Atlantic Provinces -> New Brunswick -> New Brunswick Budgets -> 2009 Budget

New Brunswick 2009 Budget - March 17, 2009

Personal Income Tax

Personal tax brackets, rates and credits

New Brunswick currently has four personal income tax brackets. The tax rates for these will be reduced each year beginning in 2009. The threshold levels of each bracket will be increased each year, as will the basic personal amount and the spousal amount. In 2012, the four-bracket structure will be replaced with two brackets. The 2009 rate changes are now reflected in the tables of marginal tax rates for New Brunswick.

The Low-Income Tax Reduction (LITR) is currently phased out at a rate of 5% of income over the base amount. This phase-out rate is reduced to 4% for 2009, and 3% thereafter.

Tax rates	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012 ⁽¹⁾	2012 as per 2011 Budget
Bracket 1	10.12%	9.65%	9.30%	9.10%	9.00%	9.10%
Bracket 2	15.48%	14.50%	12.50%	12.10%	12.00%	12.10%
Bracket 3	16.80%	16.00%	13.30%	12.40%	n/a	12.40%
Bracket 4	17.95%	17.00%	14.30%	12.70%	n/a	12.70%
(1) The 2011 NB Budget announced that the top tax rate in 2011 will remain at 14.3%, and all 2012 tax rates will remain at 2011 levels. It was not indicated that there would be any changes from the previously announced basic personal amount and spousal amount.
Basic personal amount	$8,395	$8,605	$8,777	$8,953	$9,132	$9,132
Spousal amount	$7,129	$7,307	$7,453	$7,602	$7,754	$7,754
LITR Phase-Out	5%	4%	3%	3%	3%	3%

The following will be the thresholds for each bracket:

	2008		2009		2010		2011		2012 ⁽¹⁾
Bracket	over	to	over	to	over	to	over	to	over	to
1	$0	$34,836	$0	$35,707	$0	$36,421	$0	$37,150	$0	$37,893
2	34,836	69,673	35,707	71,415	36,421	72,843	37,150	74,300	37,893	75,786
3	69,673	113,273	71,415	116,105	72,843	118,427	74,300	120,796	75,786	123,212
4	over 113,273		over 116,105		over 118,427		over 120,796		over 123,212
(1) The 2011 NB Budget announced that all 2012 tax rates would remain at 2011 levels. The actual tax bracket amounts were not provided. The lowest tax bracket of $37,893 was provided in the 2009 NB Budget. The above brackets are *estimates* based on a 2% increase.

Tuition Rebate

Maximum lifetime rebate is doubled from $10,000 to $20,000
Maximum annual rebate is doubled from $2,000 to $4,000

Low-Income Seniors' Benefit

increased from $200 to $300 in 2009
increased to $400 in 2010

To be eligible for the low-income seniors' benefit, a person must be a resident of New Brunswick on the last day of the previous taxation year, and must have received one of these federal benefits under the Old Age Security Act:

Guaranteed Income Supplement (65 years or older);
Allowance for Survivor Program (between 60 and 64 years old); or
Allowance Program (between 60 and 64 years old)

See Low-Income Seniors' Benefit on the NB website.

Small Business Investor Tax Credit (SBITC)

This tax credit provides a 30% non-refundable personal income tax credit on investments of up to $80,000, for a maximum credit of $24,000 per year for NB investors who invest in eligible small businesses in the province.

Effective for investments made after Mar17, 2009, the maximum annual investment will be increased from $80,000 to $250,000 per year, increasing the maximum annual tax credit to $75,000. Other amendments will allow a larger number of investors to participate in an investment project.

Labour-Sponsored Venture Capital Tax Credit (LSVC)

increase in qualifying investment from $5,000 to $10,000
tax credit rate will increase from 15% to 20%
applies to shares purchased after March 17, 2009

Corporate Income Tax

small business limit increased from $400,000 to $500,000 effective January 1, 2009
general corporate tax rate reduced
- from 13% to 12% effective July 1, 2009
- to 11% effective July 1, 2010
- to 10% effective July 1, 2010
- to 8% effective July 1, 2011

Revised: September 07, 2025