RRSP withdrawal withholding tax calculator

Enter what you're withdrawing and your other income for the year. This separates what the bank withholds from estimated federal tax after the 2026 Basic Personal Amount and before other credits.

Worked example — Estimated federal balance after the BPA: $50. $2,050 estimated federal tax after the 2026 BPA and before other credits, against $2,000 withheld federally

Price your own RRSP withdrawal

The withholding tax the bank takes off is not the tax you owe. It is a flat rate on the whole withdrawal, picked by which of three tiers the amount falls into. The federal estimate stacks it on your income, applies the 2026 BPA, and stops before other credits.

Try:

Withdrawal amount$Other income this year$

Where you live

Split the withdrawal 1

Take it as this many equal withdrawals this year

Net received$8,000

Combined rate withheld20%

Federal rate withheld20.0%

Estimated tax after BPA$2,050

Withholding steps at each tier boundary; the federal estimate rises with the marginal federal rate. Where the gold line sits above the blue one, the withdrawal is over-withheld at source.

Federal withholding compared with estimated incremental federal tax after the 2026 Basic Personal Amount. Other federal credits, provincial tax outside Quebec's flat withholding, the Home Buyers' Plan, the Lifelong Learning Plan, and RRIF payments above the minimum are out of scope.

How much tax is withheld on a $10,000 RRSP withdrawal?

$2,000 outside Quebec, a flat 20% of the whole $10,000, regardless of your income. You would receive $8,000. That is what leaves the account, not a final tax bill: on $60,000 of other income, the withdrawal produces $2,050 of estimated federal tax after the BPA, which is more than the $2,000 withheld federally, leaving a balance owed of $50 at filing, federal only.

RRSP withholding tax rates, in and outside Quebec

The rate is chosen by the size of the withdrawal, then applied to the whole amount. Exactly $5,000 and exactly $15,000 fall in the lower of the two tiers each boundary touches. Figures below assume $60,000 of other income for the year, which does not change the withholding rate but does change the federal estimate.

Withheld and net received by withdrawal amount, both regions
Withdrawal	Outside Quebec rate	Outside Quebec withheld	Quebec rate	Quebec withheld
$2,500	10%	$250	19%	$475
$5,000	10%	$500	19%	$950
$7,500	20%	$1,500	24%	$1,800
$10,000	20%	$2,000	24%	$2,400
$15,000	20%	$3,000	24%	$3,600
$20,000	30%	$6,000	29%	$5,800
$25,000	30%	$7,500	29%	$7,250
$30,000	30%	$9,000	29%	$8,700

Quebec's federal component is halved at every tier (5%/10%/15% instead of 10%/20%/30%), with Quebec's own flat 14% added on top, so the combined rate ends up close to, but not equal to, the outside-Quebec rate at the same tier.

RRSP withdrawal tax withheld vs the federal estimate

Two withdrawals, both over-withheld and under-withheld are possible, depending on where your income sits.

Scenario	Withheld at source	Estimated federal tax after BPA	Balance after BPA
$10,000 on $60,000 other income	$2,000	$2,050	+$50
$25,000 on $95,000 other income	$7,500	$5,288	-$2,212

The $25,000 withdrawal is withheld at the flat top tier, 30%, but the marginal federal rate at $95,000 of income is lower than that, so it is over-withheld by $2,212 federally. Withholding is set by the size of the transaction, never by where your income actually sits, which is why the two numbers separate in both directions depending on the withdrawal.

Why splitting a withdrawal to stay under $5,000 does not lower the tax

It changes what is withheld at source and nothing else. Taking $16,000 as 4 separate withdrawals of $4,000 instead of one lump sum drops the withholding from $4,800 to $1,600, a $3,200 gap at the point of withdrawal. But the federal estimate after the BPA stays exactly $3,280 either way, because both paths add the same $16,000 to the year's income, and the return taxes the total, not the number of transactions it arrived in. The gap above becomes a larger balance due at filing, not a saving. CRA also treats withdrawals that are part of one series as one withdrawal for withholding purposes, which closes the trick a second way even before the return is filed.

Where these numbers come from

The linked government sources publish the withholding tiers, 2026 federal brackets, and 2026 Basic Personal Amount used here. The estimate does not include other credits or a full tax return.

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
CRA — Canadian income tax rates for individuals, 2026 the 2026 federal brackets and 14% lowest federal rate
Department of Finance Canada — 2026 Basic Personal Amount the 2026 Basic Personal Amount, from $16,452 to $14,829, and its income-based phase-down

This is general publishing, not tax advice, and it does not know your circumstances. Your own withholding and balance are on your T4RSP slip and your notice of assessment, which is the number that governs.

This does not model provincial tax outside Quebec's flat withholding, the Home Buyers' Plan, the Lifelong Learning Plan, or RRIF withdrawals above the minimum, which are withheld the same way but assessed against a different income base. Next: check what a RRIF forces you to withdraw once it converts, with the RRIF minimum withdrawal calculator.

The next question after this one

RRIF minimum withdrawal calculatorCalculatorThe same lump-sum withholding tiers apply above the RRIF minimum. This prices the mandatory withdrawal that comes before any of this page's numbers are relevant.Open next

More calculators for the same return

The RRIF minimum withdrawal calculator prices the mandatory withdrawal this same withholding table applies to, and the RRSP vs TFSA calculator checks whether the contribution was worth it before you ever take the withdrawal.