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Individual - Other tax credits and incentives
Last reviewed - 15 December 2023Federal personal tax credits
Federal personal allowances in Canada take the form of tax credits. The following credits apply for 2023.
| Federal personal tax credits (1, 2) | CAD |
| Basic personal (3) | 2,028 to 2,250 |
| Married (3, 4) | 2,028 to 2,250 |
| Infirm dependants aged 18 and over (4) | 1,200 |
| Disability (5) | 1,414 |
| Age - Persons aged 65 and over (4, 5) | 1,259 |
| Other key credits (2) | |
| Pension income | 15% of eligible pension income (maximum credit is CAD 300). (5) |
| Tuition fees | 15% of eligible fees (minimum CAD 100 per institution). Unused credits can be carried forward indefinitely. (5) |
| Interest on student loans | 15% of the interest paid on loans under the Canada Student Loans Act and provincial student loan programs. Unused credits can be carried forward five years. |
| Medical expenses | 15% of amount by which eligible expenses exceed lesser of CAD 2,635 (1) and 3% of net income (generally, expenses for any 12-month period ending in the year can be claimed). (6) |
| Adoption | 15% of eligible adoption expenses (maximum credit is CAD 2,732). Must be claimed in the year the adoption period ends. (6) |
| Charitable donations (7) | 15% of the first CAD 200 and the excess is at either 29% or 33% (7). Eligible donations are generally limited to 75% of net income. Unused donations can be carried forward five years. (6) |
| Government pension plan (8) and employment insurance plan contributions | 15% of the lesser of the base (non-enhanced) amount payable and the required base premiums for the year (maximum credit is CAD 619; in Quebec, CAD 525 (9)). |
| Employment | 15% of employment income (maximum credit is CAD 205). |
Notes
- Personal credits are indexed for inflation.
- Any unused portion of the tax credits is not refundable.
- The basic/spouse/equivalent to spouse amounts are increased from CAD 2,028 to CAD 2,250 for taxpayers with taxable income below the second top tax bracket (i.e. CAD 165,430 in 2023), with the benefit of the increased personal amounts eliminated when taxable income reaches the top tax bracket (i.e. CAD 235,675 in 2023).
- The credit is reduced if the income of the individual or dependant exceeds a threshold.
- In some circumstances, the unused portion of the credit can be transferred to a spouse, parent, grandparent, child, grandchild, sibling, aunt, uncle, niece, or nephew.
- One spouse can claim the other's medical expenses, charitable donations, and adoption expenses.
- For total charitable donations in a year exceeding CAD 200, the tax credit rate is:
- 33%, to the extent the individual has income that is subject to the federal 33% income tax rate, and
- 29% for other donations.
- Starting 2019, Canadian government pension plan contributions were increased by an enhancement that will be phased-in over seven years. The enhanced portion is deductible, while the non-enhanced base portion remains eligible for a tax credit.
- In Quebec, federal values are reduced by 16.5%. The amount shown reflects this reduction.
Provincial and territorial personal tax credits
The provinces and territories have many personal tax credits that are similar to the federal personal tax credits. However, the provinces and territories set the amounts of their personal tax credits.
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