TFSA, RRSP and RESP Quick guide
RRSP in 2026: why the $33,810 limit may not be your limit
Your RRSP deduction limit is personal. It is 18% of your previous year's earned income, up to the annual ceiling ($33,810 for 2026).
Life events › Planning for retirement
Planning for retirement
Retirement planning on the tax side is about which account to use in which year, and what the withdrawals will do to tax and benefits later. The insurance side is about whether anything still needs covering once the debts are paid and the children are grown.
How the pieces connect
- Your own RRSP limit
- TFSA rules
- TFSA or RRSP this year
- Spousal RRSP
- Benefits and net income
- Coverage that may no longer be needed
- What happens at death
Insurance, TFSAs, RRSPs, RESPs and tax planning solve different problems. The goal is not to sell one product as the answer to everything. Each path below shows how the pieces connect for one event, and which guide to read for each piece.
Guides for this path, in reading order
TFSA, RRSP and RESP Quick guide
TFSA in 2026: 7 rules people still get wrong
Seven rules. Your room is the current year's limit plus unused room plus last year's withdrawals minus this year's contributions, so it is personal.
TFSA, RRSP and RESP Quick guide
TFSA or RRSP? Stop asking which one is better
Neither is better in general. An RRSP contribution is deducted from income now and the withdrawal is taxed later.
TFSA, RRSP and RESP Quick guide
Spousal RRSPs: a useful tax tool with a rule people forget
A spousal RRSP lets the higher-income spouse contribute, within their own room, to a plan the other spouse owns, and take the deduction.
TFSA, RRSP and RESP Quick guide
RRSP refund or bigger child benefit? Why one tax decision can affect another calculation
An RRSP deduction reduces net income on line 23600. The Canada child benefit and BC family benefit are calculated from adjusted family net income, which starts with that line.
TFSA, RRSP and RESP Quick guide
TFSA, RRSP, RESP or life insurance? Four tools, four different jobs
They solve different problems. A TFSA holds money you have already paid tax on; it grows tax-free and comes out tax-free, and withdrawals do not affect benefits.
Insurance Quick guide
Do you need life insurance if you already have a TFSA, RRSP and workplace coverage?
Maybe. Savings and insurance do different jobs. A TFSA or RRSP is an asset that takes years to build and is worth whatever is in it on the day.
Newcomers to Canada Quick guide
New to Canada or back after years abroad? Do not use the TFSA limit you see online
Your TFSA room starts when you become a resident of Canada, if you are 18 or older.
Canada and India Quick guide
Foreign income and the T1135 form: two different questions
They are two separate questions. Question one: do you have income from outside Canada?
TFSA, RRSP and RESP Quick guide
What happens to your TFSA, RRSP and life insurance when you die?
Each account is treated differently. A TFSA passed to a spouse named as successor holder stays tax-free.
What belongs with a lawyer: Pension elections and estate documents may need legal advice.
Other life events
Want this worked through for your situation?
Call us or request a callback. We explain the tax side; insurance is arranged by Parminder Singh Oberoi through Punjab Insurance Agency Inc.; legal documents need a lawyer or notary.