Basic Personal Amount

Definition

The Basic Personal Amount (BPA) is a non-refundable federal tax credit claimed by every Canadian resident individual. It represents the amount of income a person can earn before federal tax starts. The credit is calculated at the 15% lowest-bracket rate on the BPA amount. Since 2020, the BPA has had two tiers: a higher "enhanced" amount for filers in the bottom three brackets, phasing down linearly to the "base" amount for filers in the top bracket.

Key rules

• 2025 BPA (the reference year for most 2025 filings): enhanced amount $16,129, base amount $14,538. 2026 figures are indexed and should be confirmed on canada.ca before filing.
• The credit equals 15% x BPA. At $16,129, the federal tax saved is about $2,419.
• The enhanced amount is reduced when net income enters the 29% bracket and is fully phased back to the base amount once net income enters the 33% top bracket.
• Every province has its own Basic Personal Amount applied against provincial tax at the province's lowest rate. Ontario, BC, Alberta, and Quebec all set their own figures.
• Spouse / common-law partner and eligible dependant credits mirror the BPA amount but are reduced dollar-for-dollar by the dependant's net income.
• Non-residents who earned at least 90% of their worldwide income in Canada may claim the full BPA; otherwise it is prorated.

Example

A Manitoba resident has 2025 taxable income of $95,000, fully inside the 20.5% federal bracket.

Step 1  Enhanced BPA available        $16,129
        (no phase-down, income below top bracket)
Step 2  Federal credit                15% x $16,129 = $2,419.35
Step 3  Federal tax before credit      (from brackets) $16,173.88
Step 4  Federal tax after BPA credit   $13,754.53

A second example: a filer with taxable income of $280,000 is in the 33% bracket, so the enhanced amount is fully phased out. The base BPA of $14,538 applies, reducing federal tax by roughly $2,181.

Common mistakes

• Claiming the enhanced BPA at top-bracket income levels. Tax software handles this, but manual returns often miss the phase-down.
• Treating the BPA as a deduction. It is a credit at 15%, not a reduction of taxable income.
• Forgetting the parallel provincial BPA credit on the provincial schedule.
• Claiming the spouse credit at the full BPA when the spouse earned income (the credit is reduced by the spouse's net income).
• Assuming non-residents can always claim the BPA without testing the 90% Canadian-source income rule.

Related concepts

The BPA is the single largest non-refundable credit for most filers and is the clearest illustration of the deduction versus credit distinction. It is valued at the lowest rate in the federal bracket schedule and appears on every T1 return.