What it does
An RRSP gives you a tax refund now and taxes the money when you take it out. A TFSA gives no refund, but growth and withdrawals are tax-free. Which one leaves you more depends almost entirely on one thing: your tax rate now compared with your tax rate when you withdraw. This calculator puts the same after-tax money into each account and shows what you keep at the end.
A second panel works out your 2026 room: TFSA room from the year you turned 18, and new RRSP room from last year’s earned income. To find your marginal tax rate, use the Canada tax calculator; saving for a first home? Compare with the FHSA.
How to use it
- Type the money you have to save after tax, and whether you save it every year or once.
- Enter the years until you take it out and a yearly return.
- Enter your tax rate now and the rate you expect when you take it out (both marginal rates).
- Choose what happens to the RRSP refund.
- Read the two results and the line underneath. For room, fill in the lower panel.
What each setting does
- Refund added to the RRSP: you contribute more so the refund pays for the extra. This is the fair, like-for-like comparison.
- Refund put into a TFSA: the RRSP gets your money and the refund grows tax-free beside it.
- Refund spent: shows what happens if the refund is not saved; the RRSP usually loses.
- Pension adjustment: the box 52 amount on your T4 if you have a workplace pension; it reduces new RRSP room.
Worked example
You save $5,000 a year for 25 years at 5%. Your tax rate is 30% now and 20% later. The TFSA ends at $250,567. The RRSP gets $7,143 a year (with the refund), grows to $357,953, and after 20% tax leaves $286,363, so the RRSP wins. Set both rates to 30% and the RRSP also leaves $250,567: equal rates give an equal outcome.
Born in 1995 and never contributed? Your TFSA room from 2013 to 2026 is $89,000.
FAQs
Which should I pick if I am not sure? If your income is low now, the TFSA usually wins; if it is high now and will be lower in retirement, the RRSP usually wins. Many people use both.
What about OAS and GIS? RRSP withdrawals count as income and can reduce income-tested benefits; TFSA withdrawals do not. See the CPP start age tool for the OAS clawback.
Is my room exact? No. Your real figures are on CRA My Account or your Notice of Assessment. Check the official source. Not financial or tax advice.
Where the numbers come from
- TFSA dollar limits 2009 to 2026 (2026: $7,000) and RRSP dollar limits (2026: $33,810): CRA, MP, DB, RRSP, DPSP, ALDA, TFSA limits, YMPE and the YAMPE, https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/registered-plans-administrators/pspa/mp-rrsp-dpsp-tfsa-limits-ympe.html (checked 2026-11-10)
- RRSP room is 18% of the previous year's earned income up to the dollar limit, minus your pension adjustment, plus unused room; TFSA room builds from the year you turn 18 or become resident, and withdrawals are added back the next year: CRA rules as summarised on canada.ca (checked 2026-11-10). The comparison maths is fibub's own: TFSA = savings x growth; RRSP = savings / (1 - tax now) x growth x (1 - tax later).
Standard scientific values, such as constants, atomic weights and melting points, are facts found in every textbook; we name where ours were checked. If you are an author or publisher and want a value, a credit or a table changed or removed, tell us and we will act quickly.
Last updated 2026-11-10.