There's one last thing you can do to boost your 2025 tax refund, but you'll have to act fast
You could get thousands more back this tax season!
The RRSP deadline for 2025 is only a few weeks away. Here's how you can use it to maximize your tax refund this spring.
Canada's RRSP deadline is coming up fast, and if you want to boost your tax refund this year, there's still time to make one last big move.
The RRSP deadline for 2025 is only a few weeks away, and any eligible contributions made before then can count toward your 2025 tax return with the Canada Revenue Agency.
READ ALSO: The CRA has announced a bunch of changes that could impact your 2025 tax return
With tax season in Canada starting on February 23, many people are already thinking about their refund, their RRSP contribution limit and how RRSPs actually work when it comes to lowering the tax you owe the government.
If you're hoping to keep more money in your pocket, this is one deadline you don't want to ignore.
Here's what you need to know before time runs out.
When is the RRSP deadline for 2025?
According to the CRA, the deadline to contribute to an RRSP for the 2025 tax year is Monday, March 2, 2026.
Contributions made between March 4, 2025 and March 2, 2026 can be claimed as an RRSP deduction on your 2025 income tax and benefit return.
If you miss the March 2 cutoff, your money will still go into your RRSP, and you won't miss out on your unused contribution room. You just won't be able to use the contribution to reduce your taxable income for 2025. Instead, you'll have to wait until next year to claim the deduction.
How an RRSP works to lower your taxes
An RRSP, or Registered Retirement Savings Plan, is a retirement savings account that is "registered" with the CRA.
You contribute money during your working years while you're earning an income, and in most cases you don't pay tax on that money — or any income it earns through investment gains and interest — as long as you leave the money in the account.
The big benefit during tax season is the RRSP deduction.
When you contribute to your RRSP, you can deduct that amount from your taxable income. A lower taxable income can mean paying less tax or getting a bigger refund.
For example, if you earned $75,000 in 2025 and contributed $5,000 to your RRSP before the deadline, you would only be taxed on $70,000 instead of the full amount. That difference can have a real impact on your refund.
How much can you contribute?
Unlike other registered savings plans like the TFSA and FHSA, which have a set amount that every Canadian can contribute each year, your RRSP contribution limit is a unique number based on your income and isn't the same for everyone.
The Canada Revenue Agency generally calculates your RRSP deduction limit as 18% of your earned income from the previous year, up to an annual maximum. For 2025, the annual RRSP limit is $32,490, according to the CRA.
If you have unused contribution room from earlier years, it also carries forward and is included in your total limit. That means you may be able to contribute more than just this year's newly earned room if you haven't maxed out your contributions each year in the past.
You can find your exact RRSP deduction limit by signing in to your CRA My Account, checking your latest Notice of Assessment or looking at Form T1028 if the CRA sent you one.
This limit is important, because you generally have to pay a tax of 1% per month on contributions that exceed your RRSP deduction limit by more than $2,000.
How much can you get back?
An RRSP contribution is a tax deduction, not a refundable credit. It doesn't automatically give you money back, but what it does is reduce your taxable income, which lowers the amount of tax you owe for the year.
Most employed Canadians have income tax taken off every paycheque through source deductions. That amount is an estimation of how much tax you'll owe based on your annual income. If you lower your taxable income with an RRSP deduction, you may end up owing less tax than what was already taken off your pay — that difference is what can turn into a tax refund.
The exact amount you save on your tax bill (or get back as a refund) depends on your marginal tax rate. In simple terms, that's the rate of tax you pay on your last dollar of income. That rate varies based on your income and province or territory.
Here are a few examples of combined federal and provincial marginal tax rates:
- In Alberta, someone earning $30,000 has a marginal tax rate of about 22.5%.
- In Ontario, someone earning $60,000 has a marginal tax rate of about 29.65%.
- In B.C., someone earning $100,000 has a marginal tax rate of about 31%.
So if you're in Alberta earning $30,000 and contribute $1,000 to your RRSP before the March 2, 2026 deadline, you could reduce your tax bill by about $225. In Ontario at $60,000, a $1,000 contribution could lower your taxes by roughly $296.50. In B.C. at $100,000, that same $1,000 could cut your taxes by about $310.
The higher your marginal tax rate, the more each RRSP dollar can reduce your taxes by.
How to claim your RRSP deduction
Your financial institution will issue an official RRSP contribution receipt for any money you put in. These are often issued at the end of the year, although if you contribute in the first 60 days of 2026, it may take until later in March to get your updated receipt with the full amount you deposited for the tax year.
You'll need that receipt to report the exact amount you are claiming as an RRSP deduction on your 2025 tax return, especially if you made contributions earlier in the year and forgot the total.
In many cases, banks also send this information directly to the CRA, which means your contributions may already show up when you use the "auto-fill my return" service through your tax software. That feature automatically pulls tax information the CRA has on file, which can make filing faster and easier.
If your contributions don't automatically show up when you go to file your 2025 income tax return, you should make sure they're recorded on line 20800 — RRSP deduction.
If you're filing online, keep your receipts in case the CRA asks to see them. If you're working with a tax preparer, show them your receipts. Paper filers need to attach them to their return.
Other important 2026 tax dates to remember
The RRSP deadline isn't the only key date on the calendar.
February 23, 2026 is the first day you can start filing your 2025 income tax return online. April 30, 2026 is the deadline for most individuals to file and pay any taxes owed.
If you're self-employed, you have until June 15, 2026 to file, but any balance owing is still due by April 30.
The bottom line
If you've been thinking about making an RRSP contribution, this is your reminder. With just over two weeks until the March 2, 2026 RRSP deadline for 2025, this is one of the last ways you can potentially increase your tax refund and lower what you owe.
Check your RRSP contribution limit, look at your budget and decide if it makes sense for you. A simple move before the deadline could make a noticeable difference when your refund lands in your bank account.
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