The RRSP contribution limit is income-based, unlike the flat TFSA limit: for 2026 it is 18% of your 2025 earned income, capped at $33,810. YieldMaple checked the CRA’s registered-plan limits table on September 29, 2026: the RRSP dollar limit is $33,810 for 2026 and $35,390 for 2027. This guide shows how to work out your own room for both years, where the CRA reports it, and what happens if you go over. It is general education, not financial advice.
RRSP contribution limit at a glance
| Feature | Rule | Amount or date |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 RRSP dollar limit | $33,810 (better on this row) | |
| 2027 RRSP dollar limit | $35,390 (better on this row) | |
| New room as a share of last year's earned income | 18% | |
| Deadline for the 2025 tax year | March 2, 2026 | |
| Deadline rule for any tax year | on or before the day that is 60 days after the end of the tax year | |
| Over-contribution allowed before tax | $2,000 | |
| Tax on the excess above that | 1% per month | |
| Last year to contribute to your own RRSP | December 31 of the year you turn 71 |
Sources: CRA, MP, DB, RRSP, DPSP, ALDA, TFSA limits, YMPE and the YAMPE; CRA, How contributions affect your RRSP deduction limit; CRA, Excess Contributions; Income Tax Act s. 146(5). Checked September 29, 2026.
The 2026 cap is $33,810 and the 2027 cap is $35,390; for both years, new room is 18% of the previous year’s earned income up to that cap. The CRA allows $2,000 of over-contribution before charging a tax of 1% per month, and you can contribute to your own plan until December 31 of the year you turn 71.
What is the RRSP limit for 2026?
The RRSP limit for 2026 is the lesser of 18% of your 2025 earned income and $33,810, plus unused room carried forward, minus any pension adjustment.
To reach the full $33,810 of new 2026 room, you needed about $187,833 of earned income in 2025. Below that income, your new room is simply 18% of what you earned. The 2026 cap is up from $32,490 in 2025, an increase of $1,320.
The 2026 number the CRA prints on your 2025 Notice of Assessment already includes your carry-forward room and your pension adjustment, so it can be much higher or lower than the headline cap.
What is the RRSP contribution limit for 2027?
The RRSP contribution limit for 2027 is $35,390, the dollar cap the CRA has already published in its registered-plan limits table.
Your personal 2027 room is the lesser of 18% of your 2026 earned income and $35,390, plus unused room, minus any pension adjustment. Reaching the full 2027 cap takes about $196,611 of earned income in 2026. The cap rises by $1,580 from 2026.
The CRA reports your exact 2027 figure on the Notice of Assessment for your 2026 return, which most people receive in spring 2027. Until then, you can estimate it with the formula below or the RRSP calculator.
How is the RRSP contribution limit calculated?
Your RRSP contribution limit is last year’s unused room plus the lesser of 18% of last year’s earned income and the annual dollar limit, minus your pension adjustment.
The CRA’s full rule for your deduction limit is: unused room carried forward, plus the lesser of 18% of last year's earned income and the annual RRSP limit, minus your pension adjustment. In practice:
- New room = the lesser of 18% of the previous year’s earned income and the year’s dollar limit ($33,810 for 2026, $35,390 for 2027).
- Minus your pension adjustment (PA), if you belong to a workplace pension or deferred profit-sharing plan.
- Plus your unused room carried forward from every earlier year.
The CRA also adds any pension adjustment reversal (PAR) and subtracts any net past service pension adjustment (PSPA), which affect a smaller number of people.
Worked examples: 2026 and 2027 room
These are hypothetical incomes to show the formula. Each result is new room for the year, before carry-forward unless stated.
Example 1: $80,000 salary, no pension plan
- 2026 room: $14,400
- If 2026 income is also $80,000, 2027 room is the same $14,400
Example 2: $200,000 salary, no pension plan
- 18% of $200,000 is $36,000, which is above both caps
- 2026 room: $33,810 (the cap applies)
- 2027 room at the same income: $35,390 (the cap applies)
Example 3: $60,000 salary, $5,000 of unused carry-forward room
- New 2026 room: $10,800
- Total 2026 limit: $15,800
Example 4: $80,000 salary, $5,000 pension adjustment
- 18% of $80,000: $14,400
- 2026 room after the PA: $9,400
RRSP dollar limits by year (2020 to 2027)
| Feature | Year | RRSP dollar limit |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $27,230 | |
| 2021 | $27,830 | |
| 2022 | $29,210 | |
| 2023 | $30,780 | |
| 2024 | $31,560 | |
| 2025 | $32,490 | |
| 2026 | $33,810 (better on this row) | |
| 2027 | $35,390 (better on this row) |
Source: CRA, MP, DB, RRSP, DPSP, ALDA, TFSA limits, YMPE and the YAMPE (checked September 29, 2026). The dollar limit is indexed each year.
Per the CRA table, the RRSP dollar limit was $27,230 in 2020, $27,830 in 2021, $29,210 in 2022, $30,780 in 2023, $31,560 in 2024 and $32,490 in 2025, rising to $33,810 in 2026 and $35,390 in 2027.
What counts as earned income for the RRSP?
Earned income for the RRSP is mainly employment and self-employment income, plus a few other items; investment income, capital gains and pensions do not count.
Per Chart 3 of the CRA’s Guide T4040, earned income includes:
✅ Counts:
- Employment income, minus union or professional dues and employment expenses
- Net income from a business you carry on alone or as an active partner
- Net rental income from real property (rental losses reduce it)
- Royalties for a work or invention you authored or invented
- Net research grants
- CPP or QPP disability payments
- Taxable support payments you received
❌ Does not count:
- Interest, dividends and capital gains
- Pension income, including CPP and OAS retirement pensions and employer pensions
- RRSP and RRIF withdrawals
- TFSA withdrawals or growth
Because investment income is excluded, someone living off dividends or capital gains does not build new RRSP room, however large that income is.
When is the RRSP deadline?
The RRSP deadline is 60 days after the end of the tax year, which made it March 2, 2026 for the 2025 tax year.
The Income Tax Act sets the rule (on or before the day that is 60 days after the end of the tax year). Contributions made in the first 60 days of a year can be deducted on the previous year’s return or carried forward to a later one. Contributions made after that window count for the current year or a later one.
When YieldMaple checked on September 29, 2026, the CRA’s important-dates page still showed only the 2025 tax-year date, so the CRA had not yet posted the exact date for the 2026 tax year. The RRSP deadline guide covers the date once the CRA posts it.
Choosing which year to claim a first-60-days contribution is a tax decision: a deduction is worth more in the year your marginal tax rate is higher.
How do I check my RRSP contribution room?
Your RRSP contribution room is on your latest Notice of Assessment, in your CRA account online, and on Form T1028 if the CRA sends you one.
1. Your CRA account
Sign in to your CRA account on canada.ca and open the RRSP section. It shows your RRSP deduction limit for the current year and your unused contributions.
2. Notice of Assessment
The RRSP Deduction Limit Statement on your most recent Notice of Assessment (or reassessment) shows your deduction limit for the current year.
3. Form T1028 or the automated phone line
The CRA may mail Form T1028, Your RRSP Information, if your limit changed after your assessment or if you used the Home Buyers’ Plan or Lifelong Learning Plan. The CRA’s automated phone service can also give you the figure.
All three sources show your limit as of your last assessment. Contributions you have made since then are not yet subtracted, so keep your own running total.
RRSP over-contribution: what happens if you go over the limit?
If your unused RRSP contributions exceed your deduction limit by more than $2,000, the CRA charges a tax of 1% per month on the excess.
The $2,000 cushion only applies if you were 18 or older at some point in the previous year. Money in the cushion is not deductible while it stays over your limit, but it becomes deductible in a later year when new room absorbs it.
Worked example (hypothetical):
- Your 2026 limit is $14,400
- You contribute $5,000 more than that
- The first $2,000 of the excess is covered by the cushion
- Taxable excess: $3,000
- Tax: $30 for each month it stays over
How the over-contribution tax is handled:
- Stop the tax: withdraw the excess, or wait for a later year’s new room to absorb it. Per the CRA, you may not owe the tax on an excess you withdraw before the end of the month in which you made it.
- Withdraw without withholding: Form T3012A asks the CRA to approve a refund of unused contributions without tax being withheld at source.
- Report it: file Form T1-OVP and pay the tax no later than 90 days after the end of the year in which you had the excess contributions.
Group RRSP contributions through an employer count toward the same limit. The CRA also warns that taking the excess out under the Home Buyers’ Plan or Lifelong Learning Plan may still leave you owing the tax.
How does RRSP carry-forward room work?
Unused RRSP room carries forward indefinitely, so any room you do not use this year is added to your limit for every later year.
Carry-forward matters because a deduction is worth your marginal tax rate. A $20,000 deduction at an illustrative 30% marginal rate lowers tax by about $6,000; the same deduction at 45% lowers it by about $9,000. Some people save room from lower-income years and use it in a higher-income year for that reason.
You also do not have to deduct a contribution in the year you make it. You can contribute now and claim the deduction in a later year when your rate is higher; the CRA tracks it as an unused contribution.
RRSP vs TFSA: how the two limits interact
The RRSP and TFSA limits are separate, and filling one does not reduce the other. The trade-off between them comes down to tax timing:
- RRSP: contributions are deductible now; withdrawals are taxed later at your rate at that time.
- TFSA: no deduction now; qualifying withdrawals are tax-free, and withdrawn amounts are added back to your TFSA room the next year.
That is why the RRSP tends to come out ahead when your tax rate at withdrawal will be lower than your rate today, and the TFSA when it will be similar or higher. The TFSA vs RRSP comparison works through the numbers, and the TFSA contribution limit guide covers that account’s annual room.
Where to open an RRSP
Any registered RRSP counts toward the same limit, whichever institution holds it. The main types:
For a self-directed RRSP (ETFs, stocks):
- Wealthsimple Trade charges $0 commission on listed Canadian and US stocks and ETFs (account minimum: none). The Wealthsimple RRSP guide covers its fees and account types.
- Questrade charges $0 to buy and sell Canadian and U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs, and offers spousal RRSPs.
For a cash or GIC RRSP:
- EQ Bank offers RRSP savings and GICs. CDIC covers eligible deposits in an RRSP up to $100,000, insured separately from your other deposit categories.
- Big 5 banks offer RRSP savings accounts and GICs too; compare their posted rates before choosing.
For a side-by-side list, see the best RRSP accounts in Canada.
Common RRSP contribution-limit mistakes
- Using an old Notice of Assessment figure. The limit on your notice does not subtract contributions made since, including first-60-days contributions you plan to claim for the prior year.
- Forgetting the pension adjustment. Workplace pension members get 18% of earned income minus their PA, not the full amount.
- Missing group RRSP contributions. Payroll contributions to a group RRSP use the same room as your personal contributions.
- Counting on the cushion as extra room. The $2,000 over-contribution allowance is not deductible until new room absorbs it.
- Spending the refund as a bonus. An RRSP refund is tax deferred, not tax saved for good; the withdrawals are taxed later.
Authoritative sources
For official RRSP contribution limit information:
- CRA: MP, DB, RRSP, DPSP, ALDA, TFSA limits, YMPE and the YAMPE: the annual RRSP dollar limits, including 2027
- CRA: How contributions affect your RRSP deduction limit: the deduction-limit formula
- CRA: Excess Contributions: over-contribution tax and Form T1-OVP
- CRA: RRSPs and related plans: full program documentation
Related RRSP guides
- RRSP explained: how the account works from start to finish
- RRSP deadline dates: the 60-day contribution window each year
- RRSP calculator: estimate your refund and growth
- TFSA vs RRSP: how the two accounts compare
- RRSP Home Buyers’ Plan: borrowing from your RRSP for a first home
- FHSA vs TFSA: options for first-home savers