Nunavut tax brackets

Two tables, added together

Canada does not have one set of tax brackets. It has two that apply to the same income at once: the federal schedule, identical everywhere, and Nunavut's own. You pay the sum.

Federal 2026: 14.00% to $58,523, 20.50% to $117,045, 26% to $181,440, 29.00% to $258,482, 33% above that.

Nunavut 2026: 4% to $55,801, 7.00% to $111,602, 9% to $181,439, 11.50% above that.

Nunavut charges no surtax, so the combined rate on a dollar is simply the two table rates added.

The rate you pay is not the rate in the table

At $85,000 in Nunavut the two tables suggest a combined marginal rate of 27.50%. Measured by adding a dollar and recalculating everything, the real figure is 27.50%.

The difference comes from everything the tables leave out: the basic personal amount is a credit at the lowest rate rather than a deduction, and CPP and EI move at the same time until they reach their ceilings.

Your average rate is different again: 22.86% of gross at that salary. Three numbers, three meanings. The table rate is what a bracket says, the marginal rate is what the next dollar costs, and the average rate is what all of them cost together.

Top and bottom rate in every jurisdiction

The provincial schedules alone, 2026. Federal rates apply on top of all of them:

Alberta — 8% to 15%.

British Columbia — 5.60% to 20.50%.

New Brunswick — 9.40% to 19.50%.

Newfoundland and Labrador — 8.70% to 21.80%.

Nova Scotia — 8.79% to 21%.

Northwest Territories — 5.90% to 14.05%.

Nunavut — 4% to 11.50%.

Manitoba — 10.80% to 17.40%.

Yukon — 6.40% to 15%.

Quebec — 14.00% to 25.75%.

Ontario — 5.05% to 13.16%, plus a surtax on the tax itself.

Prince Edward Island — 9.50% to 20%.

Saskatchewan — 10.50% to 14.50%.

Comparing top rates is the commonest way to get a province comparison wrong. The top rate applies only to income above a threshold, and those thresholds differ by more than the rates do — which is why the income tax calculator works out a real figure instead of quoting a rate.

The Nunavut table in full

Each rate applies only to the income inside its own band:

4% — $0 to $55,801

7.00% — $55,801 to $111,602

9% — $111,602 to $181,439

11.50% — everything above $181,439

And the federal schedule, which applies on top of all of it:

14.00% — $0 to $58,523

20.50% — $58,523 to $117,045

26% — $117,045 to $181,440

29.00% — $181,440 to $258,482

33% — everything above $258,482

The basic personal amount sits underneath both as a credit, not a deduction: $16,452 federally at this income, applied at the lowest rate of each schedule rather than at your marginal one.

The thresholds move every year

Both schedules are indexed to inflation, which is why the numbers change annually even when no government announces a tax change. A bracket that does not move while wages do is a tax rise nobody voted for — indexation is what stops that happening automatically.

It also means a table copied from last year is wrong in a way that is hard to spot: the rates look right and the thresholds are stale. Every figure here carries the document it came from and the date it was read, which is the only defence against that.

Nunavut's basic personal amount is a fixed figure for the year, unlike the federal one, which is withdrawn above $181,440.

What a bracket table cannot tell you

Three things, all of which change the answer:

The basic personal amount is a credit. It reduces tax by its value times the lowest rate, not by your marginal rate. A table showing only bands implies a deduction and overstates the relief for anyone above the bottom band.

Contributions move at the same time. CPP and EI come off the same paycheque and stop at their own ceilings, so the combined burden does not follow the bracket table either.

The rate you pay on the next dollar is measured, not looked up. That is why the calculator adds a dollar and recalculates instead of reading a rate off a table — at $85,000 in Nunavut the two answers differ.

Questions

What are the 2026 tax brackets in Nunavut?

4% up to $55,801, 7.00% up to $111,602, 9% up to $181,439, 11.50% above that provincially, with the federal schedule of 14.00%/20.50%/26%/29.00%/33% on top.

What is my marginal tax rate in Nunavut?

At $85,000 it is 27.50% — measured by adding a dollar and recalculating, not by adding the two table rates, which ignores how the basic personal amount works.

Does moving into a higher bracket cost me money?

No. Only the income inside the higher band is taxed at the higher rate. Every dollar below the threshold is taxed exactly as before, so a raise always leaves you with more.

What is the difference between marginal and average rate?

The marginal rate is what your next dollar costs — 27.50% here. The average rate is what all your dollars cost together — 22.86% at $85,000. The second is always lower, and it is the one that describes your actual bill.