8.2 Income tax 

In this section:

• 8.2.1 Who charges you income tax
• 8.2.2 Types of income quiz
• 8.2.3 Main groups of income
• 8.2.4 Tax brackets and rates
• 8.2.5 Provincial and territorial income tax
• 8.2.6 Summary of key messages

Introduction

Grumbling about income taxes is an annual ritual around the modern world. The income tax system may seem complicated, but in fact its basics are simple. When you understand how it works, you can ensure you pay only what you owe. This section explains what is included as income. You will explore:

• how the income tax system treats different forms of income
• how investment income differs from employment income
• some tax-free forms of income.

You'll review some information about different forms of income, and then look at a table of income tax rates. By the time you finish this section, you'll be able to describe the types of income and how they differ under Canada's income tax system.

The next sections describe how these kinds of income are treated for income tax purposes using Canada's federal T1 tax return.