RRSP deduction limit 2023

Your Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) deduction limit is the maximum amount of RRSP contributions you can deduct on your return to help you lower your tax payable for the year. By deducting your RRSP contributions on your return (up to your deduction limit for the year), you can bring down your income tax bracket and, therefore, pay less tax.

You can find your RRSP deduction limit for a given year:

  • At the bottom of your latest notice of assessment (NOA) or reassessment
  • On the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) website by logging in to My Account (if you're registered)
  • By calling the RRSP Tax Information Phone Service (TIPS) hotline at 1-800-267-6999 or
  • On your T1028: Your RRSP Information for 2023

Note: Your RRSP deduction limit might be impacted by your previous year’s past service pension adjustment (PSPA) and pension adjustment reversal (PAR). You can find both amounts on your notice of assessment or reassessment, or in My Account.

If you have an RRSP contribution dated Jan or Feb 2023 that you didn’t report in your 2022 tax return (either as a contribution or as a carry-forward amount), you can’t apply it to your 2023 return UNTIL you have adjusted your 2022 tax return. You have two options:

  • You can use the amount as a deduction on your 2022 return, or
  • You can carry it forward to use it as deduction on your 2023 return

Either way, you have to adjust your 2022 tax return to indicate your choice and wait for the 2022 tax return adjustment to be processed by the CRA, before you can add the amount to your 2023 return.

If you don't use your entire RRSP deduction limit in a given year, the unused portion is carried forward and added to your new limit for next year. Your RRSP deduction limit is calculated based on your earned income plus any unused RRSP deduction limit from prior years minus any pension adjustments.

Example: Thomas has a 2023 RRSP deduction limit of $14,000. In 2023, he contributed $6,000 to his RRSPs. The unused portion of RRSP deduction limit is $8,000 ($14,000 - $6,000). He can either contribute another $8,000 to his RRSP in 2023 or carry it forward to be added to his RRSP deduction limit for 2024.

When contributing to your RRSP, make sure you don’t contribute more than $2,000 over your deduction limit as you'll have to pay a tax of 1% per month on the excess contributions.

Example: Thomas has decided that for 2023, instead of making RRSP contributions once a year, he will set up monthly automatic withdrawals for his RRSP contributions. The amount he decides to withdraw and contribute to his RRSPs each month is $1,500. His 2023 RRSP deduction limit is $14,000. At the end of the year, Thomas realizes that he has over contributed to his RRSPs by $4,000.

RRSP contributions: $1,500 x 12=$18,000

RRSP deduction limit: $14,000

Over contribution: $18,000 - $14,000 = $4,000

The CRA allows an over contribution of $2,000 before applying any penalties. In this case, Thomas over-contributed by more than $2,000 and has to pay a tax of 1% per month on the excess amount or he can request to have it returned to him.

Follow these steps in H&R Block’s 2023 tax software:

  1. On the left navigation menu, click the Government slips tab, then Smart Search.

  1. Type RRSP deduction limit for 2023 in the search field and either click the highlighted selection or press Enter to continue.

  2. When you arrive at the RRSP contributions and HBP or LLP payments page, enter your information into the tax software.