The Employer Health Tax is a provincial payroll tax in provinces like Ontario and BC, levied on an employer's total payroll above an exemption threshold.
Several provinces fund health care partly through an employer payroll tax. In Ontario the Employer Health Tax applies above a payroll exemption (around $1 million for eligible private employers); British Columbia, Manitoba and Quebec have their own versions. The tax is on total remuneration, not on profit, so it applies even to a business making no money.
The exemption means many small employers pay little or no EHT, but growing payrolls cross the threshold. It is a cost that scales with headcount and wages, and it is easy to overlook when budgeting the true cost of employing staff.
An Ontario company with $1.5 million in payroll pays EHT on the amount above its roughly $1 million exemption, so on about $500,000, at the applicable rate, regardless of whether it turned a profit.
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Canada runs three systems. The federal GST is 5% for 2026 and applies nationally. Five participating provinces fold a provincial share into one harmonised rate: 13% in Ontario, 15% in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island, and 14% in Nova Scotia since 1 April 2025. Others add their own tax to the 5% GST, giving 12% in British Columbia and Manitoba, 11% in Saskatchewan and 14.975% in Quebec. Alberta and the territories charge 5% only.
A non-refundable credit reduces the tax you owe to zero but no further, so any unused part is lost, carried forward, or transferred to a spouse or parent where the rule allows it. A refundable credit is paid to you even when no tax is owed, which is how benefit-style payments reach people with little or no income. Most personal credits on the federal return, including the basic personal amount, are non-refundable.
Non-taxable income is money you receive that never enters taxable income. Common examples are lottery and most gambling winnings, gifts and inheritances, growth and withdrawals inside a TFSA, the GST/HST credit and Canada child benefit, most life insurance death benefits, and child support under current-rule agreements. A few amounts are reported and then deducted, such as workers' compensation and social assistance, because they still affect benefit calculations, so report anything that arrives on a slip even when no tax results.
Taxable income covers employment income and taxable benefits, self-employment and side income, tips, pensions and registered plan withdrawals, EI and most government support payments, interest, dividends, the taxable part of capital gains, rental profit, and foreign income earned while resident here. Residents report worldwide income, and the absence of a slip does not make an amount exempt. Taxable income is what remains after the deductions you qualify for, and the rates apply to that figure.
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Reviewed and fact-checked by Udit Gupta
Ex Big 4 — Ernst & Young, Deloitte · International & cross-border tax specialist · CPA Canada (In-Depth Tax Program) · Chartered accountant, ICAI & MIA
Udit Gupta has over 15 years of experience helping corporations and business owners with corporate structuring, corporate tax filing, bookkeeping, payroll, GST/HST, cross-border tax and CRA representation. Big 4 trained at Ernst & Young and Deloitte, and qualified as a chartered accountant in India and again in Malaysia, he founded his accounting practice in 2014 to serve entrepreneurs, startups and non-resident business owners across Canada. View full member bio.
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India — member 521458 · Malaysian Institute of Accountants — member CA 44667 · Ex Big 4: Ernst & Young, Deloitte · CPA Canada (In-Depth Tax Program), completed 19 Dec 2023 · In-Depth GST/HST Part I, 12 Jul 2022 · Part II, 5 Jul 2023
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