National ranking · 2026
Provinces ranked by lowest entry-bracket rate
The marginal rate on the first dollar of provincial tax, the band where the TFSA's tax-free withdrawal tends to beat the RRSP deduction.
- 4.00%
- Lowest (Nunavut)
- 14.00%
- Highest (Quebec)
- 13
- Jurisdictions
Nunavut has the lowest provincial entry-bracket rate in 2026 at 4.00%; Quebec has the highest at 14.00%.
The entry-bracket rate is the marginal rate on a province's lowest income band. In 2026 it ranges from 4.00% in Nunavut to 14.00% in Quebec. For lower-income earners, a low entry rate makes the TFSA relatively more attractive than the RRSP, you pay little tax now and withdraw tax-free later.
- 4.00% lowest (Nunavut)
- 14.00% highest (Quebec)
- 13 jurisdictions
The list in one line
Nunavut taxes the first band lightest at 4.00%, with Ontario and British Columbia next, the lower the entry rate, the more a low earner should lean TFSA over RRSP.
- 4.00%
- #1 Nunavut
- 5.05%
- #2 Ontario
- 5.06%
- #3 British Columbia
- 14.00%
- #13 Quebec - bottom of this complete national list
Entry rate = the lowest provincial bracket, rendered live from each schedule.
Entry-bracket rate, lowest to highest
Source: provincial finance-ministry 2026 bracket schedules, compiled by PlainRRSP.
Full ranking
| # | Province | Entry rate | Top rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nunavut | 4.00% | 11.50% |
| 2 | Ontario | 5.05% | 13.16% |
| 3 | British Columbia | 5.06% | 20.50% |
| 4 | Northwest Territories | 5.90% | 14.05% |
| 5 | Yukon | 6.40% | 15.00% |
| 6 | Alberta | 8.00% | 15.00% |
| 7 | Newfoundland and Labrador | 8.70% | 21.80% |
| 8 | Nova Scotia | 8.79% | 21.00% |
| 9 | New Brunswick | 9.40% | 19.50% |
| 10 | Prince Edward Island | 9.50% | 19.00% |
| 11 | Saskatchewan | 10.50% | 14.50% |
| 12 | Manitoba | 10.80% | 17.40% |
| 13 | Quebec | 14.00% | 25.75% |
What the entry rate tells you
A low entry rate tilts the early-career decision toward the TFSA.
- In a low-entry-rate province like Nunavut, a lower earner pays little tax now, the TFSA's tax-free withdrawal often beats the small RRSP deduction. RRSP vs TFSA
- Model the actual dollar difference for your income before deciding. Open the calculator
- Compare the top-rate and deferral-wedge lenses, they tell a different story for high earners. Deferral wedge
Entry rate is the lowest provincial band only; your actual rate depends on total income and the federal schedule. 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. Entry rates are read 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.