RRSP tax refund calculator
What a contribution really returns — measured by running your return twice, not by multiplying by a bracket rate. And the room a year of your income actually generates.
Written and edited by Pablo Ruiz QuinteroSources checked September 1, 2026Limits and withholding rates read off canada.ca on 2026-09-07so $10,000 costs you $7,154
| Contribution | $10,000 |
| Tax saved at 29.65% marginal | −$2,846 |
| Net cost to you | $7,154 |
| Room a year on this income generates | $15,300 |
What $10,000 into an RRSP actually returns
In Ontario, on $85,000 of income, contributing $10,000 reduces your tax by $2,846. The real cost of putting that money away is $7,154, not $10,000.
That figure is not $10,000 times a bracket rate. It is measured by running the whole return twice — with the contribution and without it — because a contribution of that size crosses thresholds, and the rate that applies to the first dollar of it is not the rate that applies to the last.
Your marginal rate at that income in Ontario is 29.65%, which is why the relief is worth what it is. The same $10,000 contributed by someone in the bottom band would be worth far less, and by someone at the top far more. An RRSP is worth more the more you earn, which is the part the marketing rarely leads with.
How much you can actually put in
The room a year of income generates is 18% of earned income, capped at $33,810 for 2026 — rising to $35,390 in 2027. On $85,000 that is $15,300.
But that is not your room. Your actual limit is on your notice of assessment, and two things change it: unused room carries forward indefinitely from every year you did not fill it, and a pension adjustment reduces it if you belong to a workplace plan. Someone with a defined-benefit pension can generate almost no new RRSP room at all.
Over-contributing is penalised at 1% a month on the excess above a $2,000 lifetime cushion, so the notice of assessment is the number to use — not a percentage of your salary.
The same contribution, province by province
$10,000 contributed on $85,000 of income, and what it saves in each jurisdiction:
1. Nova Scotia — $3,568 back
2. Prince Edward Island — $3,562 back
3. Quebec — $3,456 back
4. Newfoundland and Labrador — $3,360 back
5. New Brunswick — $3,312 back
6. Manitoba — $3,192 back
7. Saskatchewan — $3,168 back
8. Alberta — $2,928 back
9. Ontario — $2,846 back ← this page
10. Yukon — $2,832 back
11. Northwest Territories — $2,794 back
12. British Columbia — $2,707 back
13. Nunavut — $2,640 back
The spread is $928 on an identical contribution, and it runs the opposite way to what people expect: the relief is worth most where the tax is highest. A province that takes more from your salary also gives more back on an RRSP.
Claiming it later can be worth more
The contribution and the deduction are two different decisions. You can contribute this year and carry the deduction forward to a year when your marginal rate is higher — after a promotion, or after moving to a province that taxes more.
At $85,000 in Ontario the deduction is worth 29.65%. At $150,000 it would be worth 43.41%. On $10,000 that is a difference of $1,376 for doing nothing but waiting.
The deadline to contribute for a tax year is 60 days into the next one — the first days of March. Missing it does not lose the room, but it does push the relief a full year out.
Where these figures come from
Read off the CRA's own pages, with the date:
CRA — MP, DB, RRSP, DPSP, ALDA, TFSA limits, YMPE and the YAMPE — read 2026-09-07. https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/registered-plans-administrators/pspa/mp-rrsp-dpsp-tfsa-limits-ympe.html
CRA — Tax rates on RRSP withdrawals — read 2026-09-07. https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/topics/rrsps-related-plans/making-withdrawals/tax-rates-on-withdrawals.html
CRA — First Home Savings Account (FHSA) — read 2026-09-07. https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/topics/first-home-savings-account.html
And what these figures do not cover:
— Your actual RRSP room is not 18% of this year's income. It is the room the CRA carries on your notice of assessment: unused room from previous years carries forward, and a pension adjustment from a workplace plan reduces it. The figure here is the room a year of this salary generates, not the room you have.
— The Home Buyers' Plan and the Lifelong Learning Plan let you withdraw from an RRSP without the withholding or the tax, provided you repay on schedule. Neither is modelled.
— A withdrawal permanently loses the contribution room it used. That is not a tax cost, so it does not appear in the figures — but it is the part that costs most over a lifetime.
— The FHSA lifetime limit and the rules for carrying unused room forward are not applied; the annual participation room in the first year is what is shown.
Where to go next
Questions
- How much will I get back for an RRSP contribution in Ontario?
- $2,846 on a $10,000 contribution at $85,000 of income — a real cost of $7,154. It saves tax at your marginal rate of 29.65%, not at a flat percentage.
- How much RRSP room do I have?
- A year on $85,000 generates $15,300 — 18% of earned income, capped at $33,810 for 2026. Your real limit is on your notice of assessment: unused room carries forward, and a workplace pension reduces it.
- Is an RRSP better than a TFSA?
- They are opposite decisions. An RRSP deduction is worth your marginal rate now and the money is taxed on the way out; a TFSA gives no deduction and nothing is taxed on the way out. The $7,000 TFSA limit for 2026 wins if you expect a higher rate in retirement than today, and the RRSP wins if you expect a lower one.
- When is the RRSP deadline?
- Sixty days into the following year — the first days of March. You can also contribute now and carry the deduction forward to a year when your rate is higher, which is worth $1,376 on $10,000 if your income goes from $85,000 to $150,000.