# Year-end tax checklist for 2026

> What to do by December 31, 2026: donations, medical receipts, TFSA and FHSA timing, RESP and RDSP grants, RRIF minimums, instalments and 2026 plan limits.

- Web page: https://taxnotes.ca/guides/year-end-tax-planning-2026/
- For: Everyone · Topic: Planning
- Last reviewed: 2026-10-11

Most tax decisions can wait until you file, but some only count if they happen by December 31. This checklist covers the 2026 tax year: what to do before the year ends, what can wait until 2027, and the 2026 limits for registered plans.

## By December 15: your last instalment

If you pay tax by instalments, your fourth and last 2026 payment is due **December 15, 2026**. If your main income is self-employment income from farming or fishing, your single payment is due **December 31, 2026** instead. Paying late or too little can mean instalment interest and penalty charges. Our [instalments guide](https://taxnotes.ca/guides/tax-instalments/) explains who has to pay and how much.

## By December 31

**Make your donations.** A gift counts for the year you make it, so a donation made after December 31 can't be claimed on your 2026 return. You don't have to claim it right away: you can carry it forward and claim it in any of the next five years, and you or your spouse or common-law partner can claim it. Claims are generally limited to 75% of your net income for the year. Keep the official receipts. See [charitable donations](https://taxnotes.ca/guides/charitable-donations/) and [pooling donations and medical expenses](https://taxnotes.ca/guides/pooling-donations-and-medical-expenses/).

**Time your medical expenses.** You can claim eligible medical expenses paid in any 12-month period ending in the tax year, as long as you didn't claim them the year before. For 2026, that period has to end in 2026, so a large bill paid in December can count for 2026, while one paid in January 2027 can't. Our [medical expenses guide](https://taxnotes.ca/guides/medical-expenses/) covers what qualifies.

**Plan any TFSA withdrawal.** Money you take out of a TFSA is added back to your contribution room at the start of the next year, not right away. If you'll need the money early in 2027, withdrawing it in December 2026 instead gets the room back on January 1, 2027, a year sooner. Don't put a withdrawal back in the same year unless you have unused room: contributing more than your available room is taxed. The TFSA dollar limit for 2026 is $7,000. See [TFSA basics](https://taxnotes.ca/guides/tfsa-basics/).

**Use your FHSA room.** Unlike RRSP contributions, which can count for a year if made early in the next one, FHSA contributions count for the calendar year you make them: January 1 to December 31. Your participation room only starts in the year you open your first FHSA, at $8,000 for that year, and unused room can carry forward within limits, so opening an account before the year ends starts the clock. You can deduct a contribution in the year you make it or save the deduction for a later year. See [FHSA and the Home Buyers' Plan](https://taxnotes.ca/guides/fhsa-and-home-buyers-plan/).

**Contribute to an RESP.** The Canada Education Savings Grant is paid on what you contribute, up to a yearly maximum for each child. Unused grant room carries forward and you can catch up in later years, but the grant you can get each year, catch-up included, is capped. The grant is available until the end of the calendar year a child turns 17, so if your child turns 17 in 2026, December 31, 2026 is the last chance. Our [RESP guide](https://taxnotes.ca/guides/resp/) explains the extra rules for 16- and 17-year-olds.

**Contribute to an RDSP.** An RDSP can get matching grants on contributions made until December 31 of the year the beneficiary turns 49. For 2025, the CRA's important dates page gave December 31, 2025 as the deadline to open an RDSP, make contributions and apply for the grant and bond for that contribution year; it hadn't posted the 2026 date when we last checked. See [RDSP basics](https://taxnotes.ca/guides/rdsp/).

**Take your RRIF minimum.** Starting the year after you set up a RRIF, you have to be paid at least the yearly minimum amount. You can take more, but not less. If your RRIF existed before 2026, make sure your 2026 minimum has been paid by the end of the year. Our [RRSP to RRIF guide](https://taxnotes.ca/guides/rrsp-to-rrif/) and [withdrawals calculator](https://taxnotes.ca/calculators/rrsp-rrif-withdrawals/) show how the minimum is worked out.

**Turning 71 in 2026?** December 31 of the year you turn 71 is the last day you can contribute to your own RRSP. In that year you have to withdraw your RRSPs, transfer them to a RRIF or use them to buy an annuity. If your spouse or common-law partner is younger, you can keep contributing to their RRSP until the end of the year they turn 71.

**Selling investments at a loss?** A capital loss first reduces your capital gains for the same year, and any net capital loss left over can be used against taxable capital gains in any of the three previous years or any future year. Watch the **superficial loss** rule: if you, or someone affiliated with you such as your spouse or common-law partner or a corporation either of you controls, buy (or have a right to buy) the same or identical property in the period from 30 calendar days before the sale to 30 calendar days after it, and still own it (or the right to buy it) 30 days after the sale, you can't deduct the loss. If you're the one who bought the replacement, the loss is usually added to its cost instead. See [capital losses](https://taxnotes.ca/guides/capital-losses/).

## What can wait until 2027

**RRSP contributions for 2026.** Unlike most items on this list, RRSP contributions have a deadline after the year ends: contributions made up to March 2, 2026 counted for 2025. The CRA hadn't posted the deadline for 2026 contributions when we last checked, so look for it on the CRA's important dates page in the new year. Your 2026 deduction limit is generally 18% of your 2025 earned income, up to the 2026 RRSP dollar limit of $33,810, minus any pension adjustment, plus unused room from earlier years. See [RRSP basics](https://taxnotes.ca/guides/rrsp-basics/).

**Pension income splitting.** You and your spouse or common-law partner make this choice when you file, on Form T1032, which both of you sign and file by the filing due date. You can allocate up to half of your eligible pension income, and the share can change every year. The conditions are tested on December 31, though: you both have to be resident in Canada, and not living apart because of a breakdown in the relationship for 90 days or more including that date. See [pension income splitting](https://taxnotes.ca/guides/pension-income-splitting/).

## 2026 limits at a glance

- RRSP dollar limit: $33,810
- TFSA dollar limit: $7,000
- FHSA participation room in the year you open your first FHSA: $8,000, with a lifetime contribution limit of $40,000

Our [registered plan limits table](https://taxnotes.ca/rates/registered-plans/) shows these by year, and [registered savings plans compared](https://taxnotes.ca/guides/registered-savings-plans/) explains which plan does what.

## Your checklist

- **December 15:** last 2026 instalment (December 31 for farmers and fishers).
- **December 31:** donations, December medical bills, TFSA withdrawals you'll need in early 2027, FHSA and RESP contributions, RDSP contributions, your RRIF minimum, and your last RRSP contribution if you turn 71.
- **Early 2027:** RRSP contributions for 2026 by the CRA's deadline, then [gather your slips](https://taxnotes.ca/guides/slips-to-gather/) and estimate your result with the [income tax calculator](https://taxnotes.ca/calculators/income-tax/).

## Sources

1. [Payment due dates: Required tax instalments for individuals](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/payments/payments-cra/individual-payments/income-tax-instalments/due-dates.html) (canada.ca)
2. [Who can claim – Donations and gifts](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/topics/about-your-tax-return/tax-return/completing-a-tax-return/deductions-credits-expenses/line-34900-donations-gifts/who-claim.html) (canada.ca)
3. [How much you can claim – Donations and gifts](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/topics/about-your-tax-return/tax-return/completing-a-tax-return/deductions-credits-expenses/line-34900-donations-gifts/how-much-claim.html) (canada.ca)
4. [Lines 33099 and 33199 – Eligible medical expenses you can claim on your tax return](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/topics/about-your-tax-return/tax-return/completing-a-tax-return/deductions-credits-expenses/lines-33099-33199-eligible-medical-expenses-you-claim-on-your-tax-return.html) (canada.ca)
5. [Calculate your TFSA contribution room](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/topics/tax-free-savings-account/contributing/calculate-room.html) (canada.ca)
6. [Tax deductions for FHSA contributions](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/topics/first-home-savings-account/tax-deductions-fhsa-contributions.html) (canada.ca)
7. [Participating in your FHSAs](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/topics/first-home-savings-account/contributing-your-fhsa.html) (canada.ca)
8. [Canada Education Savings Grant (CESG)](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/topics/registered-education-savings-plans-resps/canada-education-savings-programs-cesp/canada-education-savings-grant-cesg.html) (canada.ca)
9. [How much money can be added to Registered Education Savings Plans (ESDC)](https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/education/education-savings/estimating-amounts.html) (canada.ca)
10. [Canada disability savings grant and Canada disability savings bond](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/topics/registered-disability-savings-plan-rdsp/canada-disability-savings-grant-canada-disability-savings-bond.html) (canada.ca)
11. [Important dates for RRSPs, HBP, LLP, FHSAs and more](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/topics/rrsps-related-plans/important-dates-rrsp-rrif-rdsp.html) (canada.ca)
12. [Receiving income from a RRIF](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/topics/registered-retirement-income-fund-rrif/receiving-income-a-rrif.html) (canada.ca)
13. [Options for your own RRSPs (when you turn 71)](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/topics/rrsps-related-plans/rrsp-options-when-you-turn-71/options-your-rrsps.html) (canada.ca)
14. [How contributions affect your RRSP deduction limit](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/topics/rrsps-related-plans/contributing-a-rrsp-prpp/contributions-affect-your-rrsp-prpp-deduction-limit.html) (canada.ca)
15. [MP, DB, RRSP, DPSP, ALDA, TFSA limits, YMPE and the YAMPE](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/registered-plans-administrators/pspa/mp-rrsp-dpsp-tfsa-limits-ympe.html) (canada.ca)
16. [Capital losses (superficial loss)](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/topics/about-your-tax-return/tax-return/completing-a-tax-return/personal-income/line-12700-capital-gains/capital-losses-deductions.html) (canada.ca)
17. [Pension income splitting](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/topics/pension-income-splitting.html) (canada.ca)

Tax figures in this guide come from the TaxNotes.ca rates tables (https://taxnotes.ca/rates/), which cite the Canada Revenue Agency and, for Quebec, Revenu Québec.

Last reviewed: October 11, 2026

How to cite: "Year-end tax checklist for 2026", TaxNotes.ca, last reviewed 2026-10-11, https://taxnotes.ca/guides/year-end-tax-planning-2026/. For a figure or rule, also cite the official source listed above.

Licence: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Free to share and adapt with attribution: https://taxnotes.ca/reproducing-our-content/