Canada | Alberta Budget 2026 discussed

¹ The rates represent calendar-year-end rates unless otherwise indicated.

² The federal corporate income tax rates for manufacturers of qualifying zero-emission technology are reduced to 7.5% for eligible income otherwise subject to the 15% federal general corporate income tax rate or 4.5% for eligible income otherwise subject to the 9% federal small-business corporate income tax rate. These reductions are not reflected in the combined federal and Alberta rates above.

³ Ibid.

⁴ An additional tax applies to banks and life insurers at a rate of 1.5% on taxable income (subject to a CA$100m exemption to be shared by group members).

Other business tax measures

The Minister also proposed amendments to the data center levy. The Alberta Corporate Tax Act was amended in 2025 to include a new data center levy framework, which is intended to impose a levy of up to 2% on the value of computing equipment in large-scale data centers in Alberta. This levy is fully deductible against a data center's corporate income taxes. The 2026 budget confirms that the government intends to introduce amendments clarifying that the data center levy will be calculated based on actual power consumption and that power not drawn from Alberta's existing power grid will be eligible for a 0% levy rate.

Personal tax

Personal income tax rates

The budget does not include any changes to personal income tax rates.

The 2026 Alberta personal income tax rates are summarized in Table B.

Table B — 2026 Alberta personal income tax rates

For taxable income exceeding CA$246,813, the 2026 combined federal-Alberta personal income tax rates are outlined in Table C.

Table C — Combined 2026 federal and Alberta personal income tax rates

^a The rate on capital gains is one-half the ordinary income tax rate.

^b The federal basic personal amount comprises two elements: the base amount (CA$14,829 for 2026) and an additional amount (CA$1,623 for 2026). The additional amount is reduced for individuals with net income exceeding CA$181,440 and is fully eliminated for individuals with net income exceeding CA$258,482. Consequently, the additional amount is clawed back on net income exceeding CA$181,440 until the additional tax credit of CA$227 is eliminated; this results in additional federal income tax (e.g., 0.29% on ordinary income) on net income between CA$181,441 and CA$258,482.

Personal tax credits

This budget proposes changes to the Alberta caregiver credit. Effective for the 2027 and subsequent tax years, the caregiver credit and the infirm dependent credit will be consolidated into a new Alberta caregiver credit. This new credit will be available to a caregiver who cares for an eligible adult relative, including a spouse, who is dependent on the caregiver because of a physical or mental infirmity. The new credit will be based on the structure of the current caregiver credit, which has a maximum amount of CA$13,180 in 2026, and is reduced when the dependent's income exceeds CA$20,956. The amount of the credit and the income threshold will be adjusted annually in subsequent years to account for changes in cost of living in accordance with Alberta's escalator policy. The tax credit is not available for non-infirm parents or grandparents that reside with the individual.

Other tax measures

Vehicle rental tax

• Budget 2026 introduced a new tax on vehicle rentals in Alberta, effective 1 January 2027. The vehicle rental tax will apply to passenger vehicles and will be calculated at a rate of 6% of the price of the vehicle rental, excluding the federal goods-and-services tax (GST) and itemized charges for insurance and fuel.

Tourism levy

• Budget 2026 increases the tourism levy from 4% to 6%, effective 1 April 2026. The tourism levy applies to short-term accommodation rentals in Alberta (e.g., hotels and motels).

Education property tax

• Budget 2026 increases the education property tax rates in 2026-27 from CA$2.72 to CA$2.84/CA$1,000 of equalized assessment for residential/farmland properties, and from CA$4.00 to CA$4.17/CA$1,000 of equalized assessment for nonresidential properties.
• For up-to-date information on the federal, provincial and territorial budgets, visit ey.com/ca/Budget.

For additional information concerning this Alert, please contact:

Ernst & Young LLP (Canada), Calgary

• Greg Boone 
• Dean Radomsky 
• Sanjaya Ranasinghe 

Ernst & Young LLP (Canada), Edmonton

• Dustin Burbank 
• Hayat Kirameddine 

For a full listing of contacts and email addresses, please click on the Tax News Update: Global Edition (GTNU) version of this Alert.

Published by NTD’s Tax Technical Knowledge Services group; Carolyn Wright, legal editor