National ranking · 2026
Provinces ranked by top marginal tax rate
Every province and territory sorted by its 2026 top marginal personal income-tax rate, the rate that prices RRSP deferral for high earners.
- 25.75%
- Highest (Quebec)
- 11.50%
- Lowest (Nunavut)
- 14.3pt
- Top-rate spread
- 13
- Jurisdictions
Quebec has the highest top marginal provincial tax rate in Canada for 2026 at 25.75%; Nunavut has the lowest at 11.50%.
Across Canada's 13 provinces and territories, 2026 top provincial marginal rates span 14.3 points, from 11.50% in Nunavut to 25.75% in Quebec. Stacked on the federal top rate of 33.00% above $258,482, combined top marginal rates reach 58.75% - the deferral value of an RRSP dollar for a top-bracket earner.
- 25.75% highest (Quebec)
- 11.50% lowest (Nunavut)
- 58.75% highest combined
- 13 jurisdictions
According to the Canada Revenue Agency and the provincial finance ministries, the 2026 top marginal personal income-tax rates across Canada's 13 provinces and territories range by more than 14 percentage points. Quebec sits highest at 25.75% and Nunavut lowest at 11.50%; stacked on the federal top rate of 33% that applies above $258,482 of taxable income in January 2026, the combined top marginal rate a high earner faces can exceed 58%. Because an RRSP deduction is worth that combined rate on the way in, the province you live in materially changes the dollar value of every contribution, see our methodology for how these rates are sourced and combined.
The list in one line
Quebec leads at 25.75% and Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia follow, a 14.3-point gap to Nunavut that swings the value of every deferred RRSP dollar by the same amount.
- 25.75%
- #1 Quebec
- 21.80%
- #2 Newfoundland and Labrador
- 21.00%
- #3 Nova Scotia
- 58.75%
- combined top wedge
Top rate = the highest provincial bracket. Combined rate adds the federal top rate, both live from the published schedules.
Top provincial rate, highest to lowest
Full ranking
| Rank | Province | Top rate | Combined | Brackets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Quebec | 25.75% | 58.75% | 4 |
| 2 | Newfoundland and Labrador | 21.80% | 54.80% | 8 |
| 3 | Nova Scotia | 21.00% | 54.00% | 5 |
| 4 | British Columbia | 20.50% | 53.50% | 7 |
| 5 | New Brunswick | 19.50% | 52.50% | 4 |
| 6 | Prince Edward Island | 19.00% | 52.00% | 5 |
| 7 | Manitoba | 17.40% | 50.40% | 3 |
| 8 | Alberta | 15.00% | 48.00% | 6 |
| 9 | Yukon | 15.00% | 48.00% | 5 |
| 10 | Saskatchewan | 14.50% | 47.50% | 3 |
| 11 | Northwest Territories | 14.05% | 47.05% | 4 |
| 12 | Ontario | 13.16% | 46.16% | 5 |
| 13 | Nunavut | 11.50% | 44.50% | 4 |
Source: each provincial finance ministry's 2026 bracket schedule plus the CRA personal income-tax rates table. Combined rate = provincial top rate + federal top rate (33.00% above $258,482).
Tax-structure map: which provinces reward deferral most
Each province plotted by its entry rate (x) and top rate (y). The upper-left, low entry, high top, is the most progressive, where the RRSP deferral wedge is widest. Hover or tap a point.
Source: provincial finance-ministry 2026 bracket schedules, compiled by PlainRRSP. Dashed lines mark the median entry and top rate.
The steepest climb: Quebec
Quebec tops the table, here is the combined federal-and-provincial marginal rate it produces across the income scale. Hover or tap to read any income.
Source: Quebec + Canada Revenue Agency published 2026 marginal-rate schedules. Combined rate = provincial + federal at each income.
What the top-rate ranking means for RRSP planning
Canada's personal income-tax system is two-layer: a uniform federal schedule (a 14.00% bottom rate rising to 33.00% above $258,482 in 2026) plus each province's own marginal-rate schedule. The combined federal-and-provincial marginal rate sets the real value of every contribution decision. Quebec has the highest provincial top rate at 25.75%, which, stacked on the federal top rate, produces a combined top marginal rate of 58.75%. Nunavut, at 11.50%, sits at the bottom of the table with a combined top rate of 44.50%.
For a top-bracket resident, every dollar deferred into an RRSP today and withdrawn at a lower retirement-income rate captures that full combined-rate spread. The same dollar deferred in a lower-rate jurisdiction captures less on the way in, even though both contributors use the same RRSP room. The TFSA-versus-RRSP decision flips with the rate gap: where the top rate is lower, the TFSA's withdrawal-side exemption is worth relatively more.
One caveat that's easy to miss: Quebec residents file a separate provincial return (TP-1) and receive a 16.5% federal abatement, so Quebec's effective combined rate differs from the simple nominal sum shown here, see the Quebec page for the detail.
What to do with this ranking
Your province sets the deferral value, use it before you choose an account.
- If you live near the top of this table, RRSP deferral shelters more, model your own number. Open the calculator
- Compare the two other ranking lenses before deciding, entry rate and deferral wedge tell a different story. Deferral wedge
- Open your own province for its full bracket schedule and combined-rate-by-income table. All provinces
Combined rates assume top-bracket federal income and ignore Quebec's abatement and surtaxes. 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. Rankings are computed live from each province's published bracket schedule and the federal table. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026 tax year.