What it costs to live and work in Yukon: the minimum wage, provincial income tax, sales tax and rent, from official sources, and what they mean for your monthly budget.
| Yukon | Source | |
|---|---|---|
| General minimum wage | $18.51 an hour | Government of Yukon news release: The Yukon's minimum wage set to increase |
| Provincial income tax | 6.4 % to 15 % | Canada Revenue Agency: Tax rates and income brackets for individuals, current year (2026) |
| Sales tax | 5 % GST | Canada Revenue Agency: GST/HST calculator (and rates) |
| Rent (Median monthly shelter cost of renter households (rent plus utilities paid by the household), all renter households) | $1,180 a month (2021) | Statistics Canada, Census 2021, table 98-10-0253-01: Shelter cost by tenure including presence of mortgage payments and subsidized housing |
The general minimum wage is $18.51 an hour since April 1, 2026, up 3.2 % in line with the 2025 Whitehorse consumer price index. It changes every April 1; the 2027 rate is not out yet.
For 2026, Yukon taxes the first $58,523 of taxable income at 6.4 % and income over $500,000 at 15 %, across five brackets. The basic personal amount follows the federal one: $16,452, reduced gradually to $14,829 for net income between $181,440 and $258,482.
Yukon has no territorial sales tax; only the 5 % GST applies.
What income does rent in Yukon take?
A common guideline is to keep housing at or below 30 % of gross income. At $1,180 a month, that means a household income of about $47,200 a year before tax.
Good to know
- Everyone living in Yukon is in the prescribed northern zone, so residents who qualify can claim the northern residents deduction: $11 a day, plus $11 a day more if they kept and lived in their own home and nobody else in it claims the basic amount (2025 rates).
- Yukon's first three tax bracket limits are the same as the federal ones ($58,523, $117,045 and $181,440 for 2026).
Sources
- Government of Yukon news release: The Yukon's minimum wage set to increase (2026)
- Canada Revenue Agency: Tax rates and income brackets for individuals, current year (2026) (2026-06-25)
- Canada Revenue Agency: GST/HST calculator (and rates) (2025-04-01)
- Statistics Canada, Census 2021, table 98-10-0253-01: Shelter cost by tenure including presence of mortgage payments and subsidized housing (2022-09-21)
- Canada Revenue Agency: T4127 Payroll Deductions Formulas, 122nd edition, effective January 1, 2026 (2025-11-20)
- Canada Revenue Agency: Line 25500, Northern residents deductions (2026-01-20)