# RRSP contribution limit 2026: the $33,810 cap and your personal room

Source: https://canadataxdesk.com/registered-accounts/rrsp-contribution-limit
Publisher: Canada Tax Desk (canadataxdesk.com), independent editorial site
Topic: RRSP, TFSA and FHSA
Last updated: 2026-10-22

> The RRSP contribution limit for 2026 is 18% of your 2025 earned income, to a maximum of $33,810, plus any unused room from earlier years, minus your pension adjustment (CRA). The 2027 dollar cap is already set at $35,390. Your exact figure is the RRSP deduction limit printed on your notice of assessment and shown in CRA My Account.

## Key facts

- 2026 RRSP dollar limit: $33,810
- 2027 RRSP dollar limit: $35,390 (published)
- Rate on earned income: 18% of the previous year's earned income
- Income needed for full 2026 room: About $187,834 of 2025 earned income
- Excess cushion: $2,000 before the 1% monthly tax applies

## What is the RRSP contribution limit for 2026?

The RRSP contribution limit for the 2026 tax year is the lesser of 18% of your 2025 earned income or $33,810, plus unused deduction room carried forward, minus your 2025 pension adjustment. The CRA calls the result your RRSP deduction limit. It is personal: two people with the same salary can have very different limits because of past contributions and workplace pensions.

The $33,810 figure is a ceiling on new room, not a target. Most people earn less than the roughly $187,834 of 2025 earned income it takes to hit that ceiling, so their new room is simply 18% of what they earned.

## RRSP contribution limit by year

The RRSP dollar limit rises each year with the average wage. The CRA publishes it well ahead, which is why the 2027 cap of $35,390 is already known while many other 2027 amounts are not.

| Tax year | RRSP dollar limit | Based on earned income of | Earned income needed for the full limit |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2024 | $31,560 | 2023 | About $175,334 |
| 2025 | $32,490 | 2024 | $180,500 |
| 2026 | $33,810 | 2025 | About $187,834 |
| 2027 | $35,390 | 2026 | About $196,612 |
| 2028 | Not yet published | 2027 | Not yet known |

RRSP dollar limits and the earned income needed to reach them

The last column is the dollar limit divided by 18%, rounded up. Income above that level does not create extra RRSP room.

Each year's RRSP dollar limit equals the previous year's money purchase limit in the CRA's table: the 2026 money purchase limit of $35,390 became the 2027 RRSP limit. The 2028 RRSP limit will therefore be the 2027 money purchase limit, which the CRA had not published as of October 22, 2026. Its other indexed 2027 amounts are expected in November 2026.

## How is my RRSP room calculated?

Your RRSP room is built in four steps: take 18% of last year's earned income, cap it at the dollar limit, add unused room from earlier years, then subtract pension adjustments. The CRA also adds any pension adjustment reversal (PAR) and subtracts any net past service pension adjustment (PSPA), which only affect people in workplace pension plans.

### What counts as earned income

Earned income for RRSP purposes is mainly employment income, net self-employment income, net rental income and taxable support payments received. Investment income such as interest, dividends and capital gains does not count, and neither do pension income, Employment Insurance or CPP retirement benefits. A business or rental loss reduces earned income.

### Worked example

1. Daniel earned $80,000 of employment income in 2025. 18% of $80,000 is $14,400, which is below the $33,810 cap.
2. He also had $5,000 of unused room left from 2025 and earlier years, room he did not use on his 2025 return.
3. His T4 for 2025 shows a pension adjustment of $3,000 in box 52.
4. His 2026 RRSP deduction limit is $14,400 + $5,000 - $3,000 = $16,400.

If Daniel contributes $18,000 in 2026, he is $1,600 over his limit. That is inside the $2,000 cushion, so no penalty tax applies, but he cannot deduct the extra $1,600 until he earns new room in a later year.

## How do pension adjustments reduce RRSP room?

A pension adjustment (PA) is the value of the pension benefit you earned in a workplace registered pension plan or deferred profit sharing plan during the year. Your employer reports it in box 52 of your T4 slip, and the CRA subtracts it from the next year's RRSP room so that people with and without workplace pensions end up with roughly similar tax-assisted savings.

- **Defined benefit plan members** often have a large PA and little RRSP room left.
- **Defined contribution or group RRSP members:** DC plan contributions create a PA; contributions to a group RRSP do not, but they use up your ordinary RRSP room.
- **Pension adjustment reversal (PAR):** if you leave a plan early and receive less than the PAs assumed, the PAR restores some room.
- **Past service pension adjustment (PSPA):** buying back past service in a pension plan can reduce your room.

## Where do I find my RRSP deduction limit?

Your RRSP deduction limit for the coming year is printed in the RRSP deduction limit statement on your [notice of assessment](https://canadataxdesk.com/after-you-file/notice-of-assessment), and the same figure appears in the RRSP section of CRA My Account. Your 2026 limit appears on the notice for your 2025 return, which most people received in spring 2026.

1. Open your 2025 notice of assessment and find the RRSP deduction limit statement.
2. Read the line showing your 2026 RRSP deduction limit.
3. Check the line for unused RRSP contributions. These are amounts already contributed but not yet deducted, and they use up part of your limit.
4. Subtract any contributions you made from March 3, 2026 onward that you have not reported yet.

> **If you did not file last year:** The CRA can only calculate your room from returns it has processed. If you skipped a year with earned income, filing that return, even late, can create RRSP room you did not know you had.

## RRSP contribution limit vs deduction limit

The RRSP deduction limit is the amount you can deduct for the year. There is no separate contribution limit, but in practice you can contribute up to your deduction limit plus the $2,000 cushion without penalty. Contributions above that are taxed at 1% per month.

You also do not have to deduct what you contribute in the same year. Undeducted contributions carry forward on Schedule 7 and can be claimed in a year when your income, and your tax rate, is higher. If you went over the cushion, our [RRSP over-contribution](https://canadataxdesk.com/registered-accounts/rrsp-over-contribution) page covers Form T1-OVP and how to withdraw the excess.

## What is the RRSP contribution limit for 2027?

The RRSP dollar limit for 2027 is $35,390, already published by the CRA. Your 2027 room will be 18% of your 2026 earned income up to that cap, plus unused room, minus your 2026 pension adjustment. It will appear on the notice of assessment for your 2026 return, filed in spring 2027.

Contributions for the 2026 tax year can still be made until the [RRSP deadline](https://canadataxdesk.com/registered-accounts/rrsp-contribution-deadline), calculated as March 1, 2027. For how this limit compares with TFSA and FHSA room, see our [RRSP, TFSA and FHSA](https://canadataxdesk.com/registered-accounts) overview.

## Common questions

### Is the RRSP limit 18% of gross or net income?

It is 18% of earned income, which is neither your gross pay nor your net income on line 23600. It starts with employment income less union or professional dues and employment expenses, adds net self-employment and net rental income, and is reduced by business and rental losses. RRSP contributions themselves do not reduce it.

### Does unused RRSP room expire?

No. Unused RRSP deduction room carries forward indefinitely until the end of the year you turn 71, when you can no longer contribute to your own RRSP.

### Why is my RRSP deduction limit lower than 18% of my salary?

The most common reason is a pension adjustment from a workplace pension, shown in box 52 of your T4. Another is that the limit uses the previous year's income, not this year's salary.

### Can I contribute to my spouse's RRSP with my own room?

Yes. Contributions to a spousal or common-law partner RRSP use the contributor's deduction limit, and the contributor claims the deduction. They do not use the spouse's room.

### Do transfers into my RRSP use up my contribution room?

No. The CRA says amounts you transfer directly to your RRSP do not affect your RRSP deduction limit, and a direct transfer from an FHSA to an RRSP does not reduce your unused RRSP room either. Only contributions count against your room, so cash you withdraw from one plan and deposit yourself is treated as a new contribution.

### Do I get RRSP room if I only have investment income?

No. Interest, dividends, capital gains and pension income are not earned income, so they do not create new RRSP room. Unused room from earlier working years still carries forward.

## Sources

- [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)
- [How contributions affect your RRSP deduction limit](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/topics/rrsps-related-plans/contributing-a-rrsp-prpp/contributions-affect-your-rrsp-prpp-deduction-limit.html)
- [Excess contributions](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/topics/rrsps-related-plans/contributing-a-rrsp-prpp/what-happens-you-over-your-rrsp-prpp-deduction-limit.html)
- [RRSPs and related plans](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/topics/rrsps-related-plans.html)