What does this RRIF withdrawal calculator work out?
This RRIF withdrawal calculator works out three things from the value of a registered retirement income fund (RRIF) on January 1: the minimum that must come out this year under the CRA’s rules, the tax withheld at source if you take more than the minimum, and what happens to the minimum and the balance every year until age 100.
Many RRIF calculators stop at the first number. The CRA’s rules make the other two matter just as much. The minimum has no tax withheld, but anything above it does, at a rate set by the size of the whole extra, so an extra just past a band limit has more withheld than a slightly smaller one. And because the factor rises with age, the minimum in dollars can keep climbing into the 90s even while the fund shrinks: at the 5% return in the worked example below it peaks at 94, while at returns of about 3% or less it is largest in the first years and drifts down. The year-by-year table and the downloadable CSV show that path for your own balance.
This page explains the rules; it is not tax or investment advice. Your RRIF carrier (the bank, credit union, brokerage or insurer holding the fund) calculates your official minimum and shows it on your statement.
How to use this RRIF calculator
- Enter the RRIF value on January 1. Use the fair market value from the carrier’s statement at the start of the year. The minimum is always based on this figure, not today’s balance.
- Enter your age on January 1, in whole years. If a spouse’s or partner’s age was elected when the RRIF was set up, choose that option and enter their age on January 1.
- Pick your province or territory. It only changes the withholding: Quebec residents have lower federal rates plus separate Quebec withholding.
- Enter an expected return after fees, and any extra withdrawal above the minimum for the year. Choose whether the extra is a one-off or repeats every year.
- Choose when the money comes out: monthly, all on January 1 or all on December 31.
- Open “First year and calendar” if the RRIF was set up this year (no minimum applies) or to label the table with a different year.
The result opens with this year’s minimum, the tax withheld, the cash that arrives in the bank and the total withdrawn to age 100. Below it are the withholding table, the spouse’s-age comparison, return scenarios and the full year-by-year table.
How is the RRIF minimum withdrawal calculated?
The RRIF minimum withdrawal is the fund’s fair market value at the start of the year multiplied by a prescribed factor for the annuitant’s age in whole years on January 1. From 71, the factor comes from a fixed table in the Income Tax Regulations. At 70 or younger, there is no table value: the factor is 1 ÷ (90 − age), which gives 4% at 65 and 5% at 70.
How to read this table: multiply the RRIF's value on January 1 by the factor for the age that day. The last row applies at 95 and every age after. No minimum applies in the year the RRIF is set up.
| Age on January 1 | Minimum as a share of the January 1 value |
|---|---|
| 71 | 5.28% |
| 72 | 5.4% |
| 73 | 5.53% |
| 74 | 5.67% |
| 75 | 5.82% |
| 76 | 5.98% |
| 77 | 6.17% |
| 78 | 6.36% |
| 79 | 6.58% |
| 80 | 6.82% |
| 81 | 7.08% |
| 82 | 7.38% |
| 83 | 7.71% |
| 84 | 8.08% |
| 85 | 8.51% |
| 86 | 8.99% |
| 87 | 9.55% |
| 88 | 10.21% |
| 89 | 10.99% |
| 90 | 11.92% |
| 91 | 13.06% |
| 92 | 14.49% |
| 93 | 16.34% |
| 94 | 18.79% |
| 95 | 20% |
Source: Chart – Prescribed factors (RRIF) — Canada.ca; Minimum amount from a RRIF — Canada.ca; Income Tax Regulations, C.R.C., c. 945, section 7308 — Justice Laws Website; Economic Action Plan 2015 Act, No. 1 (S.C. 2015, c. 36), section 23 — Justice Laws Website. In effect from January 1, 2015; checked September 29, 2026.
Two details trip people up. The age is the age on January 1, so someone who turns 72 in March still uses the factor for 71 that year. And the value is the January 1 value: a market drop in February does not lower that year’s minimum. The full table with the under-71 formula for every age and dollar minimums on a sample balance is on the RRIF minimum withdrawal rates page.
Worked example: a $300,000 RRIF at 72
Take a hypothetical Ontario retiree who is 72 on January 1, 2026, with a RRIF worth $300,000 that day. The minimum is based on their own age, they expect a 5% return and they take the minimum in monthly payments.
- Minimum for the year: $16,200, or $1,350 a month. No tax is withheld on it.
- End of the year: after about $14,632 of growth, the fund is worth $298,432 on December 31.
- Next year: the minimum becomes $16,503, slightly more than this year even though the fund is slightly smaller, because the factor rose.
- To age 100: withdrawals total about $547,654, and about $39,896 is left.
| Age on January 1 (hypothetical example) | January 1 value | Factor | Minimum for the year | December 31 value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 72 | $300,000 | 5.4% | $16,200 | $298,432 |
| 75 | $294,107 | 5.82% | $17,117 | $291,307 |
| 80 | $275,163 | 6.82% | $18,766 | $269,729 |
| 85 | $241,409 | 8.51% | $20,544 | $232,469 |
| 90 | $188,045 | 11.92% | $22,415 | $174,523 |
| 94 | $127,343 | 18.79% | $23,928 | $109,239 |
| 95 | $109,239 | 20% | $21,848 | $92,357 |
| 100 | $47,188 | 20% | $9,438 | $39,896 |
How to read this table: each row is one year of the same RRIF. The minimum in dollars rises from $16,200 to a peak of $23,928 at 94, because the factor climbs faster than the balance falls. From 95 the factor stops rising, so the minimum falls with the balance. The calculator shows every year in between and lets you download them.
How much tax is withheld on a RRIF withdrawal?
RRIF withholding tax applies only to the part of a withdrawal above the year’s minimum; nothing is withheld on the minimum itself. On the extra, the carrier withholds at the CRA’s lump-sum rates, chosen by the size of the whole extra requested:
How to read this table: the rate for the band applies to the whole extra; it is not a bracket. Quebec residents also have Quebec provincial withholding added on top of the federal part.
| Extra above the minimum | Withheld outside Quebec | Federal part withheld in Quebec |
|---|---|---|
| Up to $5,000 | 10% | 5% |
| Over $5,000, up to $15,000 | 20% | 10% |
| Over $15,000 | 30% | 15% |
Source: Tax rates on withdrawals — Canada.ca; Tax rates on withdrawals — Canada.ca (non-residents); Registered Retirement Savings Plans and Registered Retirement Income Funds (RRSPs/RRIFs) — Q&A for plan administrators, section 7 Withholding tax on payments from a RRIF; Registered Retirement Savings Plans and Registered Retirement Income Funds (RRSPs/RRIFs) — Q&A for plan administrators (tax on the minimum); Registered Retirement Savings Plans and Registered Retirement Income Funds (RRSPs/RRIFs) — Q&A for plan administrators (instalments, A7.1); Receiving income from a RRIF — Canada.ca; Receiving income from a RRIF — Canada.ca (pension income amount); Guide T4040, RRSPs and Other Registered Plans for Retirement — Canada.ca; Setting up a RRIF — Canada.ca. In effect from August 1, 2014; checked September 29, 2026.
Because the band rate applies to the whole extra, crossing a band limit by a small amount costs more at source than stopping just under it. For the same hypothetical retiree outside Quebec, one-off extras compare like this:
| One-off extra above the $16,200 minimum | Rate withheld | Tax withheld | Cash from the extra |
|---|---|---|---|
| $5,000 | 10% | $500 | $4,500 |
| $5,001 | 20% | $1,000.20 | $4,000.80 |
| $5,500 | 20% | $1,100 | $4,400 |
| $15,000 | 20% | $3,000 | $12,000 |
| $15,001 | 30% | $4,500.30 | $10,500.70 |
How to read this table: withholding is a prepayment of tax, not the tax itself. The $5,500 extra puts $100 less in hand than a $5,000 extra today, but the final tax on either is worked out on the return from total income for the year, and any over-withholding comes back as a refund. What changes is cash flow now versus in the spring. The calculator flags any extra that lands in this zone.
Three CRA positions shape the numbers. A standing request paid in instalments is rated on the total extra for the year: an extra of $1,500 a month as one request is $18,000 a year, so 30% applies to each instalment. A separate one-off request later in the year is rated on its own. And because the minimum has nothing withheld, the tax on it is due with the return by April 30 of the following year unless instalments are required. For a lump sum from an RRSP before conversion, the RRSP withdrawal tax calculator applies the same rates.
Does using a younger spouse’s age lower the minimum?
Using a younger spouse’s or common-law partner’s age lowers the minimum, because the factor is smaller at a younger age. The election has to be made on the original RRIF application and cannot be changed afterwards. For the same hypothetical $300,000 RRIF at 72 with a 5% return:
| Age the minimum is based on | Factor this year | Minimum this year | Withdrawals to age 100 | Left at 100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Own age, 72 | 5.4% | $16,200 | $547,654 | $39,896 |
| Spouse, 67 | 4.35% | $13,043 | $554,567 | $92,836 |
How to read this table: the spouse’s age cuts this year’s forced taxable income by $3,157. Over the full period, withdrawals end up similar, but more stays invested for longer and more is left at 100. The minimum is only a floor either way; extra withdrawals remain possible whenever they are needed. On death, a RRIF can pass to a spouse or partner as successor annuitant, which the RRIF guide explains along with the other conversion and estate rules.
Does it matter when in the year you withdraw?
The timing of withdrawals does not change the minimum, which is fixed on January 1, but it changes how long the money stays invested. For the same hypothetical RRIF taking only the minimum:
| When the minimum comes out | December 31 value in year 1 | Withdrawals to age 100 | Left at 100 |
|---|---|---|---|
| All on January 1 | $297,990 | $530,722 | $36,132 |
| Monthly | $298,432 | $547,654 | $39,896 |
| All on December 31 | $298,800 | $562,368 | $43,312 |
How to read this table: later withdrawals leave more invested for longer, so future minimums are a little larger. The trade-off is cash flow: a single December payment means living on other income for most of the year. The difference assumes a steady positive return; in a falling market, earlier withdrawals would come out ahead.
Will a RRIF run out if you only take the minimum?
A RRIF does not run out from minimum withdrawals alone, because each minimum is a share of the balance, and from 95 that share is 20% every year. The balance shrinks whenever the factor is higher than the return: at a 5% return that happens every year from the start in the example, which is why the fund falls from $300,000 to about $188,045 by 90. Extra withdrawals every year, or weak returns, can empty it earlier, and the calculator warns when that happens before 100.
Large RRIF minimums can also have side effects outside the RRIF. Every dollar counts as income for the OAS recovery tax, the OAS clawback that starts above a yearly threshold, and for income-tested benefits such as the Guaranteed Income Supplement in the OAS, CPP and GIS planner. From the year you are 65 or older on December 31, RRIF income qualifies for the pension income amount and for pension income splitting with a spouse or partner.
How does the maths work?
The calculator runs one year at a time:
- Minimum. The January 1 value times the factor for the age on January 1 (yours, or your spouse’s if elected): 1 ÷ (90 − age) up to 70, the CRA table from 71, and the “95 or older” row after that. In the year a RRIF is set up, the minimum is zero.
- Withdrawal. The minimum plus any extra, never more than the fund can pay.
- Withholding. Nothing on the minimum. The extra is placed in the CRA band for its total, and that band’s rate applies to all of it (the federal Quebec rates for Quebec).
- Growth. With withdrawals on January 1, the rest grows for the full year. On December 31, the whole balance grows first. Monthly withdrawals come out at the end of each month, with the return converted to an equivalent monthly rate.
- Next year. The December 31 value becomes the next January 1 value, the age goes up by one, and the steps repeat to age 100.
The factor table and withholding rates come from versioned official data files, and the sources and the date each was last checked are listed under the calculator.
Common RRIF withdrawal mistakes
- Using the age reached during the year. The factor is for the age on January 1.
- Using today’s balance. The minimum is fixed on the January 1 value for the whole year.
- Treating withholding as the final tax. Nothing is withheld on the minimum, so many retirees owe tax in April; asking the carrier for extra withholding with Form TD1 spreads it out.
- Splitting one extra into several requests to lower the rate. The CRA’s position is that a series of requests made to reduce withholding is rated as one request.
- Forgetting the set-up year. No minimum applies in the year the RRIF is opened, but any withdrawal that year has tax withheld.
- Missing the spouse’s-age election. It can only be made on the original application.
When should you talk to a professional?
A fee-only financial planner or a tax professional can help when the RRIF is one part of a larger plan: deciding how much above the minimum to take before OAS or CPP start, coordinating with pension income splitting, managing a RRIF alongside a TFSA and non-registered savings, planning for the tax on a RRIF at death, or moving to or from Canada, which changes withholding and tax residency. The retirement income calculator models RRIF withdrawals together with CPP, OAS, the TFSA and income tax, and the RRIF guide covers conversion and estate rules.
Where can you hold a self-directed RRIF?
RRIFs are offered by banks, credit unions, trust companies, insurers and brokerages, and the minimum and withholding rules are identical everywhere. What differs is what the RRIF can hold and what it costs. A self-directed RRIF at a brokerage holds your own choice of ETFs, stocks or GICs. Wealthsimple’s self-directed account types are TFSA, RRSP, FHSA, RESP, LIRA, RRIF, non-registered (cash and margin), and corporate accounts. The Wealthsimple RRSP page explains how its registered accounts work before conversion, and the annuity rates comparison covers the other option at 71.