Tax · Canada
Refund estimator.
Estimate whether you'll get a refund or owe at tax time, based on your income, deductions, credits, and tax already paid through source deductions.
Inputs
Your refund
Fill the form and press Calculate.
How the estimate works
Your tax owing = tax on (income − deductions) − non-refundable credits. Your refund = tax already paid − tax owing. We use the 2026 federal and provincial/territorial brackets with the basic personal amount, and apply standard credits for donations, medical expenses (above 3% of income), and childcare. Provincial low-income tax reductions and the Ontario Health Premium are not modelled.
TNAADO Inc. · Toronto
A refund is an overpayment, not a windfall
A refund is the difference between the tax withheld from your pay across the year and the tax you actually owed once credits and deductions were applied. It is your own money, lent to the government at no interest. This estimator sets tax payable on the 2026 brackets against the tax you say was withheld. A large refund usually means the TD1 on file overstates withholding, or a deduction such as RRSP contributions, childcare or union dues never reached payroll.
The mistake people make. Reading the refund as a measure of how the year went. Two people with identical incomes and identical tax bills can get wildly different refunds purely because of what their employers withheld. The number worth watching is total tax payable. If the refund is consistently large, a T1213 request to reduce tax deductions at source converts it into cash flow during the year instead of a lump sum in the spring.
Disclaimer
Estimates for educational purposes only. Real CRA assessments include many additional credits (dependants, disability, etc.) not modelled here.