Guide
Ontario vs B.C. income tax: which province lets you keep more of your pay
B.C.'s top tax rate looks far higher than Ontario's, yet on the same salary B.C. leaves you with more at almost every income. Where the gap comes from, salary by salary, and what else changes if you move.
By Joshua Doodnauth · Updated
On the same salary, British Columbia leaves you with more money than Ontario at almost every income. The gap is small in the middle, $924 a year on a salary of $85,000, and grows quickly once Ontario's surtax starts: $3,057 at $150,000 and $6,681 at $250,000. Ontario comes out ahead only between $30,300 and $40,100, and never by more than $215.
That isn't what the bracket tables suggest. B.C.'s top rate is 20.5%, against 13.16% in Ontario. Pick a salary on the chart to see where the difference comes from, then read on for how it changes as income rises.
Ontario vs B.C.: who keeps more at every salary, 2026
At $85,000, B.C. leaves you $924 more a year than Ontario does.
Where the $924 comes from
Federal tax, CPP and EI are the same in both provinces, so the whole gap is provincial tax, line by line.
| Tax on the brackets | B.C. +$64 |
|---|---|
| Basic personal amount and other credits | B.C. +$110 |
| Ontario surtax | none |
| Ontario Health Premium | B.C. +$750 |
| Take-home gap | B.C. +$924 |
The numbers
| Salary | Keeps more |
|---|---|
| $10,000 | none |
| $20,000 | none |
| $30,000 | B.C. +$18 |
| $40,000 | B.C. +$1 |
| $50,000 | B.C. +$406 |
| $60,000 | B.C. +$415 |
| $70,000 | B.C. +$562 |
| $80,000 | B.C. +$854 |
| $90,000 | B.C. +$996 |
| $100,000 | B.C. +$1,167 |
| $110,000 | B.C. +$1,293 |
| $120,000 | B.C. +$1,724 |
| $130,000 | B.C. +$2,236 |
| $140,000 | B.C. +$2,748 |
| $150,000 | B.C. +$3,057 |
| $160,000 | B.C. +$3,466 |
| $170,000 | B.C. +$3,893 |
| $180,000 | B.C. +$4,320 |
| $190,000 | B.C. +$4,747 |
| $200,000 | B.C. +$4,996 |
| $210,000 | B.C. +$5,363 |
| $220,000 | B.C. +$5,580 |
| $230,000 | B.C. +$5,935 |
| $240,000 | B.C. +$6,308 |
| $250,000 | B.C. +$6,681 |
Only provincial tax differs
Federal tax, CPP and EI depend on your income, not your province, so on the same salary they're identical in Ontario and B.C. Every dollar of difference in your take-home pay comes from provincial tax, and provincial tax has more parts than a bracket table shows:
- The brackets: each province's rate on each slice of your taxable income.
- Credits: mainly the basic personal amount, $12,989 in Ontario and $13,216 in B.C. Each province's credits are worth its lowest tax rate, so B.C.'s basic personal amount takes $740 off your tax and Ontario's $656.
- Low-income credits: Ontario's tax reduction and LIFT credit (up to $875) and the B.C. tax reduction credit (up to $690). Both cancel provincial tax on low incomes and shrink as income rises.
- Ontario's extras: the surtax and the Health Premium, which B.C. doesn't have. Our guide to the Ontario surtax explains both.
Read past the bracket tables
On paper, B.C. looks like the tougher province on high earners. Its top rate of 20.5% applies above $265,545, while Ontario's top rate is 13.16%. But Ontario's surtax is a tax on Ontario tax, so it raises every Ontario rate above the point where it starts. With the surtax folded in, Ontario's top rate is really 20.53%, a touch higher than B.C.'s. Add federal tax and the top rate on each extra dollar is 53.53% in Ontario and 53.50% in B.C.
Put the two provinces' real rates side by side and the pattern is clear:
| Taxable income | Ontario | B.C. |
|---|---|---|
| $0 to $50,363 | 5.05% | 5.60% |
| $50,363 to $53,891 | 5.05% | 7.70% |
| $53,891 to $97,464 | 9.15% | 7.70% |
| $97,464 to $100,728 | 10.98% | 7.70% |
| $100,728 to $107,785 | 10.98% | 10.50% |
| $107,785 to $113,911 | 13.39% | 10.50% |
| $113,911 to $115,648 | 17.41% | 10.50% |
| $115,648 to $140,430 | 17.41% | 12.29% |
| $140,430 to $150,000 | 17.41% | 14.70% |
| $150,000 to $190,405 | 18.97% | 14.70% |
| $190,405 to $220,000 | 18.97% | 16.80% |
| $220,000 to $265,545 | 20.53% | 16.80% |
| Over $265,545 | 20.53% | 20.50% |
B.C. charges more on only one stretch: the first $53,891 of taxable income, where its rates of 5.6% and then 7.7% are above Ontario's 5.05%. From there up, B.C.'s rate is lower than Ontario's on every slice, and the widest gaps are in Ontario's surtax zone, where Ontario's rate jumps and B.C.'s doesn't.
That shows up in what you keep from a raise, too. At $85,000, you'd lose 29.6% of your next dollar to tax, CPP and EI in Ontario, and 28.2% in B.C. Our guide to marginal vs effective tax rates explains why that rate is the one to use when you weigh a raise.
Where the gap comes from, salary by salary
Up to $20,200, there's no difference. Low-income credits cancel all provincial tax in both provinces, so your take-home pay is the same.
From $20,200 to $30,300, B.C. is ahead by up to $300. Here the low-income credits cancel most or all of each province's income tax, but Ontario's can't reduce the Health Premium, which starts at $20,000 of taxable income.
From $30,300 to $40,100, Ontario is ahead by up to $215. The B.C. tax reduction credit starts shrinking at $25,570 and is gone by about $45,000. Ontario's LIFT credit is larger and lasts until about $50,000, and Ontario's lower first rate helps too. For this stretch, that's enough to outweigh the Health Premium.
From $40,100 to about $98,600, B.C. is ahead, and the Health Premium is most of the gap. With the low-income credits gone, the two provinces' brackets and credits come out close: B.C.'s higher rates on the first $53,891 roughly balance its lower rates above. What's left is the Health Premium, which reaches $750 at $72,600. At $85,000, B.C. leaves you $924 more, and $750 of that (81%) is the premium.
Above about $98,600, the surtax takes over. Ontario's surtax starts there and steps up at about $115,000, and the gap grows quickly from then on. At $150,000, B.C. leaves you $3,057 more, $2,511 of it from the surtax alone. At $250,000, the gap is $6,681: B.C.'s brackets charge $3,804 more than Ontario's, but the surtax adds $9,476 in Ontario.
At the very top, the gap stops growing. Above $265,545, Ontario's real top rate of 20.53% and B.C.'s 20.5% are almost the same, so each extra dollar is taxed nearly alike. At $500,000, B.C. leaves you $7,372 more.
What's changing
B.C.'s 2026 budget raised its lowest tax rate from 5.06% to 5.6%. Every B.C. credit is worth the lowest rate, so the change made those credits worth more too, but it also raised the tax on the first slice of everyone's income. Partly as a result, the gap at $85,000 narrowed from $1,111 in 2025 to $924 in 2026.
Looking ahead, both provinces have bracket lines that won't keep up with pay. B.C. has paused indexing its brackets for 2027 to 2030, so as wages rise, more of each raise will land in its higher brackets. Ontario never indexes its $150,000 and $220,000 bracket lines or the Health Premium steps, so those reach more people every year. Which way the gap moves will depend on where your salary sits, and we update these figures as each year's rates are published.
Beyond income tax
Income tax is only part of what changes between the two provinces.
- Sales tax. Ontario charges 13% HST on most purchases. B.C. charges the 5% GST plus 7% PST, 12% combined, and the two provinces' taxes don't cover exactly the same things.
- Housing and everyday costs. Rent, home prices, car insurance and the cost of getting around differ far more between cities than income tax does between provinces. On most salaries, they can easily outweigh the tax gap.
- Moving partway through the year. Provincial tax depends on where you lived on December 31. If you move, your new province taxes the whole year's income. During the year, your employer takes off tax for the province you work in, and your tax return settles the difference.
See your own numbers
The Ontario vs B.C. comparison shows take-home pay in both provinces across a wide range of salaries and breaks the gap down line by line. Salary pages like $85,000 in Ontario and $85,000 in B.C. show every deduction, and the compare tool lets you set two scenarios side by side, Alberta included.
On paper, B.C. taxes high earners harder. In practice, once you count Ontario's surtax and Health Premium, B.C. leaves you with more of your pay at almost every salary.