Form NS428 Nova Scotia Tax and Credits: Parts A, B, and C

To complete Form NS428, finish steps 1 through 5 of your federal T1 return first, then work through the form’s three parts in order: Part A calculates Nova Scotia tax on your federal taxable income using the province’s five brackets, Part B subtracts your non-refundable provincial credits, and Part C applies Nova Scotia–specific credits and reductions before you carry the final figure to line 42800 of your T1.¹ You file NS428 if you were a resident of Nova Scotia on December 31 of the tax year. For the 2025 tax year, the return is due April 30, 2026.²

What to Have Ready Before You Start

The form’s opening input is your federal taxable income from line 26000 of the T1, so the federal side has to be done first. Pull together your income slips: T4 for employment, T5 for investment income, and any T4A, T3, or T5007 slips that apply.³ Then gather the receipts for anything you plan to claim on the provincial side: tuition, child care, medical expenses, charitable donations, and receipts for contributions to Nova Scotia political parties or candidates. Your prior-year Notice of Assessment is useful for verifying carry-forward amounts like unused tuition credits. Most of this is also available through CRA My Account.

Part A: Nova Scotia Tax on Taxable Income

Transfer your federal taxable income into Part A. Nova Scotia’s rates are progressive across five brackets, so you calculate tax on each slice separately and add the results. For the 2026 tax year, the brackets are:⁴

8.79% on the first $30,995
14.95% on income from $30,996 to $61,991
16.67% on income from $61,992 to $97,417
17.50% on income from $97,418 to $157,124
21.00% on income over $157,124

The thresholds are indexed each year; the 2026 indexation rate is 1.6%. The form’s chart walks you through the arithmetic bracket by bracket, and the sum is your base provincial tax before credits.

Part B: Non-Refundable Tax Credits

Part B is a list of credit amounts. You total the amounts you qualify for and then multiply the total by 8.79%, the province’s lowest rate. That product is the actual reduction to the tax you calculated in Part A. Because these credits are non-refundable, they can zero out your provincial tax but cannot produce a refund on their own.

Eligibility rules generally follow the federal credits, but the dollar figures are different. Key amounts for 2026:⁴

Basic personal amount: $11,932 (worth $1,049 in tax reduction)
Spouse or common-law partner amount: up to $11,932, reduced by your partner’s net income
Amount for an eligible dependant: up to $11,932, reduced by the dependant’s net income
Age amount: $5,826 if you are 65 or older at year-end (worth $512), reduced once your net income exceeds roughly $30,828

The remaining Part B lines cover the disability amount, the pension income amount (the lesser of your eligible pension income or about $1,192 for 2026), the caregiver amount, tuition and education amounts, and medical expenses. If you became a resident of Canada or emigrated during the year, prorate the applicable provincial credits using the same fraction you applied to the corresponding federal amounts.¹

Part C: Nova Scotia Tax

Part C is where the pieces come together. Start with your Part A tax, subtract the Part B credit reduction, then work through the additions and subtractions specific to Nova Scotia.

Additions

Tax on split income. If line 40424 on your T1 shows federal tax on split income, complete Part 3 of Form T1206 to determine the provincial portion.
Minimum tax. If you owe federal minimum tax under Form T691, calculate the corresponding Nova Scotia additional tax on line 61 of NS428.

Provincial Foreign Tax Credit

If the foreign non-business tax you paid was more than the federal foreign tax credit covered, you can claim the difference against your Nova Scotia tax using Form T2036.

Low-Income Tax Reduction

If your adjusted family income is $15,220 or less in 2026, your Nova Scotia tax drops to zero. Between $15,221 and $21,000, the reduction phases out at an effective additional rate of 5% on income in that range. Lines 65 through 70 on the form take you through the adjusted family income calculation.

Nova Scotia Credits Applied in Part C

Political contribution tax credit for contributions to recognized Nova Scotia parties or candidates, capped at $750.
Food bank tax credit for farmers, worth 25% of qualifying agricultural donations already claimed on your federal Schedule 9.
Labour-sponsored venture-capital tax credit, equal to 20% of your investment in eligible shares, to a maximum of $2,000.
Equity tax credit, innovation equity tax credit, and venture capital tax credit for investments in eligible Nova Scotia businesses or funds.
Amount for young children: $100 per month for each child under six living with you, provided no one else claims this amount or the eligible dependant amount for the same child.
Age tax credit: an additional $1,000 credit for qualifying seniors, separate from the Part B age amount.

The bottom line of Part C is your total Nova Scotia tax. That figure goes on line 42800 of your federal T1.¹

Filing the Completed Form

Form NS428 is not filed on its own. It travels with your T1 return, whether you send it through CRA-certified software using NETFILE, have a preparer submit it via EFILE, or mail a paper return.⁵ Certified tax software handles Parts A, B, and C automatically once you enter your slips and credit amounts, which is worth knowing if you’re doing the math by hand mainly to check the result. Paper returns go to the Sudbury Tax Centre at 1050 Notre Dame Avenue, Sudbury ON P3A 5C2.⁶

Fixing a Mistake After You File

If you notice a missed credit or wrong figure on an NS428 you already sent in, you don’t refile the form. Submit a T1 adjustment through CRA My Account, the ReFILE function in certified software, or a paper T1-ADJ mailed to the CRA.⁷ Online adjustments are the fastest; paper and webform requests can take anywhere from 8 to 45 weeks.

1
Canada Revenue Agency. Nova Scotia Tax Information for 2025
2
Canada Revenue Agency. The Minister of Finance and National Revenue Marks the Launch of the 2026 Tax-Filing Season
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Canada Revenue Agency. Tax Slips at Tax Time – What They Are, Where to Find Them
4
Government of Nova Scotia. Personal Income Tax Rates and Indexation
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Canada Revenue Agency. Tax Software for Filing Personal Taxes
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Canada Revenue Agency. Where to Mail Your Paper T1 Return
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Canada Revenue Agency. T1-ADJ T1 Adjustment Request