RRSP tax savings calculator for 2026

Enter your income, province and RRSP contribution to see how much income tax it saves this year and what it really costs you.

Salary or wages for the year before tax and before the RRSP.

Where you lived on 31 December 2026.

The amount you deduct for 2026, up to the room on your notice of assessment.

Income tax saved

0.00

The tax without the contribution less the tax with it: your refund, or less tax taken from pay.

Saving per dollar contributed
0.00%
Income tax without the RRSP
0.00
Income tax with the RRSP
0.00
Net cost of the contribution
0.00
18% of this income, up to the limit
0.00

Your data stays in your browser. Nothing is uploaded.

For information only, not financial, tax or legal advice.

Last updated . Method checked . Rates checked 3 November 2026. Methodology

An RRSP contribution is deducted from income, so it lowers the federal and provincial tax on your 2026 employment income. This calculator works the whole year out twice with the same rules as the Canada income tax calculator: once without the contribution and once with it. The difference is the income tax saved, which arrives as a refund or as less tax taken from your pay. Because the deduction can push income down through a bracket edge, the saving is rarely your marginal rate times the contribution, and in Ontario a lower income can also bring in the LIFT credit. The tool shows the tax both ways, the saving per dollar contributed and the net cost. It flags a contribution over the 33,810 dollar limit for 2026 or over 18% of the income you enter. The working stays in this browser tab.

How to use the RRSP Tax Savings Calculator

  1. Enter your employment income for 2026 before tax.
  2. Pick the province or territory you lived in on 31 December.
  3. Enter the RRSP contribution you plan to deduct for 2026.
  4. Read the income tax saved, the saving per dollar and the net cost, then compare both years in the table.

Worked example

An Ontario employee earning 60,000 in 2026 deducts a 10,000 RRSP contribution. All figures are CAD.

InputValue
Employment income for 2026CAD 60,000.00
ProvinceOntario
RRSP contribution to deductCAD 10,000.00
 
Without the RRSP: taxable income 60,000 - 565 additional CPP = 59,435; federal tax 5,338.30, Ontario tax 2,982.20 with the 600 health premium; total 8,320.50
With it: taxable income 59,435 - 10,000 = 49,435
Federal tax falls by 912 x 20.5% + 9,088 x 14% = 1,459.28
Ontario tax falls by 5,544 x 9.15% + 4,456 x 5.05% = 732.31; the health premium stays 600
LIFT credit at 49,435: 875 - 5% x (49,435 - 32,500) = 28.25
Income tax with the RRSP: 6,100.67; saved 8,320.50 - 6,100.67 = 2,219.83
Saving per dollar = 2,219.83 / 10,000 = 22.20%; net cost 10,000 - 2,219.83 = 7,780.17
Income tax saved
CAD 2,219.83
Saving per dollar contributed
22.20%
Income tax without the RRSP
CAD 8,320.50
Income tax with the RRSP
CAD 6,100.67
Net cost of the contribution
CAD 7,780.17
18% of this income, up to the limit
CAD 10,800.00

Rounded one by one, the three parts add to 2,219.84. The tool rounds each year's net Ontario tax once, so the saving is a cent lower, as the CRA formulas give it.

How the RRSP tax saving is worked out

Saving = income tax without the RRSP - income tax with the RRSP
Taxable income = employment income - additional CPP and CPP2 - RRSP
Saving per dollar = saving / contribution
Net cost = contribution - saving

Both sides use the same steps as the Canada income tax calculator. Federal tax is the brackets on taxable income less credits at 14% for the basic personal amount, the Canada employment amount and the base CPP and EI contributions. Provincial tax is the province's own brackets less its credits, with the Ontario surtax, health premium, tax reduction and LIFT credit, the British Columbia tax reduction, or for Quebec the Quebec brackets and the federal abatement of 16.5%.

The RRSP comes off taxable income only. CPP, CPP2, EI and QPIP are worked out on employment income before it, and the Canada employment amount and contribution credits do not change. So every dollar of the saving comes from the brackets, from a credit that grows as income falls, or from a premium or surtax that shrinks.

Taking the difference of two full calculations is what makes the figure right across a bracket edge. In the Ontario example the first 912 of the deduction comes out of the 20.5% federal bracket and the other 9,088 out of the 14% one, and on the Ontario side 5,544 leaves the 9.15% bracket while 4,456 leaves the 5.05% one. Multiplying the whole contribution by the rate on the last dollar would overstate the saving by more than 700. The saving can even fall as income rises: in Ontario 5,000 saves 1,632.50 at 75,000 but 1,508.29 at 100,000, because at 75,000 the deduction also brings taxable income under a step of the Ontario Health Premium and saves 150 of it.

The limit check compares the contribution with two figures: the dollar limit for 2026 and 18% of the income entered. Real room uses last year's earned income, adds unused room and takes off a pension adjustment, so a warning here means the room is worth checking, and the saving is still shown as if the whole amount were deductible. A contribution larger than the pay left after CPP and EI is cut to that amount.

Frequently asked questions

How is the tax saving on an RRSP worked out?

The calculator runs the year without the contribution and again with it deducted, and takes the difference in income tax. On 60,000 in Ontario, income tax is 8,320.50 without an RRSP and 6,100.67 with 10,000 deducted, a saving of 2,219.83. That is 22.20% of the contribution, not the 29.65% income tax only rate on the last dollar of income (the 35.68% marginal rate of the salary tools also counts CPP and EI), because most of the deduction falls in the lower federal and Ontario brackets.

Why does the Ontario example include the LIFT credit?

Ontario's LIFT credit is up to 875, less 5% of adjusted net income over 32,500. At 59,435 of taxable income it is nil. The 10,000 deduction brings income down to 49,435, where 875 less 5% of 16,935 leaves 28.25. So the saving is 2,191.58 from the brackets plus 28.25 of LIFT, or 2,219.83. The income tax calculator shows the same credit as its own line.

How much can I put into an RRSP for 2026?

New room each year is 18% of the previous year's earned income, up to 33,810 dollars for 2026, plus room left unused from earlier years and less any pension adjustment. Your notice of assessment shows the total. This page knows only this year's income, so it compares the contribution with 18% of it, 10,800 on 60,000, and with the dollar limit, and warns when either is passed.

Do CPP and EI fall when I put money in an RRSP?

No. CPP, CPP2 and EI are charged on employment income before the RRSP, so they stay the same on both sides of the table. Only income tax changes. On 60,000 in Ontario a 10,000 contribution lowers take home pay for the year from 47,339.75 to 39,559.58, a drop of 7,780.17, which is the contribution less the 2,219.83 of income tax it saves.

Does the saving change from one province to another?

Yes, because each province has its own brackets and credits. For 10,000 at 60,000 of income the saving is 2,259.28 in Alberta, 2,209.79 in British Columbia, 2,219.83 in Ontario, 2,800.50 in Quebec and 2,954.28 in Nova Scotia. Income matters more: the same 10,000 at 150,000 in Ontario saves 4,340.96, or 43.41%, since it comes off the top brackets and the surtax.

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