Federal income tax rates
Canada taxes income on a marginal federal scale that applies in every province, plus a set of non-refundable credits valued at the lowest federal rate — chiefly the Basic Personal Amount, which everyone can earn tax-free and which tapers down at high incomes. This page shows the 2026 federal brackets and how the credits work.
One federal scale, everywhere in Canada
Canada taxes income on a marginal federal scale that applies in every province and territory. Income is split into bands, and each band is taxed at its own rate — crucially, a higher rate only ever applies to the income inside that band, not your whole salary. Earning your way into a higher bracket never lowers your take-home pay. Your province then charges its own tax on top (see the provincial page); this page is the federal layer the calculator applies first.
Your employer withholds this tax from each pay and remits it to the CRA on your behalf, so most employees never file to work out the tax itself. The scale below is the one the calculator applies to your taxable income.
Federal income-tax brackets
The federal marginal brackets for 2026. These apply on top of your province’s own tax, and before the non-refundable credits below.
| Taxable income | Federal rate |
|---|---|
| $0 – $58,523 | 14% |
| $58,524 – $117,045 | 20.5% |
| $117,046 – $181,440 | 26% |
| $181,441 – $258,482 | 29% |
| Over $258,482 | 33% |
The Basic Personal Amount — and its high-income taper
Every resident can earn a base amount tax-free, given as a non-refundable credit valued at the lowest federal rate. For 2026 the maximum Basic Personal Amount is $16,452. At higher incomes it tapers: from the bottom of the second-highest bracket ($181,440) it falls in a straight line to a floor of $14,829 at the bottom of the top bracket ($258,482). The calculator applies whichever amount your income lands on.
| Net income | Basic Personal Amount |
|---|---|
| Up to $181,440 | $16,452 |
| $181,440 – $258,482 | Tapers down |
| Over $258,482 | $14,829 |
The Canada Employment Amount
Employees get one more federal credit: the Canada Employment Amount, a credit on the first $1,501 of employment income (valued, like the others, at the lowest federal rate of 14%). It recognises the everyday costs of having a job and is applied automatically. Together with your CPP and EI credits (see the CPP & EI page), these reduce the federal tax the brackets above produce — the calculator nets them out before showing your take-home.
This page is still being expanded. The figures shown are the federal rates in force for 2026, taken from the sources cited above; if a rule changed recently it may not be reflected here yet, and none of them has been through our final sign-off — for an official amount, the CRA is the binding one. The top federal rate is 33%.