Frank Numbers
BoC rate2.25%CPI2.8%CPP ceiling$74,600EI max$68,900TFSA limit$7,000

Save · 2026 rules

RRSP and TFSA Contribution Calculator

How much RRSP and TFSA room you have this year, the tax your RRSP contribution saves now, and what the balance grows to.

The short answer

On $95,000 of earned income, your new RRSP room is $17,100, which is 18% of income and under the $33,810 dollar limit. Contributing $12,000 at a 30% marginal rate returns $3,600 at tax time, so the contribution really costs $8,400.

Your RRSP room

C$

Room is 18% of this, capped at the annual dollar limit.

C$

On your latest CRA notice of assessment.

C$

From box 52 of your T4, if you are in a workplace pension.

What you contribute

C$
%

Federal plus provincial. The paycheque calculator will tell you.

C$
C$

Projection

years
%

Tax refund from your RRSP contribution

$3,600.00

Contributing $12,000.00 at a 30% marginal rate means the contribution really costs you $8,400.00 out of pocket.

Your room this year

New RRSP room

18% of $95,000

$17,100.00

Total RRSP room

$17,100.00

You are contributing

$12,000.00

Room left over

Carries forward indefinitely

$5,100.00

TFSA room left after your contribution

$0.00

Limits: Canada Revenue Agency, MP, DB, RRSP, DPSP, ALDA, TFSA limits, YMPE and YAMPEchecked Aug 1, 2026

If you keep this up for 27 years

RRSP and TFSA combined, at 6.00% a year.

$0$500,000$1,000,000Yr 1Yr 5Yr 9Yr 13Yr 17Yr 21Yr 25Yr 27

Hover the chart to read any year.

  • Contributions
  • Growth

Contributed over the period

$513,000.00

Growth

$764,032.55

Balance at retirement

$1,277,032.55
Show the mathHow room is calculated, and RRSP versus TFSA
new room = min(18% × $95,000, $33,810) − pension adjustment
         = $17,100

total room = new room + carry-forward = $17,100
refund     = contribution × 30% = $3,600

RRSP versus TFSA: an RRSP gives you the deduction now and is taxed on withdrawal; a TFSA gives you nothing now and is never taxed. The RRSP wins when your rate in retirement will be lower than it is today, and the TFSA wins when it will be higher.

What this does not model

The Home Buyers’ Plan and Lifelong Learning Plan, spousal RRSPs, the First Home Savings Account, withdrawal tax, or how RRSP income later interacts with OAS clawback. TFSA room also depends on your full history since 2009 and any withdrawals, which is why you enter it rather than us guessing it.

Questions

What people ask

How is my RRSP room calculated?

18% of your previous year's earned income, capped at the annual dollar limit of $33,810 for 2026, minus any pension adjustment from a workplace pension, plus every dollar of room you did not use in past years. Your notice of assessment has the exact figure.

RRSP or TFSA?

An RRSP gives you a deduction now and is taxed when you withdraw; a TFSA gives you nothing now and is never taxed. The RRSP wins when your retirement tax rate will be lower than today's, the TFSA when it will be higher. The TFSA is also more flexible if you might need the money.

What happens if I over-contribute?

The RRSP has a $2,000 lifetime buffer; beyond that, excess contributions are taxed at 1% a month until withdrawn. The TFSA has no buffer at all: every dollar over your room is taxed at 1% a month.

Does withdrawing from a TFSA give the room back?

Yes, but not until January 1 of the following year. Re-contributing in the same calendar year as a withdrawal is one of the most common ways people accidentally over-contribute.

Keep going

Related calculators

Compound Interest Calculator

What a starting balance plus regular contributions becomes over time, with the year-by-year table and how much of the total is growth.

Paycheque Calculator

See exactly what lands in your account after federal and provincial income tax, CPP and EI, with every bracket shown.

Canada tax figures for 2026, last reviewed August 1, 2026. Every rate used here is listed with its source on the official rates page.