National ranking · 2026
Provinces ranked by RRSP deferral wedge
The gap between each province's top and bottom marginal rate, how much the value of an RRSP deduction can swing across the income scale within one province.
- 15.4 pts
- Widest (British Columbia)
- 4.0 pts
- Narrowest (Saskatchewan)
- 13
- Jurisdictions
British Columbia has the widest provincial deferral wedge in 2026 at 15.4 pts (5.06% to 20.50%).
The "deferral wedge" is a province's top marginal rate minus its bottom rate, the maximum swing in RRSP deduction value across the income scale within that province. In 2026 it ranges from 4.0 pts in Saskatchewan to 15.4 pts in British Columbia. A wider wedge means deferring income from a high-earning year to a low-earning retirement year captures more within the same province.
- 15.4 pts widest (British Columbia)
- 4.0 pts narrowest (Saskatchewan)
- 13 jurisdictions
The list in one line
British Columbia offers the widest deferral wedge at 15.4 pts, with Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia close behind, the more progressive the schedule, the more an RRSP rewards shifting income to a lower-rate year.
- 15.4 pts
- #1 British Columbia
- 13.1 pts
- #2 Newfoundland and Labrador
- 12.2 pts
- #3 Nova Scotia
- 4.0 pts
- #13 Saskatchewan - bottom of this complete national list
Wedge = top provincial rate − bottom provincial rate, rendered live from each schedule.
Deferral wedge, widest to narrowest
Source: provincial finance-ministry 2026 bracket schedules, compiled by PlainRRSP.
Full ranking
| # | Province | Wedge |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | British Columbia | 15.4 pts |
| 2 | Newfoundland and Labrador | 13.1 pts |
| 3 | Nova Scotia | 12.2 pts |
| 4 | Quebec | 11.8 pts |
| 5 | New Brunswick | 10.1 pts |
| 6 | Prince Edward Island | 9.5 pts |
| 7 | Yukon | 8.6 pts |
| 8 | Northwest Territories | 8.2 pts |
| 9 | Ontario | 8.1 pts |
| 10 | Nunavut | 7.5 pts |
| 11 | Alberta | 7.0 pts |
| 12 | Manitoba | 6.6 pts |
| 13 | Saskatchewan | 4.0 pts |
What the wedge tells you
A wider wedge rewards timing your RRSP deduction to a high-rate year.
- If you live in a wide-wedge province like British Columbia, deferring income from a peak-earning year to retirement captures the most, model your own gap. Open the calculator
- Compare the top-rate and entry-rate lenses too, they rank provinces differently. Top marginal rate
- Open your province for its full bracket schedule and combined-rate-by-income table. All provinces
The wedge reflects only within-province bracket spread, not the federal schedule or your personal rate path. Reference data, not tax advice.
Every figure on PlainRRSP is rendered directly from official Canada Revenue Agency registered-plan limits and each province's published marginal-rate schedule, no number is typed in by an editor. Wedges are computed live from each province's published bracket schedule. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, the public data change log, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026 tax year.