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Blog · Published September 4, 2026

RRSP deadline:
March 1, 2027

That is the answer for the 2026 tax year. It changes every year, and not the way most people assume: the rule is not "March 1", it is the sixtieth day.

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60
Days after the year ends
$33,810
2026 contribution limit
April 30
The date people confuse it with
In this article
  1. The answer, and the rule behind it
  2. Every deadline through 2031
  3. The three dates people confuse it with
  4. How much you can contribute
  5. What a first-60-days contribution changes
  6. If you miss the date
  7. Frequently asked questions
The answer

The sixtieth day,
not March 1

To contribute to an RRSP and deduct it from your 2026 income, you have until Monday, March 1, 2027 inclusive. After that you can still contribute, but the deduction will count toward 2027.

The rule that produces that date is not "March 1". It is the sixtieth day following the end of the calendar year, moved to the next business day if it lands on a Saturday or Sunday. The 60th day after December 31, 2026 is March 1, 2027, a Monday: the date stands as is.

The distinction looks academic right up until it isn't. In a leap year February has 29 days and the deadline moves back a day: for the 2027 tax year it will be February 29, 2028. And when the 60th day falls on a weekend, it moves forward: the 2030 deadline slides to March 3, 2031.

Processing time is not the legal deadline
A contribution made on the last day has to be received by the institution, not merely sent. A transfer from another bank often takes one to three business days, and an institution-to-institution transfer takes weeks. Leave a week of margin on a transfer, more if the money has to come out of somewhere else first.
The dates

Every deadline
through 2031

Each row applies the same rule: 60 days after December 31, then pushed to Monday if that lands on a weekend. Two years out of seven do not fall on March 1.

Tax year60th dayActual deadlineWhy
2025Sunday, March 1, 2026Monday, March 2, 2026Pushed: the 60th day was a Sunday
2026Monday, March 1, 2027Monday, March 1, 2027Business day, no shift
2027Tuesday, February 29, 2028Tuesday, February 29, 2028Leap year: February has 29 days
2028Thursday, March 1, 2029Thursday, March 1, 2029Business day, no shift
2029Friday, March 1, 2030Friday, March 1, 2030Business day, no shift
2030Saturday, March 1, 2031Monday, March 3, 2031Pushed two days: Saturday

Dates computed from the 60-day rule, verified September 4, 2026. The countdown at the top of this page applies the same rule rather than a hard-coded date: it stays correct year to year without anyone touching it.

The traps

The three dates
people confuse it with

Most RRSP mistakes are not about the deadline itself. They are about a different deadline mistaken for it.

DeadlineWhenWhat it covers
RRSP contribution60th day, around March 1Putting the money in to deduct it from the previous year
Tax returnApril 30Filing. June 15 if self-employed, but the balance is still due April 30
FHSA contributionDecember 31No 60-day window: a January contribution counts toward the new year
TFSA contributionNoneRoom appears January 1 and carries forward with no time limit

Verified September 4, 2026. These dates are set by rule and do not move year to year, except for the shift to the next business day.

The FHSA is the costliest one to confuse, because the mistake cannot be undone: unused room from a year only partly carries forward, and a January contribution made in the belief that it "catches up" the previous year catches up nothing. If you are still weighing the two plans, which one to fill first by income level settles it on a single number.

The amount

How much you can
contribute by then

Your limit is 18% of your previous year's earned income, up to a dollar cap set each year, minus your pension adjustment if you have a workplace plan. Unused room carries forward indefinitely.

YearDollar limitEarned income needed to reach it
2025$32,490$180,500 in 2024
2026$33,810$187,833 in 2025
2027$35,390$196,611 in 2026

Limits verified September 4, 2026. The income figure is the limit divided by 18%, rounded to the dollar. Your personal number is on your latest notice of assessment, and only that number governs: it accounts for your pension adjustment and carried-forward room.

To see what the contribution gives back rather than what it costs, the tax refund calculator runs the numbers for your province and income. That is usually where the contribution becomes real: the same $5,000 does not return the same amount at $45,000 of income as at $130,000.

The detail that matters

What a first-60-days
contribution changes

A contribution paid between January 1 and the deadline sits in a special place: it must be reported on the previous year's return, on Schedule 7, even if you do not deduct it.

Reporting and deducting are two separate acts, and that is where the flexibility lives. You can enter the contribution without claiming it right away, then carry the deduction forward to a year when your marginal rate will be higher — after a raise, coming back from a leave, or the year an unusual payment pushes you into a new bracket.

  1. Pay before the deadline. The money has to be received by the institution, not merely sent.
  2. Report it on Schedule 7 of the previous year's return. That part is mandatory, deduction or not.
  3. Then choose whether to deduct. That year, or later. Carrying it forward costs nothing and never expires.
Contributing early beats contributing just in time
Nothing forces you to wait for February. A contribution made in March for the current year spends fourteen more months sheltered than the same money contributed at the following deadline. The February rush is a collective habit, not a tax rule.
If it is too late

Missing the date
does not burn the room

Your contribution room does not evaporate on March 1. It carries forward indefinitely, and you can contribute the next day. What you lose is a year of timing: the contribution will count toward the current year, and the matching refund will arrive next spring rather than this one.

The only genuinely irreversible RRSP deadline is the one at 71. The plan has to be converted to a RRIF or an annuity by December 31 of the year of your 71st birthday, and that final contribution has no 60-day window: it is December 31, not the March 1 that follows. If your spouse is younger, a spousal RRSP stays open until December 31 of the year they turn 71.

If your RRSP is sitting elsewhere and you are using the season to move it, leave plenty of margin: a plan transfer takes weeks, not days, and it does not count as a contribution anyway.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions


For the 2026 tax year, the deadline is Monday, March 1, 2027. The general rule is the sixtieth day after the end of the calendar year, moved to the next business day if it lands on a Saturday or Sunday. That is why the date is not always March 1: the 2027 tax year deadline falls on February 29, 2028, and the 2030 one slides to March 3, 2031.
Nothing is lost except a year of timing. Your contribution room carries forward indefinitely, so you can contribute the next day. What you lose is the ability to deduct that contribution from the year just ended: it will count for the current year instead, and the refund arrives a year later.
No, and this is the most common mix-up. RRSP contributions are due by the sixtieth day of the following year, around March 1. The tax return itself is due April 30, or June 15 if you are self-employed. That leaves roughly two months between the two.
No. The TFSA has no deadline at all: each year's room appears on January 1 and carries forward with no expiry. The FHSA closes on December 31, not sixty days later: a January contribution counts toward the new year, not the one that just ended.
You have to report it, but not necessarily deduct it. A contribution made between January 1 and the deadline must be entered on Schedule 7 of the previous year's return. The deduction itself can be claimed that year or carried forward to a year when your marginal rate is higher.
Not to your own. The RRSP must be converted to a RRIF or an annuity by December 31 of the year you turn 71, and there is no 60-day extension for that final contribution. If your spouse is younger, you can keep contributing to a spousal RRSP until December 31 of the year they turn 71.
18% of your previous year's earned income, up to a dollar limit set each year, minus your pension adjustment. The limit is $33,810 for 2026 and $35,390 for 2027. Reaching the 2026 limit took $187,833 of earned income in 2025.
Sources and verification dates
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