Savings on personal tax in Nova Scotia.

May 1, 2017

On April 27, 2017 the government of Nova Scotia announced an increase to the personal amount effective for this taxation year, marking the first increase to personal amounts since 2011. Don’t get too excited though – details on who this increase will benefit are outlined below (hint: not everyone.) There’s a change of note for small business as well. Keep in mind though, all changes will apply only if the Liberal party continues to form the provincial government after the election on May 30, 2017.

Personal Amount going up for some, eliminated for others

Effective this year, taxpayers with an income of less than $25,000 will see the basic personal amount, the spouse or common-law partner amount, and the amount for an eligible increase from $8,481 to $11,481. Taxpayers above a $25,000 income level will see a reduction in that rate, and for those with an income above $75,000 the personal amount is eliminated all together.

The age amount is also increasing, going up from $4,141 to $5,606 for taxpayers whose income is below $25,000. Again, this rate will be reduced for taxpayers with an income above $25,000 and eliminated for those whose income exceeds $75,000.

According to estimates, more than 50,000 taxpayers will benefit from the increases to personal amounts, and 60,000 people will no longer pay any provincial tax at all.

We’d like to offer information regarding the provincial education amounts, but unfortunately there is none to share. There was no mention of changes to provincial education amounts in the budget, or any indication whether or not this amount will be continued – either in this taxation year or in years to come.

A bigger threshold for small business

Just one more change to tell you about: the small business tax threshold increased as of January 1, 2017 from $350,000 to $500,000. Other than that, corporate rates remain the same, holding at 3% for small businesses and 16% for general corporations.

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