RRIF minimum withdrawal calculator
Enter your RRIF balance on January 1 and your age. This applies the exact CRA mechanism for that age, whether that is the 1/(90 minus age) formula, the fixed prescribed table, or the flat 20% floor at 95, and shows what a permanent younger-spouse election would do instead.
Worked example — Your RRIF minimum this year: $21,600. $400,000 balance on January 1, age 72, no spousal election
Age 72, $400,000 balance on January 1: No spousal election: the fixed table factor for age 72 applies directly to the balance.
Advanced options 3
Both paths assume no growth on the balance and no withdrawals above the minimum, so the only thing changing between the two lines is which age sets the factor. Electing the spouse's age shown here keeps $16,984 more inside the RRIF over these 10 years than using your own age would, before any investment return on the difference.
The prescribed minimum withdrawal factor for every age, 71 to 95 plus
From 71 the factor comes from a fixed table set by Income Tax Regulation s.7308, not a formula: it does not continue the 1/(90 minus age) calculation that applies below it. At 95 and every age after, the factor is a flat 20% and stops climbing.
| Age | Factor | Minimum on $100,000 |
|---|---|---|
| 71 | 5.28% | $5,280 |
| 72 | 5.40% | $5,400 |
| 73 | 5.53% | $5,530 |
| 74 | 5.67% | $5,670 |
| 75 | 5.82% | $5,820 |
| 76 | 5.98% | $5,980 |
| 77 | 6.17% | $6,170 |
| 78 | 6.36% | $6,360 |
| 79 | 6.58% | $6,580 |
| 80 | 6.82% | $6,820 |
| 81 | 7.08% | $7,080 |
| 82 | 7.38% | $7,380 |
| 83 | 7.71% | $7,710 |
| 84 | 8.08% | $8,080 |
| 85 | 8.51% | $8,510 |
| 86 | 8.99% | $8,990 |
| 87 | 9.55% | $9,550 |
| 88 | 10.21% | $10,210 |
| 89 | 10.99% | $10,990 |
| 90 | 11.92% | $11,920 |
| 91 | 13.06% | $13,060 |
| 92 | 14.49% | $14,490 |
| 93 | 16.34% | $16,340 |
| 94 | 18.79% | $18,790 |
| 95+ | 20.00% | $20,000 |
Before 71, a RRIF opened early uses the 1/(90 minus age) formula instead. It always gives a lower factor than jumping straight to the fixed table would.
| Age | Factor | Minimum on $100,000 |
|---|---|---|
| 65 | 4.00% | $4,000 |
| 66 | 4.17% | $4,167 |
| 67 | 4.35% | $4,348 |
| 68 | 4.55% | $4,545 |
| 69 | 4.76% | $4,762 |
| 70 | 5.00% | $5,000 |
Your RRIF minimum at 72 on $400,000
$21,600. At 72, the fixed table sets the factor at 5.40%, applied to the balance the RRIF held on January 1, not today's balance and not what it holds at year end. There is no withholding tax on this amount by itself; see below for what changes once you take out more.
Your own age vs a younger spouse's age elected
A one-time, permanent choice made when the RRIF is set up: use the annuitant's own age to set every future factor, or a younger spouse or common-law partner's age instead. On the same $400,000 balance, a 72-year-old and a 68-year-old spouse elected in their place:
| Year | Own age | Minimum at own age | Spouse's age | Minimum at spouse's age |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 72 | $21,600 | 68 | $18,182 |
| 2 | 73 | $20,926 | 69 | $18,182 |
| 3 | 74 | $20,269 | 70 | $18,182 |
| 4 | 75 | $19,625 | 71 | $18,240 |
| 5 | 76 | $18,991 | 72 | $17,670 |
| 6 | 77 | $18,423 | 73 | $17,118 |
| 7 | 78 | $17,819 | 74 | $16,581 |
| 8 | 79 | $17,262 | 75 | $16,054 |
| 9 | 80 | $16,715 | 76 | $15,536 |
| 10 | 81 | $16,169 | 77 | $15,071 |
Over these 10 years the election keeps $16,984 more inside the RRIF than using the holder's own age would, before any investment return on that difference. The gap widens with every year the two ages are apart, because it compounds on a rising factor each year, not just once.
Why the minimum itself carries no withholding tax
Withholding tax applies to a lump sum taken from a registered plan. The minimum RRIF withdrawal is not a lump sum, it is the mandated amount, so no tax is withheld on it at source. Take more than the minimum and the excess is withheld at the same 10/20/30 tiers an RRSP withdrawal uses, applied to the excess alone. On $400,000 at 72, the minimum is $21,600. Take an extra $8,400 and that extra alone is withheld at 20%: $1,680 held back, not 20% of the full $30,000 withdrawal.
Either way, withholding is only an instalment against the year's actual tax. The minimum and any excess both count as income and are taxed at your marginal rate when you file, regardless of what was withheld at source.
Ages under 65 are not modelled: only the 65-70 formula years and the 71-and-up table were verified against two independent sources, so this refuses to guess at the years below that range. This also does not cover withholding on periodic or annuitized RRIF payments, which follows different rules than the lump sum above the minimum. Next: price what an excess withdrawal actually costs in the RRSP withdrawal withholding tax calculator.
Where these numbers come from
The prescribed factor table and the lump-sum withholding tiers are both published by the Canada Revenue Agency. Each was checked against a second independent source on 2026-08-08. The factor table is statutory and has not changed since a 2015 revision, so it is a one-time cross-check rather than a January re-verification; the withholding tiers are checked the same way.
- CRA - Chart of prescribed factors (RRIF minimum withdrawals) the 1/(90 - age) formula below 71 and the fixed factor table from 71 to 95+
- TaxTips.ca - RRIF minimum withdrawal factors independent confirmation of the full 71-94 factor series and the 20% floor at 95
- CRA - Tax rates on withdrawals from an RRSP the 10/20/30 lump-sum withholding tiers, the halved Quebec rates and the 25% non-resident rate
- Scotiabank - your guide to RRSP withdrawals independent confirmation of the withholding tiers and the combined Quebec 19/24/29
This is general publishing, not tax advice, and it does not know your circumstances. Your own RRIF issuer confirms the balance and the factor applied to your plan, which is the number that governs.
The next question after this one
RRSP withdrawal withholding tax calculatorCalculatorThe minimum has no withholding. Anything you take above it does, and this prices exactly how much at your withdrawal size.Open nextOther questions
- OAS clawback calculatorCalculatorA RRIF withdrawal counts as net income for the OAS recovery tax test. See what a bigger withdrawal costs you there before you take more than the minimum.
- RRSP vs TFSA calculatorCalculatorThe minimum withdrawal rule only applies once money is already in a RRIF. This compares where new retirement savings should go in the first place.
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What Pro adds here
Provincial withholding add-ons, a full retirement income sequencing model across RRIF, CPP and OAS together, and the GIS interaction a larger RRIF withdrawal can trigger. The launch list sends one email at launch.