The Small Business Deduction
The SBD drops your federal rate from 15% to 9% and your Ontario rate from 11.5% to the provincial small-business rate, on the first $500,000 of active business income. Combined, that’s roughly a 14.3-point cut on qualifying income — the biggest single lever in Canadian small-biz tax.
The $500K threshold
Active business income above $500,000 is taxed at the general rate — 15% federal + 11.5% Ontario = 26.5% combined. The SBD limit is shared across associated corporations, so if you control multiple companies, the $500K is split between them.
The July 1, 2026 Ontario cut
The 2026 Ontario Budget dropped the provincial small-business rate from 3.2% to 2.2% effective July 1, 2026. For a tax year that straddles that date, the rate is prorated by days. A standard Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2026 fiscal year runs 181 days at the old rate and 184 days at the new one.
What this doesn’t cover
Passive investment income (taxed at ~50% with RDTOH), the $50K passive-income grind on the SBD, the $10M–$50M taxable-capital grind, M&P deduction, Part IV tax on portfolio dividends, provincial rates outside Ontario. Most owner-managed CCPCs don’t need those — but if yours does, run the real numbers with us.