Updated Checked by the Tax-Services.ca editorial team How we check
No province or territory is free of tax. Each one charges its own income tax on top of the federal bill, and none of them lets you skip it. What a few places do without is provincial sales tax. Alberta, Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut charge only the 5% GST, and that’s the gap people usually mean when they ask about a place with no tax.
One note first. Canada has provinces and territories, not states, so we’ve read “no tax states” as “which parts of Canada tax you least”.
Are there really no tax provinces?
Not on income. A Canadian resident pays federal tax plus a provincial or territorial share, and the provincial share is what changes from place to place. Alberta gets a lot of attention for its low taxes, yet its first bracket is 8% on income up to $61,200. Ontario’s first bracket is 5.05% and British Columbia’s is 5.6%. A low bottom rate doesn’t settle much. What counts is the whole bill at your income, which mixes the brackets, the basic personal amount that shields the first slice of pay, and the federal tax that everybody pays in the same way wherever they live.
The income tax calculator works that out for each province in seconds. Run your own salary before you believe any ranking, including ours.
One rule trips people up when they move. Your province is the one you lived in on 31 December, and the CRA’s rates page says each bracket applies only to the slice of income inside it.
Each rate applies only to the corresponding income bracket, not to all income.
Current year tax rates and income brackets, Canada Revenue Agency, canada.ca
What does $1,000 of shopping cost in each province?
This is where Alberta and the territories really do stand apart. The table shows the total at the till for a $1,000 item that carries full tax. Food, rent and some other things are treated differently, so it fits ordinary goods only.
| Where | Sales tax | Total for $1,000 |
|---|---|---|
| Alberta, Yukon, NWT, Nunavut | 5% GST only | $1,050.00 |
| Saskatchewan | 5% GST + 6% PST | $1,110.00 |
| British Columbia | 5% GST + 7% PST | $1,120.00 |
| Manitoba | 5% GST + 7% RST | $1,120.00 |
| Ontario | 13% HST | $1,130.00 |
| Nova Scotia | 14% HST | $1,140.00 |
| Quebec | 5% GST + 9.975% QST | $1,149.75 |
| New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, PEI | 15% HST | $1,150.00 |
On a big purchase the gap adds up. A $40,000 car costs $42,000 in Alberta and $45,200 in Ontario, which is $3,200 you never see on a pay stub. Try your own figure in the GST/HST calculator.
Think of a $1,000 laptop. Buying it in Edmonton costs $1,050, while the same laptop in Ottawa costs $1,130. Eighty bucks is the difference, and it’s the gap people mean when they say Alberta feels cheaper. It’s a till difference, though. It says nothing about what you pay on your pay.
Living there doesn’t fix it either. You pay the sales tax of the place where you buy, and online orders follow the delivery address.
What does a $100,000 salary cost in income tax?
Here’s the total federal and provincial income tax on a $100,000 employment income, from our engine. It leaves out benefits and most credits, so treat it as an estimate.
| Where | Income tax | Kept after tax, CPP and EI |
|---|---|---|
| Nunavut | $17,577 | $76,654 |
| British Columbia | $18,857 | $75,373 |
| Northwest Territories | $19,026 | $75,204 |
| Alberta | $19,772 | $74,459 |
| Ontario | $20,024 | $74,206 |
| Quebec | $23,481 | $70,298 |
| Nova Scotia | $25,363 | $68,867 |
The lowest and highest of these differ by about $7,800 a year. That’s real money, though less than the headline rates suggest, and it takes a big move in salary or province to change the picture. Ontario and Alberta land about $250 apart, even though Alberta gets the reputation. If you want the same numbers as a paycheque, use the take-home pay calculator.
So where do you pay the least overall?
No single place wins on both counts. Alberta and the three territories have the lightest sales tax, while Nunavut and British Columbia come out lowest on income tax for a $100,000 salary in our table. Someone who spends a lot and earns modestly will feel sales tax more, and a high earner who saves most of their pay will feel income tax more. Work out which camp you’re in before you chase a postal code.
Where the comparison breaks down
Moving to save tax is a poor plan if rates are all you look at. Housing costs, wages and property tax can swamp the difference, and we haven’t priced any of them here.
The tools have limits too. The BC GST/PST calculator applies 12% to everything, so it overstates tax on items that carry no PST. The Ontario marginal rate also jumps near $200,000 because of the health premium, which is a quirk of the rules, not an error you can plan around. And Quebec is a separate system for returns and for sales tax, so check the GST and QST calculator if you shop or sell there.
What this page is based on
Sales tax rates come from the Canada Revenue Agency’s GST/HST and provincial rates page, with Manitoba’s 7% from the provincial finance site. Income tax brackets are the 2026 figures from the CRA’s current-year rates page, which we re-read in October 2026. Some provincial credits and one BC rate were confirmed only in part, which is why we call the salary table an estimate. Rates can change, so check the current year before you sign anything.
Frequently asked questions
Which province has no sales tax?
Alberta has no provincial sales tax, so you pay only the 5% GST. Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut are the same.
Does any province have no income tax?
No. Every province and territory charges its own income tax alongside the federal one.
Which place has the lowest income tax on $100,000?
On our engine's 2026 figures it's Nunavut, at $17,577 in total federal and territorial tax. It's an estimate that leaves out most credits.
Is Alberta cheaper than Ontario for income tax?
Only slightly. On $100,000 of salary the two come out within about $250 of each other, so the sales tax saving is the bigger difference.
Do I pay the sales tax of my home province when I shop elsewhere?
No. You pay the tax of the place where you buy, and online orders usually follow the delivery address.