2020 Tax Comparison of Canadian Dividends vs Interest

The tables on this page compare taxes payable by province/territory in 2020 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 April 18, 2020. 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.

The NT & NU refundable amounts are from their cost of living tax credits.

Actual Eligible Dividends	Taxable Income	Total Federal + Provincial Income Taxes Payable (Refundable) in 2020
Actual Eligible Dividends	Taxable Income	AB	BC	MB	NB	NL	NS	NT	NU	ON	PE	QC	SK	YT
$30,000	$41,400	$0	$0	$253	$0	$741	$0	$(680)	$(828)	$450	$0	$788	$0	$0
50,000	69,000	0	0	1,564	0	3,253	1,778	(942)	(1,380)	600	163	1,957	0	0
60,000	82,800	1,371	1,358	4,238	1,595	6,204	4,489	531	(27)	2,176	2,618	4,023	1,523	1,449
80,000	110,400	4,676	4,651	10,267	5,091	12,579	10,291	3,922	3,364	5,756	7,830	9,906	4,959	4,820
100,000	138,000	7,665	7,641	15,846	8,073	18,470	15,661	6,909	7,276	9,257	12,524	16,488	7,943	7,807

Taxes Payable on Non-Eligible Dividends

Note: Non-eligible dividends gross-up % is 15%, as it has been since 2019.

The BC refundable amount is the sales tax credit, while NT & NU refundable amounts are from their cost of living tax credits.

Actual Non-eligible Dividends	Taxable Income	Total Federal + Provincial Income Taxes Payable (Refundable) in 2020
Actual Non-eligible Dividends	Taxable Income	AB	BC	MB	NB	NL	NS	NT	NU	ON	PE	QC	SK	YT
$15,000	$17,250	$0	$(30)	$588	0	0	0	$(378)	$(345)	$0	0	$33	$0	$0
30,000	34,500	836	589	2,490	1,288	1,043	1,420	(518)	(615)	375	1,631	2,050	851	703
50,000	57,500	4,501	3,586	7,108	5,638	5,240	6,158	1,084	1,275	3,706	6,041	6,610	4,605	3,744
60,000	69,000	6,719	5,565	9,803	8,345	7,824	9,082	2,318	2,869	5,734	8,778	9,536	6,974	5,834
80,000	92,000	11,156	9,763	16,116	13,847	13,202	14,898	5,418	6,397	10,242	14,627	15,558	11,714	10,013
100,000	115,000	16,579	15,695	23,563	20,639	19,656	21,851	10,469	11,480	17,151	21,462	23,323	17,441	15,520

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

The NT & NU refundable amounts are from their cost of living tax credits.

Interest Income	Taxable Income	Total Federal + Provincial Income Taxes Payable (Refundable) in 2020
Interest Income	Taxable Income	AB	BC	MB	NB	NL	NS	NT	NU	ON	PE	QC	SK	YT
$15,000	$15,000	$266	$191	$701	$266	$266	$275	$(84)	$(34)	$266	$406	$222	$266	$439
30,000	30,000	3,579	3,317	4,693	4,107	4,299	4,195	2,858	2,463	3,786	4,476	5,058	3,979	3,649
50,000	50,000	8,659	7,790	10,257	9,763	9,820	10,371	7,036	6,055	8,392	10,236	10,905	9,255	8,047
60,000	60,000	11,709	10,610	13,582	13,295	13,320	13,983	9,846	8,605	11,357	13,666	14,689	12,555	10,997
80,000	80,000	17,809	16,250	20,597	20,359	20,374	21,496	15,606	13,805	17,459	20,991	22,313	19,155	16,897
100,000	100,000	24,071	22,590	28,339	27,808	27,796	29,149	22,023	19,617	24,459	28,601	30,508	25,917	23,014

Notes re all three tables:

	Ontario - includes Ontario Health Premium.
	QC includes 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 Detailed Canadian Income Tax and RRSP Savings Calculators, or our very simple Investment Income Tax Calculator.

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: July 22, 2021