RRSP · Deduction limit
The 2026 RRSP dollar limit is $33,810.
That is the ceiling, not your number. Your actual deduction limit is 18% of last year's earned income or the dollar limit, whichever is less, plus any unused room carried forward. The figure on your Notice of Assessment is the one that matters.
Where does my deduction limit come from?
The CRA calculates your deduction limit from your prior year's income and reports it on your Notice of Assessment, along with any unused room carried forward from earlier years. The CRA publishes the year-by-year dollar limits on canada.ca.
What is the $2,000 cushion?
The CRA's 1% monthly tax starts once your unused contributions from earlier years plus this year's contributions pass your deduction limit by more than $2,000. That margin is there to absorb small timing errors, not to be planned around. Because prior years count in the same total, it does not reset each January.
Can I deduct the $2,000?
Not in the year you contribute it. Your deduction limit is the ceiling on what you can deduct for a year, and an amount above that ceiling cannot be deducted in the year it went in. It can stay in the plan and be deducted in a later year, up to your deduction limit for that year.
When does the 1% not apply?
The tax does not apply to an excess withdrawn before the end of the month it was made in, to qualifying group plan amounts, or to contributions made before February 27, 1995. Those exceptions are narrow. Outside them, the excess is charged for every month it sits in the plan.
How do I get my exact number?
Copy the deduction limit figure from your Notice of Assessment into the app, and it tracks contributions against it and warns you before you cross into the excess. TFSA tracking is free; RRSP, FHSA, and RESP unlock together, once, for $19.99.
The engine is hash-verified, formula-certified, audit-grade: the certification record spells out exactly what is tested, and where the claim stops.
Other contribution limits
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Written by Mo Kechout Content verified