Nova Scotia dividend tax, 2026

At the top bracket, Nova Scotia taxes eligible Canadian dividends at 41.58% against 54.00% on ordinary income — an advantage of 12.42 points for holding the same money as dividends rather than as interest or salary.

Top eligible dividend rate: 41.58%
Rank of 13: 12; 1 is the lowest rate
First bracket to: $30,995

Every bracket

Taxable income up to	Eligible dividends	Non-eligible	Capital gains	Ordinary income
$30,995	-1.49%	14.10%	11.40%	22.79%
$58,523	7.01%	21.18%	14.48%	28.95%
$61,991	15.98%	28.66%	17.73%	35.45%
$97,417	18.35%	30.64%	18.59%	37.17%
$117,045	19.50%	31.59%	19.00%	38.00%
$157,124	27.09%	37.92%	21.75%	43.50%
$181,440	31.92%	41.94%	23.50%	47.00%
$258,482	36.46%	45.72%	25.15%	50.29%
and above	41.58%	49.99%	27.00%	54.00%

Reading these figures

Dividend rates apply to the dividend actually received, not to the grossed-up amount — the 38% gross-up and the dividend tax credit are already inside them. Capital gains rates apply to the whole gain, not the taxable half. Applying either adjustment again double-counts it.

Nationally

Nova Scotia ranks 12 of 13 on the top eligible dividend rate, where 1 is lowest. The range runs from 28.33% (Northwest Territories) to 46.20% (Newfoundland and Labrador). Compare all 13.

The threshold above these

Marginal rate is not the whole cost. Above $95,323 of net income, Old Age Security is recovered at 15% — and net income counts the grossed-up dividend, so eligible dividends reach that threshold on roughly 28% less cash than other income does. How that works.

Transcribed 2026-08-06 from a published rate table (source); the underlying brackets and credit rates are set federally and by the province (official figures). Machine-readable: rates.json.