (for the most part), each province sets its own tax brackets and rates — and they can vary a ton.
READ ALSO: The CRA has announced a bunch of changes that could impact your 2025 tax return
Most Canadians pay tax based on a "progressive" system, which just means the more you make, the higher your tax rate on each extra dollar.
The CRA and each province also give you a basic personal amount (BPA), which is the first part of your income that isn't taxed at all. After that, your income is split into brackets and taxed at different rates.
To illustrate just how much provincial tax rates can change what you owe — and how they stack up — we crunched the numbers at seven different income levels and calculated the "effective" tax rate in each province.
That's the average amount of tax you pay on every dollar you earn, including both federal and provincial income tax, plus things like the basic personal amount (BPA), Ontario's surtax and the federal tax abatement in Quebec.
These examples don't include any extra deductions or credits beyond the BPA, so your real tax bill could end up being a bit lower depending on what you qualify for. But they do paint a general picture of who's paying the most, who's paying the least and how much your location really matters come tax time.
If you make $25,000...
At this income — equivalent to roughly 27 to 32 hours a week at minimum wage, depending on your province — where you live makes the most noticeable difference.
The lowest tax bill in the country goes to Albertans, who'd owe around $1,500 in 2025 (the vast majority of which is the federal tax portion). That's thanks to Alberta's generous BPA (the highest in the country) and new 8% tax bracket.
Newfoundlanders pay the most at this level, with a tax bill of around $2,498 — a whopping 67% more than in Alberta.
Here's the effective tax rate by province on $25,000:
- Alberta: 6.0%
- Saskatchewan: 7.5%
- British Columbia: 7.6%
- Ontario: 7.6%
- Quebec: 7.9%
- Prince Edward Island: 9.1%
- Manitoba: 9.1%
- New Brunswick: 9.5%
- Nova Scotia: 9.8%
- Newfoundland and Labrador: 10.0%
If you make $50,000...
B.C. and Ontario are in a tight race for the lowest tax bill for the lower-middle income bracket, though once you're earning around $50K — equivalent to a full-time job paying around $25 per hour — Ontario comes out slightly ahead. Here, you'd owe about $6,793 on this income in 2025.
Compare that to a high of $9,475 in Nova Scotia, which takes over from Newfoundland as the most expensive once your income passes around $31K. That's nearly 40% more tax than Ontarians pay.
Here's the effective tax rate by province on $50,000:
- Ontario: 13.6%
- British Columbia: 13.6%
- Alberta: 14.3%
- Saskatchewan: 16.2%
- New Brunswick: 16.7%
- Quebec: 17.0%
- Newfoundland and Labrador: 17.3%
- Manitoba: 17.3%
- Prince Edward Island: 17.9%
- Nova Scotia: 18.9%
If you make $75,000...
In general, B.C. takes the title as the cheapest province for the vast majority of Canadian incomes between about $39,000 to $150,000 (with the exception of Ontario's brief stint at the top from around $49,000 to $59,000). In 2025, British Columbians earning $75K pay around $13,413 in tax.
Nova Scotia, meanwhile, continues to be the most expensive at $18,135 — a 35% difference from B.C.
Here's the effective tax rate by province on $75,000:
- British Columbia: 17.9%
- Ontario: 18.2%
- Alberta: 18.8%
- Saskatchewan: 21.1%
- New Brunswick: 22.0%
- Manitoba: 22.0%
- Newfoundland and Labrador: 22.6%
- Quebec: 22.7%
- Prince Edward Island: 23.1%
- Nova Scotia: 24.2%
If you make $100,000...
Not much changes in the rankings when you hit six figures. B.C. is still the cheapest, with a tax bill of about $20,504. In Nova Scotia, you'd owe around $27,462 — nearly $7,000 more, or 34% higher.
Here's the effective tax rate by province on $100,000:
- British Columbia: 20.5%
- Ontario: 21.2%
- Alberta: 21.7%
- Saskatchewan: 24.1%
- Manitoba: 24.8%
- New Brunswick: 25.1%
- Newfoundland and Labrador: 25.8%
- Quebec: 26.0%
- Prince Edward Island: 26.6%
- Nova Scotia: 27.5%
If you make $250,000...
By this point, Alberta is back on top as the lowest-tax province, with a bill around $80,046.
Meanwhile, Quebec takes over as most expensive for anyone earning between around $154,000 and $263,000. At $250K, for example, Quebecers pay around $97,688 — 22% more than Albertans do.
Here's the effective tax rate by province on $250,000:
- Alberta: 32.0%
- British Columbia: 33.3%
- Saskatchewan: 34.1%
- Ontario: 35.7%
- New Brunswick: 36.7%
- Manitoba: 36.8%
- Newfoundland and Labrador: 37.0%
- Prince Edward Island: 38.0%
- Nova Scotia: 39.0%
- Quebec: 39.1%
If you make $1,000,000...
For big-time earners making seven figures, Alberta remains the best province to pay taxes to, with a total tax bill of around $438,791.
Meanwhile, provinces that go easy on middle-income earners like B.C. and Ontario are quickly falling down the ranks — especially after Ontario's full surtax kicks in at around $110K.
Nova Scotia reclaims the top spot for highest tax burden and becomes the first province to reach an effective tax rate of 50%, with a total tax bill of $502,496 on $1 million.
Here's the effective tax rate by province on $1 million:
- Alberta: 43.9%
- Saskatchewan: 44.1%
- Manitoba: 47.1%
- British Columbia: 48.4%
- New Brunswick: 48.5%
- Prince Edward Island: 48.5%
- Ontario: 49.1%
- Newfoundland and Labrador: 49.8%
- Quebec: 49.7%
- Nova Scotia: 50.2%
If you make $5,000,000...
First of all, congratulations. You must have done something very right (or, frankly, very wrong) to earn that kind of money — but it's not without its burdens.
Saskatchewan actually beats out Alberta for the lowest effective tax rate for ultra-high earners (around $1.5 million and above). CEOs, hedge fund bros and mob bosses (honest ones, anyway) pay around $2.34 million in taxes on $5 million in this province — still well under 50%, which most other provinces have long passed at this point.
Galen Weston Jr., for example, made around $5 million in taxable income in 2024 from his executive role at George Weston Ltd. Assuming he earned the same in 2025, as a resident of Ontario, he'd be looking at a tax bill of about $2.63 million this spring — over half of his taxable earnings.
Meanwhile, Newfoundland and Labrador takes back over as the most expensive province in the country for anyone earning more than $1.7 million or so. In that province, you'd pay about $2.69 million — 15% more than in Saskatchewan.
Here's the effective tax rate by province on $5,000,000:
- Saskatchewan: 46.8%
- Alberta: 47.2%
- Manitoba: 49.7%
- Prince Edward Island: 51.3%
- New Brunswick: 51.7%
- British Columbia: 52.5%
- Quebec: 52.6%
- Ontario: 52.6%
- Nova Scotia: 53.2%
- Newfoundland and Labrador: 53.8%
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