Canada Investment Tax Efficiency Calculator

Compare TFSA, RRSP, and non-registered investing using accumulation, retirement withdrawals, lifetime tax, and total after-tax value.

Investment Assumptions

Initial Investment ($)

Annual After-Tax Contribution Budget ($)

Used directly for TFSA and non-registered. RRSP treatment depends on comparison method.

Years Until Retirement

Expected Total Return (%)

Comparison Method

Same After-Tax Cost grosses up RRSP contributions to reflect the deduction.

Retirement Withdrawal Period (Years)

Non-Registered Return Breakdown

These components automatically scale with the Expected Total Return while keeping the same default proportions: 7.14% interest, 21.43% dividends/distributions, 14.29% realized capital gains, and 57.14% unrealized appreciation.

Interest / Fully Taxable Income (%)

Dividend / Distribution Return (%)

Simplified: taxed at the selected dividend effective rate.

Realized Capital Gain (%)

Unrealized Capital Appreciation (%)

Capital Gains Inclusion Rate (%)

Dividend Effective Tax Rate as % of Marginal Rate

Example: 75% means dividends are taxed at 75% of the selected combined marginal rate.

Tax Assumptions

Province

Provincial Marginal Tax Rate

Federal Marginal Tax Rate

Retirement Combined Marginal Tax Rate (%)

Used for RRSP withdrawals and taxable non-registered gains during retirement.

Initial Retirement Withdrawal Rate (%)

Return During Retirement (%)

Lifetime Comparison

Enter your assumptions and calculate.

Accumulation Results

Annual results will appear here.

Retirement Results

Annual withdrawal results will appear here.

Model Notes

This calculator is an educational comparison model. It does not calculate an actual Canadian tax return. It uses user-selected marginal tax assumptions and a simplified treatment of dividends, capital gains, RRSP deductions, and retirement withdrawals. Actual results can differ because of tax brackets, dividend tax credits, provincial surtaxes, fund distributions, fees, contribution limits, benefit clawbacks, changing legislation, and individual circumstances.