How provincial income tax stacks for self-employed agents
A Canadian real estate agent operating as a self-employed sole proprietor — the structure most working agents in Atlantic Canada file under — calculates one figure for net business income on Form T2125[8], and that single figure feeds two parallel tax calculations on the T1 return: federal income tax and provincial income tax.
The two stacks share the same starting point. After deductible expenses are subtracted from gross commissions on T2125, the resulting net business income flows into the T1's line 26000 (taxable income), with each province's bracket schedule applied separately from the federal schedule[1]. There is no separate provincial filing for residents of NB, NS, or PEI — the CRA administers personal income tax on behalf of all three provinces and computes both stacks on the same return.
Each province publishes its own bracket thresholds and percentage rates, indexed annually. The combined marginal rate at any given taxable-income level is the sum of the federal marginal rate at that level plus the provincial marginal rate at that level. Because the two ladders have different bracket boundaries, the combined marginal rate steps up at every threshold either ladder crosses.
New Brunswick — 2025 brackets
New Brunswick has four provincial income tax brackets in 2025[2]. The bracket thresholds were indexed for 2025 and the percentage rates are unchanged from 2024:
- 9.40% on the first $51,306 of taxable income[2][5]
- 14.00% on taxable income over $51,306 up to $102,614[2]
- 16.00% on taxable income over $102,614 up to $190,060[2]
- 19.50% on taxable income over $190,060[2]
The New Brunswick provincial basic personal amount for 2025 is $13,396[2], claimed as a non-refundable credit at the lowest-bracket rate (9.40%) — meaning it shelters the first $13,396 of taxable income from provincial tax for most filers. The federal basic personal amount, which is separate and stacks on top, is set at the maximum of $16,129 for 2025[1].
Nova Scotia — 2025 brackets
Nova Scotia has five provincial income tax brackets in 2025[3]. 2025 was the first year Nova Scotia applied annual indexing to its bracket thresholds — the indexation factor for 2025 was 3.1% — after a long stretch of frozen brackets[6]:
- 8.79% on the first $30,507 of taxable income[3][6]
- 14.95% on taxable income over $30,507 up to $61,015[3]
- 16.67% on taxable income over $61,015 up to $95,883[3]
- 17.50% on taxable income over $95,883 up to $154,650[3]
- 21.00% on taxable income over $154,650[3]
Nova Scotia's top provincial marginal rate of 21.00% is the highest published top rate among the three Maritime provinces. The province's 2025 basic personal amount is $11,744 at the maximum, decreasing as taxable income rises[6].
Prince Edward Island — 2025 brackets
Prince Edward Island restructured its provincial income tax in 2025 — moving from three brackets to five and lowering the bottom-bracket rate from 9.65% (the 2024 rate) to 9.50%[4][7]. The 2025 PEI brackets are:
- 9.50% on the first $33,328 of taxable income[4][7]
- 13.47% on taxable income over $33,328 up to $64,656[4]
- 16.60% on taxable income over $64,656 up to $105,000[4]
- 17.62% on taxable income over $105,000 up to $140,000[4]
- 19.00% on taxable income over $140,000[4]
PEI's historical 10% surtax on provincial tax exceeding $12,500 was eliminated for the 2024 and subsequent tax years and does not apply in 2025[7]. The 2025 PEI basic personal amount is $14,650[4].
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Combined federal + provincial marginal rates at $80K, $120K, $200K
A combined marginal tax rate is the sum of the federal marginal rate and the provincial marginal rate at a given level of taxable income. It describes the rate that would apply to the next dollar earned at that income level — not the rate applied to total taxable income (which is the average rate, a different figure). The 2025 federal brackets are 15.00% to $57,375, 20.50% to $114,750, 26.00% to $177,882, 29.00% to $253,414, and 33.00% above $253,414[1].
The figures below pair the published federal and provincial bracket schedules at three taxable-income levels typical of working real estate agents in Atlantic Canada. They describe the marginal rate that would apply to each province's next dollar of taxable income at the stated level.
$80,000 taxable income (2025)
- Federal marginal rate at $80K: 20.50% (the 20.50% bracket runs from $57,375 to $114,750)[1]
- New Brunswick: 20.50% federal + 14.00% provincial = 34.50% combined marginal[2]
- Nova Scotia: 20.50% federal + 16.67% provincial = 37.17% combined marginal[3]
- Prince Edward Island: 20.50% federal + 16.60% provincial = 37.10% combined marginal[4]
$120,000 taxable income (2025)
- Federal marginal rate at $120K: 26.00% (the 26.00% bracket runs from $114,750 to $177,882)[1]
- New Brunswick: 26.00% federal + 16.00% provincial = 42.00% combined marginal[2]
- Nova Scotia: 26.00% federal + 17.50% provincial = 43.50% combined marginal[3]
- Prince Edward Island: 26.00% federal + 17.62% provincial = 43.62% combined marginal[4]
$200,000 taxable income (2025)
- Federal marginal rate at $200K: 29.00% (the 29.00% bracket runs from $177,882 to $253,414)[1]
- New Brunswick: 29.00% federal + 19.50% provincial = 48.50% combined marginal[2]
- Nova Scotia: 29.00% federal + 21.00% provincial = 50.00% combined marginal[3]
- Prince Edward Island: 29.00% federal + 19.00% provincial = 48.00% combined marginal[4]
Two structural patterns emerge from the published figures. First, Nova Scotia sits at the top of the Maritime combined-marginal-rate ladder at every income level above approximately $61,015 — a consequence of NS's higher provincial-bracket rates from 14.95% upward. Second, New Brunswick's mid-range brackets (14.00% on the $51,306–$102,614 band) produce the lowest combined marginal rate among the three provinces in the $80K range, while PEI's broader $33,328–$64,656 13.47% band and the new $64,656–$105,000 16.60% band produce a marginal-rate profile that sits between NB and NS through most of the working-agent income range.
For a deeper read on how the combined federal-plus-provincial stack interacts with CPP contributions, instalment thresholds, and net-business-income mechanics, see the tax planning guide for Canadian real estate agents and the self-employed CPP article.
Where the Agent Runway estimator and Flight Crew fit in
Agent Runway's tax engine implements the 2025 federal and provincial bracket schedules for all three Maritime provinces directly. The same engine powers two surfaces a Maritime agent will encounter:
- The free, no-login Canadian Realtor Tax Estimator — produces a federal + provincial + CPP estimate from a single GCI input. NB, NS, and PEI are selectable provinces; the estimator applies the 2025 brackets published above.
- The in-app dashboard tax readiness card, which projects a running federal + provincial estimate as commissions and expenses accumulate through the year.
Provincial-tax questions that surface inside the app are answered by the Flight Crew's Navigator persona, which operates against the same 2025 published bracket schedules and cites primary CRA and provincial finance sources rather than producing strategic recommendations. Navigator returns figures and rule descriptions; filing decisions belong to the agent and the agent's accountant.
Agent Runway is built in Saint John, New Brunswick. The Maritime provinces are the home market for the product, and the provincial bracket schedules above are the schedules the team applies to its own books.