RRSP deadline: how long do you have to contribute for 2026?
The deadline decides which year a contribution can be deducted for. Enter your province, your income and the amount you put in: the calculator shows the tax you will save.
Refund or tax saved
$1,779
Average rate on the contribution: 29.7%; marginal rate before: 29.7%.
| Federal tax saved | $1,230 |
| Provincial tax saved | $549 |
| Taxable income after the deduction | $79,000 |
| Total tax before / after | $16,230 / $14,451 |
The “refund” is the drop in your tax for the year: it comes back as cash only if the tax withheld from your pay exceeded the tax owed.
| Province or territory | Marginal rate | Tax saved |
|---|---|---|
| Quebec | 36.1% | $2,167 |
| Ontario | 29.7% | $1,779 |
| British Columbia | 28.2% | $1,692 |
| Alberta | 30.5% | $1,830 |
| Manitoba | 33.3% | $1,995 |
| Saskatchewan | 33.0% | $1,980 |
| Nova Scotia | 37.2% | $2,230 |
| New Brunswick | 34.5% | $2,070 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 35.0% | $2,100 |
| Prince Edward Island | 37.1% | $2,226 |
| Yukon | 29.5% | $1,770 |
| Northwest Territories | 29.1% | $1,746 |
| Nunavut | 27.5% | $1,650 |
Prepared by Radif Partners · How we calculate · limits and tax tables read on canada.ca · estimates only, not a notice of assessment
The deadline to contribute to an RRSP and deduct it for the 2025 tax year was March 2, 2026. For 2026, the law accepts contributions made in the 60 days after the end of the year, which means up to March 1, 2027; the Canada Revenue Agency will confirm the official date later. A contribution made between January 1 and that date can be deducted for the previous year, for the current year or for a later year, as you choose, as long as it has not been deducted already. Missing the deadline costs you nothing permanent: the contribution stays available and is deducted later, within your deduction limit. For an Ontario resident earning $85,000, a $6,000 deduction cuts tax by $1,779. The one date with no second chance is December 31 of the year you turn 71, the last day to contribute to your own RRSP.
The 2025 and 2026 deadlines
An RRSP contribution is tied to a tax year by the date it is made. The Canada Revenue Agency page of important dates gives March 2, 2026 as the last day to contribute for 2025. For 2026, the Income Tax Act accepts contributions made in the 60 days after the end of the year: the 60th day of 2027 is March 1, 2027. The CRA will confirm the official date on that same page, and that is the one that counts.
| Deduction year | Contributions made | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | March 4, 2025 to March 2, 2026 | March 2, 2026 |
| 2026 | March 3, 2026 to March 1, 2027 | March 1, 2027 (60-day rule) |
The 2025 window comes from the CRA page on the deduction limit, which accepts contributions from March 4, 2025 to March 2, 2026. The 2026 window starts the day after the previous deadline.
The first 60 days: a choice, not an obligation
A contribution made in January or February can serve two years. Guide T4040 lets you deduct for 2025 every contribution made up to March 2, 2026 that was not deducted for another year. So you can claim it on the previous year's return, or keep it for the current year or later. You choose when you file the return, not when you make the contribution.
The right choice depends on the rate. In Ontario, at $85,000 of taxable income, the marginal rate is 29.7% and a $6,000 deduction saves $1,779. If your income rises to $120,000 the next year, the same deduction would save $2,437. An undeducted contribution keeps growing sheltered from tax in the meantime.
Reporting a contribution you do not deduct
If you are not deducting everything you contributed during the year and the first 60 days of the next, the CRA asks you to fill out Schedule 7 with the previous year's return. Contributions reported that way then show up on your notice of assessment, on the line for unused contributions available to deduct. If the return is already filed, send Schedule 7 with Form T1-ADJ, T1 Adjustment Request, to your tax centre along with your receipts.
Your deduction limit for the year
2026 RRSP deduction limit
$14,400
| 18% of 2025 earned income | $14,400 |
| 2026 dollar limit | $33,810 |
| Minus pension adjustment | $0 |
| New room this year | $14,400 |
After the deadline
Missing the date costs you nothing permanent. A contribution made the next day is simply deducted for the following year, or later. Your room does not vanish either: unused room is added to the next year's limit. What it costs you is a year of waiting for the tax saving. If the contribution was made for a precise reason, such as lowering the income used for a benefit, the timing matters more than the tax itself.
The real trap is an excess. Undeducted contributions still count: if they exceed your deduction limit by more than $2,000, the excess pays 1% a month, according to the excess contributions page. When the CRA does not know the exact month of your contributions, it places those from the first 60 days in January. The RRSP over-contribution page explains how to fix it.
The year you turn 71
December 31 of the year you turn 71 is the last day to contribute to your own RRSP. The 60-day window does not extend it. If your spouse is younger, you can keep contributing to their RRSP until the end of the year they turn 71, using your own room; the spousal RRSP page explains how it works. Unused contributions stay deductible after that age, within your limit.
One special case: after a death, nobody can contribute to the deceased person's RRSP, but their legal representative can contribute to the surviving spouse's RRSP during the year of death or the first 60 days of the next year, and claim it on the return for the year of death, up to the deceased person's deduction limit.