2016 Tax Comparison of Canadian Dividends vs Interest

The tables on this page compare taxes payable by province/territory in 2016 for three different types of investment income:

- Canadian eligible dividends

- Canadian non-eligible Canadian dividends, and

- other investment income such as foreign dividends and interest.

The calculations assume that the income is earned by a single person, and that there is no other type of income included in taxable income. The tax rates used are as known on June 13, 2016, except for May 29, 2017 revisions to New Brunswick (re dividend tax credit rates that were revised by Bill 32 in Jul 2016), BC (re MSP rates announced Sep 2016) and NS (corrected non-eligible dividend tax credit rate). The total taxes payable include any alternative minimum tax, where applicable.

Taxes Payable on Eligible Dividends

Note: Eligible dividends gross-up % is 38%, as it has been since 2012.

Actual Eligible Dividends	Taxable Income	Total Federal + Provincial Income Taxes Payable (Refundable) in 2016
Actual Eligible Dividends	Taxable Income	AB	BC	MB	NB	NL	NS	NT	NU	ON	PE	QC	SK	YT
$30,000	$41,400	$0	$780	$376	$0	$769	$0	$(680)	$(828)	$450	$0	$847	$0	$0
50,000	69,000	0	900	1,780	0	3,204	1,810	(942)	(1,200)	600	359	2,548	0	0
60,000	82,800	1,613	2,500	4,832	1,822	6,404	4,716	766	508	2,350	3,042	4,832	1,756	1,686
80,000	110,400	4,751	5,634	10,625	5,048	12,196	10,246	3,944	3,999	5,483	7,981	10,924	4,954	4,855
100,000	138,000	7,740	8,623	16,204	8,031	17,910	15,616	6,930	7,948	9,933	12,674	17,608	8,275	7,842

Taxes Payable on Non-Eligible Dividends

Note: Non-eligible dividends gross-up % is 17% in 2016 and later years.

Actual Non-eligible Dividends	Taxable Income	Total Federal + Provincial Income Taxes Payable in 2016
Actual Non-eligible Dividends	Taxable Income	AB	BC	MB	NB	NL	NS	NT	NU	ON	PE	QC	SK	YT
$15,000	$17,550	$0	$(24)	$691	$0	$0	$40	$(383)	$(351)	$0	$78	$139	$0	$0
30,000	35,100	577	1,074	2,593	1,113	928	1,510	(601)	(702)	300	1,709	1,448	925	410
50,000	58,500	3,817	4,068	7,008	5,149	4,991	5,855	758	1,041	2,863	5,850	5,892	4,607	3,142
60,000	70,200	5,792	5,848	9,719	7,626	7,438	8,572	1,851	2,658	4,599	8,456	8,480	6,897	4,995
80,000	93,600	9,909	10,160	16,098	12,963	12,665	14,200	5,266	6,264	9,315	14,152	14,152	11,646	8,926
100,000	117,000	15,145	16,332	23,598	19,602	18,923	21,138	10,338	11,314	16,008	20,968	21,585	17,514	14,364

Taxes Payable on Other Income (foreign dividends, interest, etc.)

Interest Income	Taxable Income	Total Federal + Provincial Income Taxes Payable in 2016
Interest Income	Taxable Income	AB	BC	MB	NB	NL	NS	NT	NU	ON	PE	QC	SK	YT
$15,000	$15,000	$529	$454	$1,040	$529	$529	$802	$233	$311	$571	$865	$447	$529	$755
30,000	30,000	3,934	4,151	5,032	4,518	4,517	4,696	3,181	2,861	4,088	4,935	5,379	4,336	3,965
50,000	50,000	9,193	9,272	10,822	10,423	10,203	10,945	7,618	6,725	9,005	10,874	12,001	9,903	8,626
60,000	60,000	12,243	12,092	14,147	13,955	13,703	14,504	10,428	9,275	11,970	14,304	15,811	13,253	11,576
80,000	80,000	18,343	17,833	21,402	21,019	20,805	21,938	16,188	14,775	18,176	21,629	23,434	19,953	17,476
100,000	100,000	24,962	24,771	29,501	28,925	28,385	29,949	23,175	21,067	25,953	29,617	32,100	27,173	24,075

Notes re all three tables:

	BC includes MSP premiums payable for 2017 based on 2016 income.
	Ontario - includes Ontario Health Premium.
	QC includes progressive health contribution, contribution to the health services fund, and prescription drug insurance plan premiums.
	QC taxes are net of tax credit for person living alone.

To see the tax results for your own income situation, and how it would change if the type of investment income changes, use our Income Tax Planning Calculators, in particular the Investment Income Tax Calculator. However, the Investment Income Tax Calculator does not include BC MSP in the total taxes, because MSP is not actually part of the income tax system. In the detailed Canadian Income Tax and RRSP Savings Calculator, the BC MSP is shown at the bottom of the calculator, but not included in the total taxes payable.

TaxTips.ca Resources

Tax Comparison of Investment Income for Seniors

Tax Comparisons of Taxes Payable on Employment Income by Province and Territory

Tax Tip: Interest and foreign dividends are not as tax-efficient as Canadian dividends!

Revised: October 26, 2023