Nova Scotia tax rates for individuals run from 8.79% on the first $30,995 of taxable income up to 21% on income above $157,124, layered on top of federal income tax. The province also charges a 14% Harmonized Sales Tax on most purchases and taxes corporate income at 1.5% or 14% depending on the business.
Personal Income Tax Brackets for 2026
The province uses five progressive brackets. The higher rate applies only to the portion of income that falls inside that bracket, not to everything you earn. Thresholds are indexed to inflation and shift slightly each year.1Government of Nova Scotia. Personal Income Tax Rates and Indexation
- 8.79% on the first $30,995 of taxable income
- 14.95% on income from $30,995 to $61,991
- 16.67% on income from $61,991 to $97,417
- 17.50% on income from $97,417 to $157,124
- 21% on income above $157,124
Take an $80,000 income as an example. You would pay 8.79% on the first $30,995, then 14.95% on the next $31,000 or so, and 16.67% only on the slice above $61,991. Your effective provincial rate ends up well below the top bracket that touches your income.
Residents with taxable income up to about $15,220 pay no provincial tax at all thanks to the low-income tax reduction. That reduction phases out between $15,220 and roughly $21,000, adding about 5% to the effective provincial rate on income inside that range before the regular brackets take over.
What You Actually Pay With Federal Tax Included
Provincial tax is only half of what comes off your income. Every Nova Scotia resident also owes federal tax on the same return. The 2025 federal brackets are:
- 14.50% on the first $57,375
- 20.50% on income from $57,375 to $114,750
- 26% on income from $114,750 to $177,882
- 29% on income from $177,882 to $253,414
- 33% on income above $253,414
These figures index annually, so 2026 numbers will edge up. Combined, the top marginal rate in Nova Scotia reaches 54% on income above roughly $253,000. At $80,000, the combined marginal rate is around 37%.
The federal basic personal amount for 2025 is $16,129 for individuals with net income of $177,882 or less, dropping to $14,538 for those above $253,414.2Canada Revenue Agency. Line 30000 – Basic Personal Amount This shelters a base level of income from federal tax and is separate from the provincial basic personal amount.
Harmonized Sales Tax
The HST dropped from 15% to 14% on April 1, 2025, after the provincial portion was cut from 10% to 9%.3Government of Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia’s HST to Drop in 2025 The remaining 5% is the federal Goods and Services Tax. Businesses collect the combined 14% at the point of sale and remit it to the CRA, so your receipt shows one line rather than two.4Canada Revenue Agency. Charge and Collect the GST/HST
Basic groceries, prescription drugs, and certain medical devices are zero-rated. Some other supplies, including certain financial services and residential rent, are exempt entirely. Most other goods and services trigger the full 14%.
Corporate Income Tax
Nova Scotia uses a two-tier structure for corporations, with rates that changed in April 2025.
- Small business rate of 1.5% on the first $700,000 of active business income. Before April 1, 2025, this rate was 2.5% and the limit was $500,000.5Canada Revenue Agency. Nova Scotia Provincial Corporation Tax
- General rate of 14% on taxable income above the small business limit or earned by corporations not eligible for the small business deduction.6Canada Revenue Agency. Corporation Tax Rates
The lower rate requires qualifying as a Canadian-controlled private corporation and staying within the business limit. Federal corporate tax adds 9% on small business income and 15% on general income. A small corporation earning under $700,000 in Nova Scotia therefore faces a combined federal-provincial rate of about 10.5%.
Credits That Reduce What You Owe
The provincial basic personal amount for 2026 is $11,932.1Government of Nova Scotia. Personal Income Tax Rates and Indexation It is a non-refundable credit, which reduces tax owing but cannot on its own produce a refund. Multiplied by 8.79%, it cuts about $1,049 off your provincial tax. Every resident qualifies. Other non-refundable credits at the provincial level cover the age amount, spouse or common-law partner amount, disability amount, and tuition, and each is calculated the same way.
Lower-income residents may also qualify for the Nova Scotia Affordable Living Tax Credit, delivered quarterly alongside the federal GST/HST credit. From July 2026 to June 2027, the maximum is $255 for an individual or couple, plus $60 per child, phasing out at 5% of adjusted family net income above $30,000.7Canada Revenue Agency. Province of Nova Scotia Because it is refundable, you receive it even if you owe no tax.
Capital Gains and Dividends
When you sell an investment, property, or other capital asset for more than you paid, the profit is a capital gain. Canada does not tax the full gain. For 2025, the inclusion rate is 50%, meaning half the gain is added to taxable income and taxed at your regular marginal rate.8Canada Revenue Agency. Capital Gains A $20,000 gain for someone in the 16.67% provincial bracket puts $10,000 into income, taxed at the combined federal and provincial rates that apply to that slice. A principal residence is generally exempt when sold.
Dividends from Canadian corporations run through a gross-up and credit system. Dividends are grossed up to approximate the corporation’s pre-tax income, then federal and provincial credits are applied to account for corporate tax already paid. The treatment differs for “eligible” dividends (generally from larger, publicly traded corporations) and “other than eligible” dividends (typically from smaller private corporations). Nova Scotia’s provincial dividend tax credit rate for other-than-eligible dividends changed to 1.5% starting in 2025, which raises the provincial tax on dividend income from small private corporations compared with prior years.9Canada Revenue Agency. Nova Scotia Tax Information for 2025