What this estimate leaves out
It works out federal and provincial income tax on your income with and without the deduction, using the tax brackets and the basic personal amount. The difference is the estimate. Real returns have more moving parts:
- Other credits and deductions. CPP and EI credits, tuition, donations, medical expenses and low-income tax reductions are not included. At lower incomes this can make the estimate too high.
- Income-tested benefits. A lower net income can also raise benefits such as the Canada Child Benefit. That extra is not counted here.
- Refund or not. "Tax saved" becomes a refund only if enough tax was already taken off your pay. If you owe tax for other reasons, it reduces what you owe instead.
- Your limit. The tool does not know your RRSP room. Check your notice of assessment or CRA My Account before you contribute.
A refund is not free money
An RRSP delays tax. You get a deduction now, and withdrawals are taxed as income later. It tends to work best when your tax rate today is higher than the rate you expect when you take the money out. If your income is low this year, you can still contribute and save the deduction for a higher-income year.
Your move · 10 minutes
Decide where the refund goes before it arrives
- Find your RRSP deduction limit on your latest notice of assessment or in CRA My Account.
- Run your real numbers above and write down the estimate.
- Pick a job for that money now: back into the RRSP, into your TFSA, or onto high-interest debt. A plan made in advance is easier to keep.
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Sources and method
Where this comes from
- CRA: tax rates and income brackets for 2026, federal and every province and territory except Quebec (page dated June 25, 2026).
- Revenu Québec: income tax rates for 2026.
- CRA T4127 payroll deductions formulas (January 2026): the federal basic personal amount and how it is reduced at higher incomes, and the Manitoba and Yukon rules.
- Provincial basic personal amounts and the Ontario surtax thresholds: TaxTips.ca 2026 tables, a secondary source.
- RRSP dollar limit of $33,810 for 2026 and the March 1, 2027 deadline: CRA, as cited in the RRSP lesson.
- The calculation is Planted North's own. It is a simplified estimate and will not match a full tax return to the dollar.