New Brunswick is quietly the most tax-competitive province in Atlantic Canada for 2026. Its four brackets — 9.4%, 14%, 16%, and 19.5% — are indexed by the full federal factor of 2%, and the basic personal amount rises to $13,664. That combination of full indexation and a moderate top rate sets NB apart from its neighbours: PEI froze its brackets, Newfoundland indexed by only 1.1%, and Nova Scotia’s top rate remains the highest in the country.

The numbers back it up. New Brunswick’s top combined federal-provincial marginal rate is 52.5% — about 1.5 points below Nova Scotia’s 54% and more than 2 points below Newfoundland and Labrador’s 54.8%. For a professional earning $150,000, the difference versus Nova Scotia works out to thousands of dollars a year, before even counting NB’s lower housing costs.

Lower earners get a distinctive break through the province’s Low-Income Tax Reduction: residents with taxable income up to roughly $22,358 in 2026 pay no New Brunswick tax at all. The trade-off is that the reduction is clawed back above that threshold, which temporarily adds about 3 percentage points to the effective marginal rate in the phase-out range — worth knowing if you’re weighing extra hours or a raise in that income band.

Add the federal bottom rate at 14% for all of 2026, and a New Brunswicker’s entry marginal rate is 23.4% combined. Estimate your full 2026 tax bill with our New Brunswick Tax Calculator.

2026 Federal and New Brunswick Tax Brackets and Tax Rates

2025 Federal and New Brunswick Tax Brackets and Tax Rates

Note: New Brunswick indexes brackets and credits using the federal indexation factor — 2% for 2026.

Note: Residents with taxable income up to about $22,358 pay no provincial tax due to the Low-Income Tax Reduction; the reduction phases out above that level.

Note: Top combined federal + New Brunswick marginal rate: 52.5% on income above $258,482.

Sources: CRA Payroll Deductions Tables (New Brunswick, 2026) · KPMG Personal Tax Rates 2026

Last Updated: July 17th, 2026