Hi!
An income tax bill isn’t necessarily triggered by high income. It’s triggered by a difference between what you owe, and what’s been paid on your behalf in advance.
Some common situations that can result in an unexpected tax bill:
You’re self-employed, so no one is withholding tax for you
You changed jobs partway through the year*
You made several small RRSP withdrawals to avoid the tax withholding on a large aggregate withdrawal
You got a lump sum payment or unexpected taxable windfall on which no tax was withheld
* Each individual is allowed an amount of earnings before having to pay tax, called an exemption. When two different employers are issuing slips for the same person, sometimes each employer assumes the first portion of the income they pay you is exempt. The result is that twice as much income is treated as if it’s exempt, so some taxable income has no associated tax withheld on it.
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