Enter a monthly contribution, a time horizon and your tax brackets. The calculator projects the same contributions in a TFSA (never taxed again) and an RRSP (deduction now, taxed at withdrawal) so you can see which account wins for your numbers — the question our most-watched Canadian money video answers.
When your retirement bracket is lower than today's, the RRSP's deduction-at-a-high-rate and tax-at-a-low-rate wins. When your retirement bracket is the same or higher — common for people early in their careers whose incomes will rise — the TFSA wins, and its withdrawals never affect income-tested benefits. Try both bracket combinations above and watch the winner flip.
It assumes RRSP refunds are spent, which is how most people actually behave; reinvesting refunds improves the RRSP column. It also ignores FHSA room (fill that first for a first home), employer matching (always take the match first) and contribution-room limits. Read the full TFSA vs RRSP guide for the exceptions, then run your real numbers here.
No — it is a hypothetical you choose. Markets do not move in straight lines; use a conservative figure and treat the output as a comparison between accounts, not a forecast.
Yes — the US mirror image: Roth accounts are TFSA-like (after-tax in, tax-free out), traditional 401(k)/IRA accounts are RRSP-like (deduction in, taxed out). The bracket-now-vs-later rule decides there too.
Pai Ledger HQ tracks TFSA, RRSP and FHSA balances in one dashboard — the free money pack includes the worksheets used in our videos.