Input page: is where you will input most of the
information used by the calculator.
Results page: You can modify the RRSP withdrawal
amount on the Results page, for any year in which there is no deposit. It
shows your Net Disposable Income (cash in your pocket), as well as ending
balance of investments, for both the RRSP scenario and TFSA scenario, and the
difference between the two. It also shows any clawback of Old Age Security,
and shows an estimate of Guaranteed Income Supplement to which you may be
entitled.
Use your browser print function to print the pages
of the calculator - preview before printing.
Enter data in the yellow cells, from top to
bottom. Recalculation is automatic when you move to another cell.
Warnings may appear (shown in red), for which you
will have to make changes.
About you
Choose
province or territory
AB
BC
MB
NB
NL
NS
NT
NU
ON
PE
QC
SK
YT
Your age at prior year end
(must be 17 or older)
Current and future income (Do not include CPP, OAS,
RRSP/RRIF/TFSA, or eligible Pension income)
Current
annual gross "earned" income (for RRSP contribution room
calculation)
Current annual taxable income
- including above "earned" income, excluding
CPP/OAS
Age at which you will retire
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
Estimated annual gross income per year AFTER
starting withdrawals from RRSP/RRIF or TFSA, excluding CPP, OAS and eligible pension income which is entered after
CPP and OAS income:
- INCLUDE estimated
withdrawals from already existing RRSPs/RRIFs
CPP and OAS income
OAS increses by 10% at age 75 - done automatically by the
calculator
OAS begins at age (min 65 max
70)
65
66
67
68
69
70
CPP begins at age (minimum
60, maximum 70)
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
See your CPP statement of contributions for your estimated CPP
retirement pension amount at age 65.
See our CPP Retirement Pension
Calculator to help determine what your CPP amount will be.
Eligible pension income from other sources (eligible for
pension tax credit)
Don't
forget that eligible pension income can be split with a spouse.
Estimated annual eligible
pension income (e.g. company pension, RRIF)
Begins at age
RRSPs and RRIFs
Amount of annual RRSP
contribution that will be made (may have to be reduced - see TFSA section
below)
Age at which to convert RRSPs
to RRIF (max is 71)
Although
in reality contributions to an RRSP can be made until age 71, for purposes of
this calculator no more deposits can be made after the RRSP is converted to a
RRIF. The maximum number of years that contributions can be made is (age at
which you convert to a RRIF less current age)
Number of years to make
contributions
Estimated return on RRSP/RRIF
or TFSA
The last deposit will be made
in the year in which you turn (max 71)
Minimum withdrawals from your
RRIF will begin in the year in which you turn
You can start your actual
withdrawals earlier than this, but not until after your deposits are
finished.
How many years do you want
the RRSP/RRIF to last after withdrawals are started? (1 to 50)
If you would like to enter a different withdrawal
amount in any year in which deposits are not being made, you can do this in
the yellow input cells on the Results page. Remember to press the Calculate
button after making your entries.Note that if the desired withdrawal is less than the
minimum withdrawal, the minimum withdrawal will be used.
Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA)
Annual deposits are calculated based on your RRSP contribution
less your tax savings.
Your tax savings in first
year is
However, see our notes in red below re
limitations of this calculator.
If you look at the "Results" page, you
will see which type of account provides income for more years - the RRSP or
the TFSA.
Note that if income is low enough, at age 65+,
for Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) to be received by the taxpayer, it is
very likely that there will be other benefits available that are not
reflected by the calculator. These
benefits could include low-income tax reductions, health care benefits, etc.
Notes:
If you already have an RRSP that will be converted
to a RRIF, the income from the RRIF after age 65 would be included in
"eligible pension income from sources other than above RRIF". This information is needed, because RRIF
income is eligible for the pension income tax credit for age 65+. For this reason, it may be helpful to
convert at least a portion of your RRSPs to a RRIF at age 64 or 65.
Withdrawals from the TFSA are equal to the RRSP/RRIF
withdrawal less tax on the withdrawal.
If the RRSP/RRIF is reduced to zero before the
TFSA, the calculator shows a withdrawal of the remaining balance of the TFSA
in the following year. This just
highlights how much is remaining in the TFSA at that time.
There are LOTS of limitations to this
calculator: - It assumes your salary is not
increasing over time, which is probably not correct. - It assumes tax thresholds and
rates are constant - they are not - most thresholds are indexed, and all can
be changed by budgets. - It assumes you do not have any
carry-forwards of TFSA or RRSP contribution room. If the result says TFSAs
are better, maximize your TFSA and then also contribute to an RRSP, unless
you're in the lowest tax bracket.
The tax calculation is for a single person with
no dependents, using 2024 tax rates and credits known as of July 21, 2024.
Tax credits included in the calculation:
- Basic
personal amount, including Federal, Nova Scotia and Yukon additional personal
amounts
- Age
amount, and SK senior supplementary amount (not NS additional age amounts)
- Pension
income amount
- QC
federal tax abatement
There are no low income tax credits or refundable
tax credits included in the calculation.
For links to articles which provide information
on many of the factors used above, go back to the TFSA vs RRSP Calculator
information page, which should still be open in your browser.