In a Podzol (central Ontario) and a Brunisol-Luvisol (southern Ontario), SO4 in soil seepage is buffered by various mechanisms including microbial cycling and sorption-desorption. A large portion of the water-soluble SO4 in these soils is not derived from soil water, but is apparently desorbed from soil matrix. A HCO3-exchange procedure extracts even more sorbed SO4, especially from the acidic Podzol B horizon. The SO4 in these soils has a range in δ34S values similar to that of atmospheric SO4 input. In contrast, the δ18O (avg. + 4 to + 8.5) values of the soil SO4 are depleted by 2-9% relative to atmospheric SO4 input (δ18O = + 11 to + 13) due to rapid biological cycling of soil S. This cycling includes biological assimilation of SO4 and production of secondary SO4, which is depleted in 18O. Calculations based on δ18O data of litter leaching experiments indicate that approximately 50-100% of seepage SO4 in the LFH and B horizons at Plastic Lake, central Ontario, is secondary. Biological cycling apparently exerts an important control on net release or retention of S by oils. Seasonal variations in soil water evaporation and litterfall may be important factors affecting the δ18O of soil SO4, and may be partly responsible for the 10% seasonal shift in δ18O of LFH horizon SO4.