RRSP vs TFSA in 2026: which one leaves you more?
Enter your province, your income, what you can save and the income you expect in retirement: the calculator puts the same effort in both accounts and compares what you keep after tax.
RRSP advantage, after tax
$1,709
Rate saved today 36.1%, rate paid on withdrawal 25.7%. The winner is the account taxed least on the way out.
| RRSP contribution for the same effort | $7,827 |
| Of which tax refund | $2,827 |
| TFSA at the end | $10,469 |
| RRSP at the end, before tax | $16,388 |
| Tax on RRSP withdrawals | -$4,210 |
| RRSP after tax | $12,178 |
2026 tax tables applied at both ends, in today’s dollars (brackets are indexed every year).
Prepared by Radif Partners · How we calculate · limits and tax tables read on canada.ca · estimates only, not a notice of assessment
If your tax rate is the same when you contribute and when you withdraw, an RRSP and a TFSA leave you exactly the same amount after tax: in Ontario, with $75,000 of income today and $62,000 of retirement income, $5,000 of savings grow to $10,469 in a TFSA after 25 years and to $10,469 in an RRSP once the tax is paid. The RRSP pulls ahead when the rate on withdrawals is lower than the rate you save today, and the TFSA wins when it is higher. That tie assumes the RRSP tax refund is invested too: here $7,107 goes into the RRSP for the same $5,000 effort. Spend the refund and the RRSP falls about $3,104 behind in this example. Income-tested benefits such as the GIS, the income supplement for low-income seniors, and the Old Age Security recovery tax count RRSP withdrawals and ignore TFSA withdrawals. The calculator runs the numbers with your province's 2026 brackets.
Why the two accounts tie at the same rate
An RRSP saves you tax today and charges it when you withdraw. A TFSA gives nothing back today, but everything comes out tax-free. If the rate is the same at both ends, the two mechanisms cancel out. To check it, the calculator starts from the same after-tax effort: with $5,000 out of your pocket, you can put $5,000 in a TFSA or $7,107 in an RRSP, since the deduction will return $2,107. Both amounts grow at the same return.
An Ontario example: $75,000 of income today, $62,000 of pension income in retirement, 25 years invested at 3% a year after inflation, withdrawals spread over 20 years. The rate saved going in is 29.6%, and so is the rate paid coming out. The TFSA is worth $10,469. The RRSP is worth $14,881 before tax, the tax on its withdrawals comes to $4,412, which leaves $10,469. The same amount to the dollar: growth helps both accounts equally, and tax taken at the start or at the end works out the same.
What tips the balance: the rate at withdrawal
So it all comes down to the gap between two rates. The first is the rate saved on the contribution: your marginal rate, or slightly less if the deduction pushes your income below a bracket threshold. The second is the average rate on RRSP withdrawals, stacked on top of your other retirement income (CPP or QPP, Old Age Security, an employer pension). What matters is not the rate of the next bracket but the actual tax on each withdrawal.
Contribute at 33.2% in Manitoba and withdraw later at 24.8%, and the RRSP ends $1,325 ahead of the TFSA. The other way round, someone in Alberta earning $40,000 today who expects $70,000 of retirement income saves 22.0% by contributing and would pay 30.5% on withdrawal: the TFSA wins by $1,141. That is the typical early-career case, or a year of parental leave or low income. Each province's rates are on the marginal tax rate page, taken from the rates published by the Canada Revenue Agency.
| Profile | Income today | Retirement income | Rate saved | Rate on withdrawal | Net gap | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quebec | $45,000 | $30,000 | 25.7% | 25.7% | $0 | tie |
| Ontario | $75,000 | $58,000 | 29.6% | 25.1% | $680 | RRSP |
| Manitoba | $70,000 | $25,000 | 33.2% | 24.8% | $1,325 | RRSP |
| Alberta | $40,000 | $70,000 | 22.0% | 30.5% | $1,141 | TFSA |
| Saskatchewan | $55,000 | $20,000 | 24.6% | 18.7% | $820 | RRSP (GIS at risk) |
The refund has to be invested, or the comparison breaks
The tie rests on a point people often forget: an RRSP only matches or beats a TFSA if the tax refund is saved too. In the Ontario example, putting $5,000 in the RRSP and spending the refund means investing less than in the TFSA. After 25 years and the tax on withdrawals, only about $7,365 is left, against $10,469 in the TFSA. Two simple ways to keep the math fair: contribute the gross amount from the start, or put the refund back into the RRSP or TFSA when it arrives. The RRSP tax refund page shows how that amount is worked out.
Benefits: what really changes
Three federal benefits depend on income, and the two accounts affect them differently. TFSA income and withdrawals do not reduce Old Age Security (OAS), the GIS or the Canada Child Benefit (CCB), according to the Canada Revenue Agency. RRSP withdrawals, on the other hand, are added to income.
The GIS. It goes to seniors whose annual income is below $23,112 for a single person, under the eligibility rules of the Government of Canada. RRSP and RRIF withdrawals count in that income, TFSA withdrawals do not. For someone who expects to live mostly on public pensions, like the Saskatchewan profile in the table, the RRSP tax advantage can melt away. The calculator flags the case but does not put a number on the lost supplement.
Old Age Security recovery tax. It only hits higher incomes: 15% of net income above $95,323 for 2026 income, according to the recovery tax page. A retiree with $100,000 of net income repays $702 of pension over the year. Most people stay below the threshold; the calculator adds it when your withdrawals cross it.
Canada Child Benefit. Here the RRSP helps: the deduction lowers family net income for the year and raises the benefit paid from July of the following year, under the CRA calculation. With two children and $90,000 of family net income, a $5,000 deduction brings about $285 more in benefits. The details are on the RRSP and child benefit page.
Your marginal rate today
2026 combined marginal rate, Quebec
36.1%
| Federal share (after the 16.5% abatement) | 17.1% |
| Quebec share | 19.0% |
| Total tax on this income | $14,812 |
| Average rate | 21.2% |
Other differences worth knowing
Room works differently. A TFSA withdrawal gives your room back the next January 1; an RRSP withdrawal never does. You can contribute to an RRSP until December 31 of the year you turn 71; a TFSA has no maximum age. RRSP room depends on earned income (18% of the previous year's, up to the $33,810 limit for 2026, see canada.ca), while TFSA room is the same for everyone: $7,000 this year. Interest on money borrowed to contribute is not deductible for either account.
Last, the result is an estimate. It applies the 2026 tax tables at both ends, in today's dollars, while future brackets will change. It leaves out the pension income and age credits. The figures that count are the ones on your notice of assessment.