RRSP Tax Savings Calculator

Your annual room is 18% of your previous year's earned income, up to a dollar cap of $33,810 for 2026 ($32,490 for 2025), reduced by any pension adjustment. Unused room carries forward indefinitely, so many people can contribute well above the annual cap. Your exact limit is on your CRA Notice of Assessment.

Contributions are deducted from your taxable income dollar-for-dollar, so the saving equals your contribution times your marginal rate. A $10,000 contribution at a 40% marginal rate cuts your tax by $4,000. The bigger your marginal rate the year you contribute, the more the deduction is worth.

You can contribute for a tax year up to 60 days into the following year — the deadline for the 2025 tax year is on or about 2 March 2026. Contributions in the first 60 days can be applied to either the prior year or the current year, which is a useful timing lever.

Use an RRSP when your tax rate today is higher than you expect in retirement (you deduct at a high rate now and withdraw at a lower one). Use a TFSA when your rate is low now or you want flexible, tax-free access. Many people use both; high earners often fill the RRSP first for the up-front deduction.

The HBP lets first-time buyers withdraw up to $60,000 from an RRSP tax-free to buy or build a qualifying home (raised from $35,000 for withdrawals after 16 April 2024). A couple can take $60,000 each. You repay it to your RRSP over 15 years, and recent rules give an extended grace period before repayments start.

A spousal RRSP lets the higher earner contribute to a plan owned by their spouse, using the contributor's room but building the spouse's retirement savings. It splits income in retirement so withdrawals are taxed in the lower-income spouse's hands. Watch the 3-year attribution rule on early withdrawals.

There is a $2,000 lifetime over-contribution buffer with no penalty. Beyond that, the excess is taxed at 1% per month until withdrawn or absorbed by new room, so it pays to track your limit from your Notice of Assessment.

Yes. Withdrawals are fully taxed as ordinary income in the year you take them, and the institution withholds tax up front. The exceptions are the Home Buyers' Plan and Lifelong Learning Plan, which are tax-free if repaid on schedule.

You must convert your RRSP to a RRIF or annuity by December 31 of the year you turn 71. RRIF withdrawals are then taxed as ordinary income, with a minimum amount required each year based on your age.