TFSA vs RRSP vs non-registered

An estimate built from tax brackets and assumptions you can see and change. It is not financial advice and it knows nothing about your situation that is not on this page.

What you can invest

Amount you can invest each year

After tax — money leaving your chequing account.

Years until you withdraw

Province or territory

Your tax rates

The comparison turns almost entirely on these two numbers, so they are inputs, not hidden constants. Set an income and the province table fills the rate in; type over a rate and it is used as-is.

Taxable income now

Marginal rate now (%)

Marginal rate when you withdraw (%)

The RRSP refund is

This changes the comparison more than any other single choice. An RRSP only beats a TFSA at equal rates if the refund is invested.

Assumptions

Nominal return (%/yr)

Inflation (%/yr)

Fund fee / MER (%/yr)

Non-registered: share of return taxed each year (%)

Where these numbers come from

Year by year

Year	TFSA	RRSP (pre-tax)	Non-registered

Balances in today's dollars. The RRSP column is shown before withdrawal tax — the figure above applies it.

After-tax, in today's dollars

TFSA —

RRSP —

Non-registered —

Enter what you can invest to compare the three.