You cannot legally be paid in Canada without a Social Insurance Number (SIN), and Canadian tax has a twist travellers miss: you pay federal tax and provincial tax, stacked together, so your real rate depends on which province you work in. This guide covers getting your SIN, how the two layers of tax work, how much you'll actually pay, and filing your return.
Get your SIN as soon as you arrive; it's free, fast, and you can't work without it. Your income tax is two layers: a federal rate plus a provincial rate, both with a tax-free amount at the bottom. On typical working-holiday earnings your combined rate is modest. Your employer deducts tax from each pay, and you file a return by 30 April for the previous calendar year, often getting some back.
A Social Insurance Number is your nine-digit number for working and paying tax in Canada. Your employer needs it to pay you, and you can't start a job without it. As a temporary resident, your SIN starts with the digit 9 and is valid only as long as your work permit.
Getting one is free and straightforward (Service Canada):
Apply in your first few days. Keep your SIN private: it's a key piece of identity information, so don't carry the card around or share the number except with your employer and the tax agency.
This is the part that trips people up. You pay two income taxes on the same earnings:
Each layer has its own brackets and its own tax-free amount (the "basic personal amount"). So someone earning the same wage takes home a slightly different amount in British Columbia than in Ontario, because the provincial layer differs. Your employer handles both through payroll deductions.
The federal basic personal amount for 2025 is CAD 16,129, meaning roughly your first CAD 16,129 of income is free of federal tax (CRA). Above that, federal rates for 2025 are:
| Taxable income | Federal rate |
|---|---|
| Up to CAD 57,375 | 14.5% |
| CAD 57,375 to 114,750 | 20.5% |
| CAD 114,750 to 177,882 | 26% |
| CAD 177,882 to 253,414 | 29% |
| Over CAD 253,414 | 33% |
Source: CRA, Canadian income tax rates.
Note the bottom rate: Canada cut its lowest federal rate during 2025, so the CRA applies a blended 14.5% for the 2025 tax year, dropping to 14% from 2026. Don't use the old flat 15% figure.
On top of federal tax, your province charges its own income tax with its own brackets and basic personal amount. Rates and thresholds differ by province and change yearly. British Columbia, a common working-holiday base, shows how a provincial scale looks for 2025:
| Taxable income | BC rate |
|---|---|
| Up to CAD 49,279 | 5.06% |
| CAD 49,279 to 98,560 | 7.70% |
| CAD 98,560 to 113,158 | 10.50% |
| CAD 113,158 to 137,407 | 12.29% |
| CAD 137,407 to 186,306 | 14.70% |
| CAD 186,306 to 259,829 | 16.80% |
| Over CAD 259,829 | 20.50% |
Source: BC government, personal income tax rates. Other provinces (Ontario, Alberta, Quebec and so on) set their own bands, so for the province you actually work in, check the rate on the CRA's income tax rates page (which lets you select your province and year). Most working holidaymakers sit in the lowest provincial band, roughly 5% in BC and Ontario, on top of the federal rate.
The practical takeaway: budget for federal plus provincial combined. On modest working-holiday earnings the combined rate after both basic personal amounts is still well below half your income, but it's more than the federal table alone suggests.
Canada uses payroll deduction: your employer takes income tax (federal and provincial), plus Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Employment Insurance (EI) contributions, off each pay and remits them. The tax year is the calendar year (1 January to 31 December).
After the year ends, your employer gives you a T4 slip summarising your pay and deductions (usually by the end of February). You then file a tax return, generally due by 30 April, reporting your income for the previous year (CRA). You can file online through CRA-certified software, much of it free.
Whether you get a refund depends on your situation. If too much was withheld, or you only worked part of the year (common on a working holiday), you may be owed money back. Filing is how you claim it.
Whether you're taxed as a resident or non-resident depends on your residential ties to Canada (where you live, work, and keep your things), not just your visa. Most IEC participants who settle and work in Canada for the year are treated as residents for tax purposes for that period, but it's fact-specific. If your situation is unusual (lots of travel, ties kept at home), check the CRA guidance or get advice rather than guessing.
If you leave during or at the end of the tax year, you still file a return for your time working in Canada to settle your final position and claim any refund. Keep your CRA login (a My Account is useful), your T4s, a forwarding address, and ideally a Canadian bank account open until any refund lands. Canada has no compulsory super to withdraw like Australia; CPP contributions stay in the system, though there are limited rules for getting some back, which most short-stay workers don't pursue.
When a refund or final pay lands, you'll likely move it into your home currency. Banks usually add a margin to the exchange rate on top of any fee. Specialist services such as Wise and OFX often deliver more of your money. Compare the amount that arrives, not the headline fee.
Apply free through Service Canada, online (about five business days), by mail, or in person, using your IEC work permit and passport. You can't work without it, so do it in your first few days.
You pay federal tax plus provincial tax, each with a tax-free amount at the bottom (the federal basic personal amount is CAD 16,129 for 2025). On typical working-holiday earnings the combined rate is modest, but it depends on your province.
Because provincial income tax is added on top of federal tax, and each province sets its own rates and brackets. The same wage nets slightly differently in Ontario than in BC.
Often, especially if you worked only part of the year. File a return for your Canadian income, keep your T4s, and keep a way for the refund to reach you.
Yes. Service Canada never charges. Avoid any site that offers to get your SIN for a fee.
By 30 April for the previous calendar year. Your employer gives you a T4 slip by late February to help you file.
Sources: canada.ca · www2.gov.bc.ca. Last verified 2026-06-11.