What is the combined federal and Alberta top marginal tax rate?

The combined top marginal rate in Alberta for 2025 is 48% — 33% federal plus 15% provincial. This compares favourably to Ontario (53.53%) and Quebec (53.31%), making Alberta the lowest top-bracket province in Canada.

How much does Alberta save me compared to Ontario?

The tax advantage depends on your income. At $80,000, an Alberta resident pays roughly $2,000–$3,000 less in provincial income tax than an Ontario resident. At $150,000 the difference grows to $5,000–$8,000. At very high incomes (over $220,000), the gap approaches $10,000+ annually.

Tax Comparison May 8, 2025 8 min read

Alberta Tax Brackets 2025: Rates, the $21,798 BPA, and the Real Advantage

Q: Is Alberta the lowest-taxed province in Canada?

For most income levels, yes. Alberta has a 10% flat provincial rate on income up to $148,269, no provincial sales tax, and no payroll tax. The effective provincial rate for a median earner is around 6–7%, significantly lower than Ontario (9–10%) or BC (8–9%). At very high incomes, differences narrow.

Q: What is Alberta's basic personal amount for 2025?

Alberta's basic personal amount for 2025 is $21,798 — the highest provincial BPA in Canada. This means the first $21,798 of income is effectively tax-free at the provincial level, producing a credit of $2,179.80 (10% × $21,798) against calculated provincial tax.

TaxCalc Canada Editorial

Published May 8, 2025 · Rates verified against CRA 2025 schedules

“Move to Alberta for the tax savings” is advice you hear at every dinner party in Toronto. It is technically correct. Whether the savings are meaningful depends entirely on what you make and what you are comparing to.

Alberta city skyline at golden hour — Photo by Jay Ngai on Pexels

Alberta income tax has two things going for it that no other province can match: a 10% flat rate on the first $148,269 of income, and a basic personal amount of $21,798 — the highest in the country by a wide margin. The federal BPA is $16,129. Ontario's is $11,865. Alberta's is $21,798.

No provincial sales tax adds to the picture. No surtax. No payroll tax. The Alberta tax brackets system is, by design, the simplest in Canada for the majority of earners. Five brackets, but the first one covers most of the population.

Quick Answer

Alberta tax brackets 2025: 10% on the first $148,269; 12% on $148,270–$177,922; 13% on $177,923–$237,230; 14% on $237,231–$355,845; and 15% above $355,845. The Alberta basic personal amount is $21,798 — the highest provincial BPA in Canada. There is no provincial sales tax and no surtax.

Canadian currency representing Alberta provincial income tax — Photo by Erik Mclean on Pexels

How Alberta Provincial Tax Works

Like every province, Alberta runs a parallel income tax system alongside the federal government. Both use the same taxable income base. Both apply their rates progressively. The difference is in the structure.

Federal tax uses five brackets starting at 15%. Alberta's first bracket is 10% and stretches all the way to $148,269 — three times wider than Ontario's first bracket ($52,886) and more than twice the federal first bracket ($57,375). Most Albertans spend their entire career in that single 10% bracket.

Alberta has no provincial sales tax. GST (5% federal) is the only consumption tax applied in Alberta. For a family spending $60,000 per year on taxable goods and services, this saves approximately $4,200 annually compared to Ontario's 13% HST.

The 2025 Alberta Provincial Tax Brackets

Taxable Income	Provincial Rate	Notes
$0 – $148,269	10%	Flat rate for most Albertans
$148,270 – $177,922	12%	Second bracket
$177,923 – $237,230	13%	Third bracket
$237,231 – $355,845	14%	Fourth bracket
Over $355,845	15%	Top bracket

Source: Government of Alberta 2025

The combined federal + Alberta top marginal rate is 48% (33% federal + 15% provincial). Ontario's is 53.53%. Quebec's is 53.31%. For an earner in the top bracket, Alberta saves roughly 5–6 percentage points on each dollar earned above $220,000. At that level, the dollars add up quickly.

Piggy bank representing Alberta tax savings advantage — Photo by Andre Taissin on Pexels

The $21,798 BPA: What It Actually Means

The basic personal amount is a non-refundable credit that reduces the tax you owe — not the income you report. Alberta's BPA of $21,798 produces a credit of $2,179.80 (10% × $21,798). Ontario's produces $599.18. The difference is $1,580.62 per year in tax owing, before any other deductions.

Put differently: an Alberta earner making $21,798 pays zero provincial income tax. An Ontario earner at the same income pays roughly $557 in provincial tax. This matters most for low-income earners, seasonal workers, and students — but the BPA advantage carries through at every income level.

Alberta also does not have a payroll tax. Ontario's Employer Health Tax (EHT) costs employers 1.95% of payroll above $1.2 million. In practice, this affects wages indirectly — but it is another cost that does not exist in Alberta.

Person comparing provincial tax documents at desk — Photo by Tara Winstead on Pexels

Alberta vs Ontario vs BC: The Side-by-Side

Province	First Rate	Top Rate	BPA	Surtax	Sales Tax
Alberta	10%	15%	$21,798	None	None
Ontario	5.05%	13.16%	$11,865	Yes	8% (HST)
British Columbia	5.06%	20.5%	$11,981	None	7% PST

The income tax comparison is interesting. The consumption tax comparison is less ambiguous. A family in Alberta buying a $50,000 car pays $2,500 in GST. The same family in Ontario pays $6,500 in HST. Over a lifetime of purchases, the provincial sales tax gap dwarfs many people's income tax calculations.

Calculate your Alberta take-home pay

See the exact difference between your net pay in Alberta and other provinces.

Alberta Tax Calculator

The Real Savings: What Moving to Alberta Is Actually Worth

The honest answer is: it depends. At $60,000, the Alberta provincial tax advantage over Ontario is meaningful but not life-changing — roughly $1,500–$2,000 per year in income tax. At $100,000, it grows to $3,000–$4,000. At $200,000, it can exceed $10,000.

The housing cost offset complicates the math. Calgary's median home price in 2025 is lower than Toronto's, but that gap has narrowed significantly since 2020. Tax savings that look substantial on paper can be absorbed by higher rent or a longer commute. None of which is the CRA's problem.

For a full picture, use the Canadian salary calculator to compare your take-home pay in Alberta versus your current province at your specific salary. The salary after tax guide covers the province-by-province comparison in detail.

Financial planning documents for Alberta tax questions — Photo by Nataliya Vaitkevich on Pexels

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the Alberta income tax brackets for 2025?

Alberta has five provincial tax brackets in 2025: 10% on the first $148,269; 12% on $148,270–$177,922; 13% on $177,923–$237,230; 14% on $237,231–$355,845; and 15% on income over $355,845. The Alberta basic personal amount is $21,798.

Is Alberta the lowest-taxed province in Canada?

For most income levels, yes. The 10% flat rate on income up to $148,269, combined with a $21,798 BPA and no provincial sales tax, makes Alberta the lowest-tax province for earners between $50,000 and $220,000.

What is Alberta's basic personal amount for 2025?

Alberta's BPA for 2025 is $21,798 — the highest of any province in Canada. It creates a credit of $2,179.80 against calculated provincial tax.

Does Alberta have a provincial sales tax?

No. Alberta is the only Canadian province without a provincial sales tax. Residents pay only the 5% federal GST.

What is the combined federal and Alberta top marginal rate?

The combined top marginal rate in Alberta for 2025 is 48% — 33% federal plus 15% provincial. This is the lowest top combined rate of any province in Canada.

How much does Alberta save me in taxes compared to Ontario?

At $80,000, Alberta saves roughly $2,000–$3,000 per year in provincial income tax versus Ontario. At $150,000 the difference grows to $5,000–$8,000. At $200,000 it can exceed $10,000.

Tax Comparison

Our editorial team reviews Canadian federal and provincial tax rules annually. All rates are sourced directly from CRA publications and verified against our tax engine before publication.