2025 tax brackets, in plain terms
Canada taxes income in slices, not all at one rate. Here are the 2025 federal brackets, each province's brackets, and the combined marginal rate you actually pay at every income level.
Your real marginal rate is federal + provincial combined. Every province layers its own brackets on top of the federal ones, so the rate on your next dollar depends on where you live and how much you earn. Pick your province below to see every combined bracket.
The 2025 federal brackets
| Taxable income | Federal rate |
|---|---|
| $0 – $57,375 | 15% |
| $57,375 – $114,750 | 20.5% |
| $114,750 – $177,882 | 26% |
| $177,882 – $253,414 | 29% |
| $253,414 and up | 33% |
A blended 14.5% applies for 2025 before the lowest rate drops to 14% in 2026. The Sequencer uses the 2026 indexed rates from the plan's first year onward.
Combined brackets by province
Select your province to see every bracket — federal, provincial, and the combined marginal rate you actually pay on each slice of income.
| Taxable income | Federal | Provincial | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| $0 – $52,886 | 15% | 5.05% | 20.05% |
| $52,886 – $57,375 | 15% | 9.15% | 24.15% |
| $57,375 – $105,775 | 20.5% | 9.15% | 29.65% |
| $105,775 – $114,750 | 20.5% | 11.16% | 31.66% |
| $114,750 – $150,000 | 26% | 11.16% | 37.16% |
| $150,000 – $177,882 | 26% | 12.16% | 38.16% |
| $177,882 – $220,000 | 29% | 12.16% | 41.16% |
| $220,000 – $253,414 | 29% | 13.16% | 42.16% |
| $253,414 – and up | 33% | 13.16% | 46.16% |
Combined rates shown are the marginal rate on income within each slice. Credits (basic personal amount, age amount, pension credit) are not applied here — they lower your effective tax, not the bracket rate itself.
How "marginal" actually works
- •Only the part of your income inside each bracket is taxed at that rate — not your whole income.
- •Your marginal rate is the rate on your next dollar — the top bracket your income reaches.
- •Your average rate (total tax ÷ income) is always lower than your marginal rate.
The basic personal amount (BPA)
- •The first ~$16,129 of income is effectively tax-free thanks to the BPA credit.
- •The BPA shrinks for high earners: it phases down from $16,129 to ~$14,538 as income rises from $177,882 to $253,414.
- •Provinces have their own (usually smaller) basic personal amount on top.
Why it matters for retirement
- •Keeping taxable income in the lowest bracket means every extra dollar of RRIF withdrawal costs only ~20% combined (federal + provincial), not 30%+.
- •Spreading withdrawals to fill — not leap out of — the low brackets is the heart of tax smoothing.
See your marginal rate
The Sequencer shows your marginal rate every year as you adjust withdrawals.
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