Tax Highlights From The 2026 Saskatchewan Budget

Minister of Finance Jim Reiter tabled the 2026/27 Saskatchewan provincial budget on March 18, 2026.

The budget projects a deficit of $819.4 million for the 2026/27 fiscal year, followed by deficits of $608.4 million for 2027/28 and $381.4 million for 2028/29, and a surplus of $124.1 million for 2030/31. The forecasted deficit for the nearly completed 2025/26 fiscal year now stands at $1.21 billion, compared to the initially projected surplus of $12.1 million.

The 2026/27 budget projects total revenue of $21.4 billion, representing a $361 million increase, or 1.7%, from the 2025/26 Budget.

On the income tax front, there are no changes to personal or corporate income tax rates for 2026. However, the budget increases certain basic personal income tax credits and introduces additional tax credits to support affordability.

The following pages summarize the changes announced in the budget. Please note that these changes remain proposals until they are passed into law by the provincial government.

Personal Tax Matters

Personal Income Tax Rates and Tax Brackets

There are no proposed changes to personal income tax rates. However, tax brackets and other amounts have been indexed by 2% to account for inflation. The table below outlines Saskatchewan’s tax rates and tax brackets for 2026.

The table below outlines the 2026 combined federal and provincial highest marginal tax rates for various types of income.

Basic Personal Income Tax Credits

Under the Saskatchewan Affordability Act, the basic personal exemption, spousal and equivalent-to-spouse exemption, dependent child exemption, and senior supplementary amounts were each increased by $500 in 2025. These tax credits will be further increased by the same amount in each of the next three taxation years (2026, 2027, and 2028). This is well above the annual indexation increases to these credit amounts.

The basic personal exemption amount is a non-refundable tax credit that provides a full reduction in provincial income tax for individuals with taxable income below $20,381 in 2026 (up from $19,491 in 2025), and an equivalent reduction for those with higher taxable income. The personal exemption amount is forecast to increase to $22,214 by 2028.

The spousal and equivalent-to-spouse exemption amount is a non-refundable tax credit for individuals who, at any time in the year, supported their spouse or equivalent whose net income was less than the basic personal amount ($20,381 in 2026, up from $19,491 in 2025). This exemption amount is forecast to increase to $22,214 by 2028.

The dependent child exemption amount is a non-refundable tax credit available to individuals with a dependent child under the age of 18 living in their household. In 2026, this exemption amount will be $8,358 per child (up from $7,704 in 2025) and is forecast to increase to $9,706 by 2028.

The senior supplementary amount is a non-refundable tax credit for those aged 65 and older. The 2026 amount will be $2,569 (up from $2,028 in 2025) and is forecast to increase to $3,682 by 2028.

Upon full implementation of the four-year personal income tax reduction, approximately 54,000 residents will no longer pay provincial income tax.

Saskatchewan Low-Income Tax Credit (SLITC)

To provide additional relief to residents with low and modest incomes, the Saskatchewan Low-Income Tax Credit was increased by 5% in 2025.

This credit will increase by an additional 5% in 2026, followed by annual increases of 5% over the next two years. These increases are in addition to annual indexation. A qualifying family of four can receive an annual benefit of up to $1,282 for 2026 (up from $1,196 in 2025).

The benefit amount is forecast to grow to $1,469 by 2028. This credit benefits approximately 300,000 households every year.

Volunteer First Responders’ Tax Credit

Tax credits were introduced in the 2019/20 budget for Saskatchewan’s volunteer firefighters, search and rescue volunteers, and volunteer emergency medical first responders. Individuals who perform at least 200 hours of eligible volunteer service in a year, as certified by the organization managing the services, can claim a $3,000 non-refundable tax credit.

The 2026/27 budget announces that this tax credit amount will double from $3,000 to $6,000. The increase is expected to result in additional Saskatchewan personal income tax savings of $1.3 million annually for volunteer first responders.

Corporate Tax Matters

Corporate Income Tax Rates

There are no proposed changes to corporate income tax rates. The table below outlines Saskatchewan’s tax rates and small business limit for 2026.

The table below outlines the 2026 combined federal and provincial corporate income tax rates for various types of income earned by a Canadian Controlled Private Corporation (CCPC).

Research and Development Tax Credit

The 2026/27 budget expands the Research and Development (R&D) Tax Credit to further support industry investment in the province. Qualifying R&D expenditures by Saskatchewan Canadian-controlled private corporations (CCPCs) are eligible for a 10% refundable tax credit on the first $2 million of annual qualifying expenditures, up from $1 million previously.

Qualifying R&D expenditures in excess of this annual limit, as well as those incurred by non-CCPCs, will continue to be eligible for a 10% non-refundable tax credit. The total refundable and non-refundable R&D tax credits that may be claimed by a corporation are limited to $1 million annually.

Additionally, the R&D Tax Credit now includes eligible capital expenditures, including the cost of new machinery, equipment, and related lease or rental costs. This change significantly expands the range of qualifying expenditures that both CCPCs and non-CCPCs can claim.

The expanded R&D Tax Credit is expected to provide investment incentives to more than 2,700 private companies operating in Saskatchewan, with an estimated $41 million in tax credits claimed in 2026/27.

Saskatchewan Chemical Fertilizer Incentive

Chemical fertilizer production is defined as the processing of mineral or chemical feedstock to create single or multi-nutrient synthetic fertilizer products. This definition excludes facilities that manufacture potash fertilizer products where potash is the primary feedstock.

The Saskatchewan Chemical Fertilizer Incentive provides a non-refundable, non-transferable 15% corporation income tax credit on capital expenditures valued at $10 million or more for newly constructed or expanded eligible chemical fertilizer production facilities in Saskatchewan.

Originally scheduled to sunset on December 31, 2026, the 2026/27 budget announces a five-year extension for eligible companies under the Saskatchewan Chemical Fertilizer Incentive that receive conditional approval by that date, allowing them to meet the minimum $10 million capital investment threshold by December 31, 2031.

Corporation capital tax (“CCT”)

CCT is imposed on financial institutions and commercial Crown corporations with paid-up capital in excess of $10 million. An additional exemption of $10 million is available based on the proportion of total salaries and wages paid in Saskatchewan. All credit unions are exempt.

Currently, large financial institutions are subject to a 4% CCT rate. Small financial institutions, defined as having $1.5 billion or less in Canadian taxable paid-up capital across all associated corporations, are subject to a 0.7% CCT rate. Federal and provincial commercial Crown corporations are subject to a CCT rate of 0.6% of all taxable paid-up capital allocated to Saskatchewan. SaskTel is subject to an additional telecommunications CCT surtax of 0.9%.

The 2026/27 budget announces an increase to the large financial institution CCT rate to 6% effective April 1, 2026. Additionally, CCT on small financial institutions will be eliminated effective April 1, 2026. Effective April 1, 2026, CCT charged to Crown corporations will be reduced to 0.3% effective April 1, 2027, followed by the complete elimination of CCT on Crown corporations and the telecommunications CCT surtax.

Other Initiatives

High Water-Cut Oil Well Program

First introduced in 1999 and redesigned in 2021, the High Water-Cut Oil Well Program addresses the increased operating costs of oil wells that produce a water-cut (water-to-oil ratio at production) of 90% or higher. The program offers a royalty rate reduction for qualifying high water-cut oil wells that incur a minimum qualifying investment to directly improve water-handling capabilities and extend the production cycle.

The 2026/27 budget announces a five-year extension of the program’s eligibility period to March 31, 2031. Eligible high water- cut old, new, and third-tier oil wells receive the fourth-tier royalty rate (the lowest among all royalty classifications) on the incremental production volume, and fourth-tier oil wells receive a 2% royalty rate reduction on all oil produced. The minimum investment per well will also be increased from $20,000 to $30,000 to reflect inflationary pressures. This increased amount is comparable to the average investment prospective incentive recipients are expected to spend given the current economic environment.

Crown Timber Dues

Timber dues apply to all timber harvested from provincial Crown lands, with rates charged per cubic metre harvested.

Dues are based on two components:

• Base dues are applied using fixed rates that vary based on the tree species and log size and apply to all timber harvested, regardless of market prices or profitability. Base dues are intended to recover the government’s costs of regulating the industry.
• Incremental dues vary based on the market price of the specific product harvested and only apply when the market price of the product exceeds a set trigger price. This allows the industry to recover production costs and generate a fair return on capital employed, while government revenue benefits from higher market prices for products sourced from Crown lands.

The 2026/27 budget will revise the incremental portion of Crown timber dues. Trigger prices for all timber products will be increased retroactive to January 1, 2026, effectively delaying the point at which additional incremental dues apply. Base dues will remain unchanged.

Additionally, beginning April 1, 2027, annual adjustments to trigger prices will be made using Canadian benchmark industry production cost data from the previous year. This will help ensure Crown timber dues remain current and continue to reflect prevailing production costs.

Next Steps

For tailored tax and legal advice on how these measures affect you or your business, your own tax lawyers and accountants are best positioned to advise on these proposals. Your financial advisor can also assess the impact of these proposals on your personal finances or business affairs and show you ways to take advantage of their benefits or ease their impact, align your investments accordingly, and help coordinate the right specialist for your circumstances.