RRSP tax refund estimator
Contributing to your RRSP lowers your taxable income — and lowers your tax bill by more than you'd guess if the contribution spans a bracket. This works out the refund, bracket by bracket, for your province and the 2026 tax year.
RRSP tax refund estimator
Put in your taxable income, pick your province, and enter your RRSP contribution. See the estimated refund, the effective subsidy rate, and the breakdown between federal and provincial savings. No signup; the math runs right here. On the 2026 tax rules.
- Federal refund
- $1,821
- Provincial refund
- $915
- Marginal rate at your income
- 29.6%
Capped to your $10,000 available room.
Contribution capped to your taxable income.
On the 2026 tax year.
Recurna Flow
That's the refund your contribution earns you. The part a calculator can't show you is what that money does when it comes back — whether it changes April, smooths a tight month, or shifts the whole year.
Flow is in invite-only beta — apply once (reviewed weekly), and founding members get Pro free for a year.
Estimates only, not financial advice — based on marginal federal and provincial tax rates with the basic personal amount, on the 2026 tax year. Your actual refund depends on your full return, other deductions, and any tax owing from other sources.
How this math works
An RRSP contribution reduces your taxable income for the year, so the refund it generates is simply that contribution multiplied by your marginal tax rate — and if the contribution spans more than one bracket, each portion is refunded at its own rate. Contribution room is the ceiling on how much you can put in without a penalty: a percentage of your prior year's earned income, up to an annual dollar limit, plus any unused room carried forward from earlier years. The refund isn't free money — it's deferred tax. The contribution lowers what you owe now, but the amount is taxed when it's eventually withdrawn, so the benefit is paying tax later, often at a lower rate, rather than avoiding it. Contributions made in the first 60 days of a calendar year can be applied to either that year or the previous tax year, whichever gives the better result — after that window, a contribution only counts for the year you make it.
How is the refund actually calculated?
Your contribution reduces your taxable income, so the refund is that contribution multiplied by your marginal tax rate — bracket by bracket if the contribution spans more than one. A contribution that crosses a bracket boundary gets part of it refunded at each rate.
What is contribution room?
It's the maximum you're allowed to contribute in a year without a penalty — based on a percentage of your prior year's earned income, up to an annual dollar limit, plus any unused room carried forward from previous years.
Is the refund free money?
No — it's deferred tax. The contribution comes out of your taxable income now, but the money is taxed later when it's withdrawn. The refund is the benefit of paying that tax later, often at a lower rate, not tax you avoid entirely.
What is the first-60-days deadline?
Contributions made in the first 60 days of a calendar year can be applied to either that year or the previous tax year, whichever gives the better result. After that window, a contribution only counts for the year you make it.