RRSP tax savings calculator
Give your contribution some context. Explore the deduction today, and the tax on withdrawals tomorrow.
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Your RRSP what-if
2026Gross income before RRSP and enhanced CPP/QPP deductions.
Use your CRA figure. The default is an example, not your personal limit.
Assumes the whole contribution is eligible and deducted in 2026.
Growth and future withdrawal tax
0 shows the contribution without growth.
After assumed investment fees, before withdrawal tax. A constant illustration, not a forecast.
Your assumed effective rate on the full withdrawal, not a prediction or withholding rate.
A deduction, made clearer
Assumptions$1,482.50 CAD
How your contribution is funded
CAD- Your cash after tax relief
- $3,517.50
- Estimated income-tax reduction
- $1,482.50
A tax reduction is not an investment return or a guaranteed refund. RRSP withdrawals are generally taxable. CPP, QPP, EI, and QPIP do not fall when you make this deduction.
The other side: growth and withdrawal tax
After 0 years at your assumed 0% effective annual growth, this contribution becomes $5,000.00 before withdrawal tax. At your assumed 25% tax rate, it leaves $3,750.00 after $1,250.00 of tax. This excludes future contributions, reinvested tax relief, benefits, inflation, and changes in tax brackets. The current deduction still uses reviewed 2026 rules.
Keep a plan. Try a what-if.
Save a comparison, then change your numbers. Inputs stay in this browser.
How does an RRSP deduction reduce income tax?
An eligible RRSP deduction reduces the income used to calculate tax for the year in which you claim it. The estimated reduction is the difference between tax before and after that deduction, so a contribution crossing brackets does not receive one tax rate on every dollar. Withdrawals are generally taxable later.
Reviewed October 23, 2026 by DollarMath. Educational estimates. Sources and calculation scope.
Common questions
Is the estimated RRSP tax reduction a guaranteed refund?
No. A deduction reduces estimated tax, but a refund also depends on tax already withheld, instalments, other income, deductions and credits. Tax relief can arrive through eligible payroll withholding arrangements or when you file. It is not an investment return.
Can my RRSP deduction room be calculated from this year’s salary?
Not reliably. Available room can include carry-forward amounts and pension adjustments and depends on prior-year information. Use your current CRA deduction limit and account records. The example room shown in this tool is not your personal limit.
Does an RRSP deduction reduce CPP, QPP or EI contributions?
No. In this employment-income model, RRSP deductions reduce income tax but do not reduce pensionable or insurable gross earnings. CPP, QPP, EI and QPIP are calculated on the same employment income before and after the RRSP deduction.
Does this compare RRSP investment returns or future benefits?
Advanced settings illustrate a single contribution growing at your assumed effective annual rate for up to 50 years, followed by an assumed tax rate on the full withdrawal. This does not forecast returns, future tax brackets or income-tested benefits. Tax relief is not reinvested, inflation is excluded, and the current deduction still uses reviewed 2026 rules.
How the future-value illustration works
A single contribution grows by contribution × (1 + effective annual growth)^years. The assumed withdrawal rate applies to the rounded full future balance. A $10,000 contribution at 10% for two years becomes $12,100 before withdrawal tax; at a 25% assumed effective withdrawal rate, it leaves $9,075. These are assumptions, not forecasts. There are no later deposits, reinvested tax relief, benefit changes or inflation adjustments. Enter a growth rate after assumed fees. The withdrawal tax illustration is separate from today’s reviewed tax calculation.
The rules behind your estimate
Rule version: ca-employment-2026-v1. Sources reviewed October 23, 2026. Sources and review process
Full-year planning, with regional context
We use reviewed 2026 full-year brackets, basic personal credits, the Canada employment amount, base pension and EI credits, and deductions for enhanced CPP or QPP. Ontario includes surtax, its basic tax reduction, and the health premium. British Columbia uses its full-year 5.60% first rate and $690 tax reduction, rather than July’s catch-up withholding figures. Manitoba and federal personal amounts phase out where applicable; Yukon follows the federal personal amount and adds its employment credit.
Québec includes its federal abatement, provincial workers’ deduction, QPP, reduced EI rate, and QPIP. Québec’s basic personal credit replaces separate provincial contribution credits. Northwest Territories and Nunavut estimates include their employee payroll taxes, assuming you normally work there for the year.
What to enter
Assumes one employer, age 18 to 64, a full year of employment, and the same province or territory for work and residence. Annual pension and RRSP deductions are assumed eligible for deduction. Confirm your RRSP room with CRA; it cannot be inferred from this year’s salary alone.
What is outside this estimate
Tax-return-only low-income reductions and refundable benefits, family and age credits, tuition, donations, Québec living-alone credits, northern deductions, investment or self-employment income, pension adjustments, and employer matching are excluded. Personal circumstances can change the result. This is a basic-credit planning model, not a tax return or an official payroll withholding engine.
Annual net pay is divided evenly for the pay-frequency view. Actual cheques vary when CPP or EI reaches its yearly limit, with bonus withholding, and with mid-year payroll catch-up changes. Deduction-based tax reductions are not a guaranteed refund and do not include changes to income-tested benefits.
Independent checks
A $100,000 Ontario salary with no optional deductions gives an estimated annual take-home of $74,206.13, including a $750 health premium. The same simplified Québec illustration gives $69,585.10. These worked examples reconcile federal and provincial brackets, credits, and employee contributions.
- CRA 2026 payroll formulas and contribution limits
- CRA July 2026 amendments, including full-year Option 2 values
- CRA 2026 federal, provincial and territorial brackets
- Revenu Québec 2026 tax, QPP, QPIP and workers' deduction
- Revenu Québec workers' deduction calculation
- Northwest Territories employee payroll tax
- Nunavut employee payroll tax