RRIF Minimum Withdrawal
Calculator Canada 2026

A Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF) is a tax-deferred income-paying account that holds the savings transferred from a Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP). Canadians must convert their RRSP to a RRIF (or annuity) by 31 December of the year they turn 71.

From the year after the RRIF is opened, the holder must withdraw at least the CRA-set minimum each year. RRIFs preserve tax-deferred growth on the remaining balance — withdrawals are fully taxable as income, but the funds inside continue to compound tax-free until withdrawn.

Income Tax Regulations section 7308 sets the minimum percentages (for RRIFs opened after 1992): age 71 = 5.28%; 72 = 5.40%; 73 = 5.53%; 74 = 5.67%; 75 = 5.82%; 80 = 6.82%; 85 = 8.51%; 90 = 11.92%; 95+ = 20%. Pre-71 minimums use the formula 1/(90 − age).

The minimum is calculated on the RRIF's market value at 1 January each year, multiplied by the percentage corresponding to the holder's age at the start of the year (or younger spouse's age if elected at RRIF opening).

By 31 December of the year you turn 71. Three options exist: (1) convert to RRIF (most common — preserves tax deferral and investment flexibility), (2) buy an annuity (locks in a guaranteed lifetime income), (3) full lump-sum withdrawal (entire RRSP becomes immediately taxable as income — usually the worst option).

You don't have to wait until 71 — you can convert earlier if you want regular RRIF income before then. From 71 onwards, you cannot contribute new money to a RRIF (or RRSP).

There's no withholding on the minimum required amount. Above the minimum, financial institutions must withhold federal income tax: 10% on the first $5,000 over minimum, 20% on $5,001-$15,000 over min, 30% on amounts over $15,000 over min.

In Quebec the rates are 5%, 10%, 15% federal plus a flat 14% Quebec provincial — so combined 19%, 24%, 29%. Withholding is just an installment toward your final tax bill — actual tax owed depends on your total income for the year.

Some provinces (including Ontario, BC) apply only the federal portion.

RRIF withdrawals are added to your taxable income for the year and taxed at your marginal rate (federal + provincial combined). Federal rates for 2026: 14% to $58,523; 20.5% to $117,045; 26% to $181,440; 29% to $258,482; 33% above.

Provincial rates vary widely — Ontario 5.05% to 13.16%, BC 5.6% to 20.5%, Alberta 8% to 15%, Quebec 14% to 25.75%. The RRIF holder receives a T4RIF slip annually for tax filing.

Pension income splitting with a spouse is allowed for RRIF withdrawals from age 65, potentially reducing combined household tax.

Yes — there is no cap on RRIF withdrawals. You can withdraw any amount above the minimum, subject to withholding tax on the excess (10/20/30% federal).

However, larger withdrawals push you into higher marginal tax brackets and may also reduce or eliminate income-tested benefits like Old Age Security. A withdrawal you make in 2026 is tested against the 2026 income year: the clawback starts at $95,323 of net income and the full year of OAS is recovered at $155,109 for ages 65-74 or $161,088 at 75 and over. (The 2025 figures — $93,454, $152,062 and $157,923 — are the ones governing the OAS being paid to you right now, from July 2026 to June 2027, because that payment period is assessed on 2025 income.)

Old Age Security recovery tax (commonly called the 'OAS clawback') applies when net income exceeds the minimum threshold, and Service Canada publishes two rows at once — which one you want depends on the question. For income earned in 2026 (the year a withdrawal you make today falls in, reducing the OAS paid July 2027 to June 2028): the clawback starts at $95,323 and OAS reaches $0 at $155,109 for ages 65-74 or $161,088 at 75 and over.

For income earned in 2025 (which sets the OAS you are being paid now, July 2026 to June 2027): $93,454, with full recovery at $152,062 and $157,923. Either way OAS is reduced by $0.15 for each dollar above the minimum threshold, capped at the OAS actually received.

The 2026 row is CRA's estimate until October, when it becomes final. RRIF withdrawals contribute to the income that triggers clawback, so timing larger withdrawals in lower-income years can reduce the lifetime OAS reduction.

The clawback applies to the OAS pension only, not to GIS (Guaranteed Income Supplement) or to spouse benefits.

It can — the forced RRIF minimum is fully taxable and counts toward the net income tested for the OAS recovery tax. If your other income (CPP, pensions) plus your OAS plus the RRIF minimum exceeds $95,323 (2026 income year), the 15% recovery tax claws back 15¢ of OAS for every dollar over.

For example, a $500,000 RRIF at 71 forces a $26,400 minimum (5.28%); added to, say, $70,000 of other income and $9,024 of OAS (the July-September 2026 maximum of $751.97 a month), net income is about $105,424 — roughly $10,101 over the threshold, clawing back about $1,515 of OAS. Without the RRIF withdrawal that same person sits at $79,024 and loses nothing, so the entire $1,515 is the cost of the forced minimum.

Enter your other income and OAS status above to see how much of your OAS your RRIF minimum specifically costs. Levers: the younger-spouse election lowers the minimum, pension income splitting (from 65) moves income to a lower-income spouse, and spending TFSA first keeps net income down.

No. It was promised and then dropped. In April 2025 the Liberals pledged a one-year, 25% reduction in required RRIF withdrawals in response to market volatility, and many retirees deliberately delayed withdrawals waiting for it.

It never became law: Finance Canada stated that in light of strong market performance, reducing minimum RRIF withdrawals by 25% for 2025 was 'no longer required', and Budget 2025 (4 November 2025) contained no such measure. The prescribed factors in Income Tax Regulations s.7308 are unchanged and remain in force, so the percentages this calculator uses are the ones that apply.

The C.D. Howe Institute continues to press for both a lower schedule and a higher conversion age — that is advocacy, not policy, and nothing has been enacted.

A future budget could revive the idea; if you are relying on it, treat it as speculation until legislation passes.

No — a RRIF has a floor, not a ceiling. You must take at least the s.7308 minimum each year and you may take as much above it as you like, up to the whole balance, with withholding tax applying to the excess.

This is the single biggest difference between a RRIF and a LIF (Life Income Fund), which holds locked-in pension money and imposes BOTH a minimum and a maximum annual withdrawal set by the governing pension jurisdiction. If a maximum withdrawal limit applies to your account, you have a LIF or LRIF, not a RRIF, and the numbers on this page are only half the picture.

Yes — if you have a younger spouse or common-law partner, you can elect at RRIF opening to use their age for the minimum withdrawal calculation. This permanently reduces the required minimums (since younger ages have lower percentages) and keeps more capital growing tax-deferred.

The election must be made when the RRIF is opened — it cannot be added or changed later. Both spouses' RRIFs can use either spouse's age, but the election is per-RRIF, not joint.

No, generally not. Once funds are in a RRIF, they cannot be moved back to an RRSP.

The exception: if you meet RRSP contribution criteria (you have unused contribution room AND you are under 71 or have a younger spouse with room), you can use RRIF withdrawals (after tax) as cash that you then contribute to an RRSP — but this involves taxation on the withdrawal first. RRIF-to-RRIF transfers are allowed (changing institutions/investments).

Direct RRSP contributions stop the year you turn 71.

Same eligible investments as RRSPs: GICs, government and corporate bonds, mutual funds, index ETFs, individual stocks (Canadian and qualifying foreign exchanges), labour-sponsored funds, REITs. Qualifying foreign holdings: NYSE-, NASDAQ-, LSE-listed and other prescribed exchanges.

Cryptocurrency cannot be held directly in a RRIF (no RRIF-eligible custodial structure as of 2025-26), though Bitcoin/Ethereum ETFs trading on the TSX are eligible. Concentration in a single holding above 50% is not prohibited but is generally avoided for prudent investment.