Passive Income

Canada uses a progressive system, so only the income falling inside a bracket is taxed at that bracket's rate. Moving into a higher bracket never raises the tax on the income below it. You face a federal set of brackets plus a provincial or territorial set, and both are indexed most years. Credits, starting with the basic personal amount, then reduce the calculated tax. Look up the brackets for the specific tax year before planning around them.

Federal tax is the share of income tax that goes to the federal government, charged on taxable income in graduated brackets that are the same everywhere in Canada. Your total bill is that federal amount plus your province or territory's own tax, less the credits you claim. Payroll deductions shown on a T4 cover both layers. Quebec residents receive a refundable abatement of their federal tax because Quebec opted out of certain federal-provincial programs and funds them itself; separately, Quebec also collects its provincial tax through its own return.

You owe a balance when the tax withheld or paid during the year came to less than your total tax for the year. Common causes are two employers each applying the basic personal amount, self-employment or rental income with no withholding at all, investment income, RRSP withdrawals taxed at a flat rate, and CPP or OAS with little tax taken off. For the 2025 tax year the balance was due 30 April 2026. Extra withholding or instalments stops it recurring.

A new assessed value or municipal rate applies for the tax year the municipality sets it for, not from the day you receive the notice. Provincial assessment bodies value properties as at a fixed valuation date and phase increases in over a cycle, then councils set the annual rates, which appear on the final bill rather than the interim one. A reassessment after a renovation or a change in use can be billed back to its effective date.