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Home  ->  Personal Tax  -> Dividend tax credits -> 

Tax Rates  -> Tax Comparisons  ->  Tax comparison for seniors with investment income -> 2025

2025 Seniors Tax Comparison: Canadian Dividends vs Other Investment Income

Tax Comparison Calculation Information

Comparison 1: $30,000 of Eligible Dividends or Other Income

Comparison 2: $50,000 of Eligible Dividends or Other Income

Check Your Own Income Situation

Canadian Dividends Not Best For All Situations

Other Tax Comparisons

See also Top Marginal Tax Rates in Canada

Tax Comparison Calculation Information

The tables on this page compare taxes payable by province in 2025 for two different types of income:

bulletCanadian eligible dividends, and
bulletother income, such as interest and foreign dividends.

To the above income we add:

bullet$8,776 of OAS - this is the approximate maximum for 2025, based on Jan - Sep 2025 rates, with no increase for Oct - Dec
bullet$10,134 of CPP retirement income - average for new beneficiaries Apr 2025
bullet$24,000 of pension income that is eligible for the pension income tax credit

The calculations assume that the income is received by a single senior. The tax rates used are as known on July 24, 2025.

Notes:

bullet The OAS Clawback reduces taxable income, and is included in taxes payable.
bulletThe age amount clawback reduces the tax credit and thus increases taxes payable.
bullet Ontario - includes Ontario Health Premium.
bullet QC includes health contribution, contribution to the health services fund, and prescription drug insurance plan premiums.
Income
Type
Annual
Amount
OAS $8,776
CPP 10,134
Eligible Pension Income 24,000
Total before investment income   $42,910

Comparison 1: $30,000 of Eligible Dividends or Other Income

The first comparison uses $30,000 of eligible dividends compared to $30,000 of other income.

Income
Type
Annual Income
Case A
Dividends
Case B
Interest
OAS/CPP and Pension Income $42,910 $42,910
Eligible Dividends 30,000 nil
Other Income nil 30,000
Total Income 72,910 72,910
Gross-up 11,400 nil
OAS Clawback nil nil
Taxable Income $84,310 $72,910

The following table compares the taxes payable on the above incomes - the taxes payable include any applicable age credit clawback.  In these two cases there was no OAS clawback.

Province/
Territory
2025 Taxes Payable Case B
Increase
in Taxes
for Interest
Increase
as % of A
Case A
Dividends
Case B
Interest
AB $6,433 $12,151 $5,718 89%
BC 4,529 11,702 7,174 158%
MB 9,206 14,698 5,492 60%
NB 6,810 14,483 7,673 113%
NL 10,513 14,953 4,440 42%
NS 10,855 16,252 5,397 50%
NT 3,587 10,703 7,116 198%
NU 3,898 8,988 5,090 131%
ON 5,926 12,569 6,644 112%
PE 9,344 15,330 5,987 64%
QC 10,609 16,097 5,488 52%
SK 7,080 13,705 6,625 94%
YT 4,529 11,757 7,228 160%

You can see above that in BC, NB, NT, NU, ON and YT, more than double the income tax is payable with interest or other income instead of eligible dividends.

Comparison 2: $50,000 of Eligible Dividends or Other Income

The next comparison uses $50,000 of eligible dividends compared to $50,000 of other income.

Income
Type
Annual Income
Case C
Dividends
Case D
Interest
OAS/CPP and Pension Income $42,910 $42,910
Eligible Dividends 50,000 nil
Other Income nil 50,000
Total Income 92,910 92,910
Gross-up 19,000 nil
OAS Clawback -2,768 0
Taxable Income $109,142 $92,910

The following table compares the taxes payable on the above incomes - the taxes payable include any applicable OAS and age amount clawbacks.

Province/
Territory
Taxes Payable Case D
Increase
in Taxes
for Interest
Increase
as % of C
Case C
Dividends
Case D
Interest
AB $10,896 $18,865 $7,969 73%
BC 8,708 17,845 9,138 105%
MB 14,712 21,783 7,071 48%
NB 10,745 21,991 11,246 105%
NL 16,843 22,615 5,772 34%
NS 16,841 24,121 7,280 43%
NT 7,766 17,135 9,369 121%
NU 8,443 15,001 6,558 78%
ON 9,953 19,047 9,094 91%
PE 14,789 23,286 8,498 57%
QC 16,376 24,108 7,732 47%
SK 11,327 20,877 9,550 84%
YT 8,708 18,284 9,576 110%

Although the higher taxable income with Canadian eligible dividends often causes a clawback of the OAS and a higher clawback of the age credit, the taxes payable are still significantly lower.

Check Your Own Income Situation

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 Income Tax and RRSP Savings Calculators, and our very simple Investment Income Tax Calculator.

Dividend Gross-up Can Reduce Other Benefits

Sometimes the dividend gross-up can increase net income enough to cause a loss or reduction of other government benefits, such as GIS, GST/HST credit, Pharmacare or other benefits.

Other Tax Comparisons

See also Tax Comparisons by Province and Territory, which compare different levels of employment income for people who are not seniors.

Tax Tip:  Although Canadian dividends increase the OAS clawback, the net tax payable is still much less than with interest or foreign dividends.

Revised: July 27, 2025

 

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