RRSP vs TFSA calculator
Enter the pre-tax amount you can save, your marginal rate now, and your expected rate in retirement. This grows both wrappers, taxes the RRSP on the way out, and shows the retirement rate at which the two finish exactly level.
Worked example — RRSP wins, after tax, by: $2,361. On $10,000 of pre-tax money, 26% marginal rate now, 20.5% in retirement, 25 years
2026 federal brackets shown. Add your province for your true combined marginal rate.
Advanced options 2
Two things this deliberately leaves out, because both are personal rather than arithmetic. An RRSP withdrawal counts as income and can claw back Old Age Security and the Guaranteed Income Supplement, which pushes the effective retirement rate above the headline bracket for lower-income retirees. And an RRSP contribution generates a refund that only helps if you invest it rather than spend it.
Break-even table across 8 retirement tax rates
The comparison is fair because both columns start from the same $10,000 of pre-tax income. Only the retirement rate changes down the rows.
| Rate in retirement | RRSP after tax | TFSA after tax | Wins |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15% | $36,481 | $31,760 | RRSP |
| 20% | $34,335 | $31,760 | RRSP |
| 25% | $32,189 | $31,760 | RRSP |
| 30% | $30,043 | $31,760 | TFSA |
| 35% | $27,897 | $31,760 | TFSA |
| 40% | $25,751 | $31,760 | TFSA |
| 45% | $23,605 | $31,760 | TFSA |
| 50% | $21,459 | $31,760 | TFSA |
At what retirement tax rate does the TFSA win?
Whenever your retirement rate is higher than your rate today. The break-even is exactly your current marginal rate: at 26.0% now, the TFSA wins the moment your retirement rate clears 26.0%. Nothing else in the calculator moves that number: the return, the horizon and the amount all cancel.
RRSP vs TFSA at the 2026 federal brackets
The same $10,000 pre-tax, 25 years, 6% return, held against a fixed 20.5% retirement rate, run at each of the five real 2026 federal brackets as "your rate now".
| Your rate now | RRSP after tax | TFSA after tax | Wins |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14.0% | $34,120 | $36,910 | TFSA |
| 20.5% | $34,120 | $34,120 | tie |
| 26.0% | $34,120 | $31,760 | RRSP |
| 29.0% | $34,120 | $30,472 | RRSP |
| 33.0% | $34,120 | $28,756 | RRSP |
Does GIS or OAS clawback change the answer?
Yes, and it is not in the arithmetic above. RRSP and RRIF withdrawals count as income, so they can reduce the Guaranteed Income Supplement and trigger the Old Age Security clawback above the repayment threshold. TFSA withdrawals are invisible to both, because a TFSA withdrawal is not income.
| Withdrawal source | Counts as income for GIS / OAS |
|---|---|
| RRSP or RRIF | Yes, can reduce GIS and trigger OAS clawback |
| TFSA | No, invisible to both |
This can make the TFSA the better wrapper for a lower-income retiree even when their headline bracket suggests the opposite, because the effective clawback rate does not show up in any bracket table. Check the current rates directly on CRA and Service Canada before relying on this for a specific retirement income plan.
This models a single contribution rather than a stream, one constant return, and one marginal rate at withdrawal rather than a schedule that moves through brackets. It does not model the Home Buyers' Plan, spousal RRSPs, employer matching, or the mandatory RRIF conversion at 71.
Where these numbers come from
These official sources govern the figures and rules used on this page. They were re-verified on 9 August 2026. Registered-account and tax rules can change, so re-check the linked government guidance before acting.
- CRA — Contributing to a TFSA TFSA annual dollar limits, how room accrues and how withdrawals are restored
- CRA — MP, DB, RRSP, DPSP, ALDA, TFSA limits, YMPE and YAMPE RRSP dollar limit by year
This is general publishing, not tax advice, and it does not know your circumstances. Your own contribution room is on your CRA notice of assessment and in My Account, which is the number that governs.
The next question after this one
TFSA contribution room calculatorCalculatorThe decision is academic until you know how much TFSA room you have. This works it out from your birth year.Open nextOther questions
All 130 calculatorsHow JMM sources and checks its numbersWhat stays free, and what early access would add
What Pro adds here
Contribution streams, a withdrawal schedule that moves through brackets, and OAS and GIS clawbacks priced into the retirement rate. The launch list sends one email at launch.