Investment Calculators · Canada
RRSP growth.
Project your Registered Retirement Savings Plan balance and the tax refund you get back this year for every dollar contributed.
An RRSP growth calculator. Enter your contribution, expected rate of return, years to retirement, income and province. It projects the tax-deferred balance at retirement and estimates the tax refund your contribution generates at your marginal rate.
The rule it reflects: contributions are tax-deductible and growth is tax-deferred, but withdrawals are taxed as ordinary income, so the RRSP pays off when you contribute in a high-income year and withdraw in a lower-income one.
Inputs
At retirement
Fill the form and press Calculate.
About the RRSP
RRSP contributions are tax-deductible and the investments inside grow tax-deferred. Withdrawals are taxed as ordinary income, so the RRSP works best when you contribute in a high-income year and withdraw in a lower-income retirement year. Your marginal rate is estimated from your gross income and selected province.
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Room, deduction and withdrawal are three separate things
RRSP contribution room is 18% of the previous year’s earned income up to an annual dollar ceiling the CRA indexes each year, plus every dollar of unused room carried forward since 1991, less any pension adjustment from a workplace plan. The deduction saves tax at your marginal rate, the account then grows untaxed, and the withdrawal is taxed as ordinary income. The whole value of the account is the difference between the rate going in and the rate coming out.
The mistake people make. Calculating your own room. The pension adjustment is easy to get wrong, and an over-contribution beyond the $2,000 buffer is penalised at 1% per month until it is withdrawn, so use the figure on your notice of assessment or in CRA My Account. Note also that an RRSP withdrawal permanently destroys the room it used: unlike a TFSA, RRSP room does not come back.
Frequently asked questions
How much can I contribute to my RRSP?
18% of your earned income from the previous year, up to an annual dollar ceiling that is indexed each year, plus any unused room carried forward from earlier years. Pension adjustments from a workplace plan reduce it.
Unused RRSP room carries forward indefinitely, so a year you cannot contribute is not a year lost. Your exact limit appears on your notice of assessment and in CRA My Account: use that figure rather than calculating it yourself, because the pension adjustment is easy to get wrong.
How much will I get back from an RRSP contribution?
Roughly your contribution multiplied by your marginal tax rate. A $10,000 contribution for someone with a 43% marginal rate reduces tax by about $4,300.
A large contribution can straddle two brackets, in which case the top portion is relieved at the higher rate and the remainder at the lower one, so the blended benefit is slightly less than the headline figure. The deduction can also be carried forward and claimed in a later, higher-income year: useful if this year’s income is unusually low.
Should I contribute to an RRSP or a TFSA?
The RRSP is better when your marginal rate today is higher than the rate you expect on withdrawal, since you deduct at the high rate and pay at the low one. The TFSA is better when the reverse is true, or when you may need the money before retirement.
One point that is often missed: RRSP withdrawals count as income and can claw back income-tested benefits such as OAS, while TFSA withdrawals never do. For many people the answer is both; RRSP for retirement, TFSA for flexibility.
Disclaimer
Educational only. RRSP limits change annually - always verify your personal contribution room with CRA. Marginal rates approximated using 2024 brackets.