Basic Personal Amount 2026 Canada | Federal & Provincial BPA

The basic personal amount (BPA) is the income you can earn before any income tax is payable: residents of Canada can claim it, federally and in their province or territory, as a non-refundable credit. This page sets out the federal amount and its clawback at high incomes, each province’s own amount, how the BPA is applied through payroll, and the related spouse or common-law partner amount. The other claims that sit on top of it are listed in the guide to Canadian tax deductions and credits, and why a credit like the BPA saves the same amount whatever your bracket is explained in deductions vs credits.

Federal basic personal amount

The federal basic personal amount for 2026 is $16,452.

How the basic personal amount works

The BPA is a non-refundable tax credit: it reduces your federal tax by the BPA times the lowest federal rate, $16,452 × 14% = $2,303.28 in tax savings. In effect, most filers pay no federal tax on their first $16,452 of income. The lowest federal tax rate was reduced from 15% to 14% effective July 1, 2025.

Enhanced BPA clawback

The enhanced federal amount is phased out across the fourth federal tax bracket:

• It is reduced for net income above $181,440.
• It doesn't fall below $14,829, reached at $258,482 of net income.

Reduction formula: for each dollar of net income above $181,440, the enhanced portion ($1,623) shrinks in proportion, until the BPA reaches the base amount at $258,482.

Federal BPA history

The federal BPA is indexed to inflation using the Consumer Price Index each year, so the indexation steps were larger in the high-inflation years 2023 and 2024. On top of indexation, the government phased in an enhanced BPA from 2020, raising it toward $15,000 over the following years; that enhancement is complete.

Provincial and territorial basic personal amounts

Each province and territory sets its own BPA, which reduces provincial or territorial tax at that jurisdiction’s own lowest rate:

Because the federal and provincial amounts are credited at different rates, the combined value of the BPA varies by province: add the federal savings above to your province’s row. The province pages in the income tax guide show the BPA alongside each province’s brackets.

Who claims the basic personal amount

Generally, a resident of Canada can claim the BPA:

• Employees: your employer uses it when calculating payroll deductions, based on your TD1 form
• Self-employed: it is claimed on your tax return

The TD1 form and the BPA

Your employer uses the BPA from your TD1 Personal Tax Credits Return to work out how much tax to withhold from each paycheque; line 1 of the federal TD1 lets you enter the BPA, and you can add amounts such as the spouse, disability or caregiver amounts to reduce withholding. If you have more than one job, you cannot claim the same amounts again on a second TD1, and doing so can leave too little withheld, so you may owe tax at filing. The TD1 only sets withholding, not your actual tax, which is calculated when you file; the form itself is covered in what the TD1 form is.

Spouse or common-law partner amount

If your spouse or common-law partner’s net income is below your BPA ($16,452) and you supported them, you can claim the spouse or common-law partner amount (line 30300) on your return, which transfers the unused part of their BPA credit to you:

The same kind of claim is available for a dependant who lives with you and depends on you financially when you are single, divorced, separated or widowed (the eligible dependant amount, line 30400), for example a single parent supporting a child or an adult supporting a parent. How marriage or common-law status changes your other credits and benefits is covered in the tax effects of getting married.

To see the BPA’s effect on a full return, the income tax calculator applies it along with the federal and provincial tax brackets.