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A T4RSP is the slip your RRSP issuer sends to report money that came out of your RRSP in a year. The CRA calls it the Statement of RRSP Income. If you took $10,000 out of an RRSP, the slip shows the amount, and the withdrawal is taxed as income on your return whether or not any tax was held back.
What is a T4RSP slip for?
Your plan issuer or administrator fills it in and files a copy with the CRA. You get one too. It’s the paper trail that lets the CRA match what you report to what came out of the plan.
Not every slip means a plain withdrawal. The same form covers annuity payments, refunds of unused contributions, and money taken out under two special programs. So read the boxes before you trust the total.
| Box | What the CRA says it reports |
|---|---|
| 16 | Annuity payments made on or after the plan matured |
| 20 | Gross amount of unused contributions refunded |
| 22 | Withdrawals before the plan matured, and commutation payments |
| 24 | Whether it is a spousal or common-law partner RRSP |
| 25 | Withdrawals under the Lifelong Learning Plan |
| 26 | Fair market value of the plan’s property when it becomes an amended plan |
| 27 | Withdrawals under the Home Buyers’ Plan |
| 28 | Other taxable amounts or allowable deductions, for trusteed RRSPs |
How much tax comes off an RRSP withdrawal?
Your issuer holds back tax before it pays you, and that amount goes on the slip. Outside Quebec, the CRA lists 10% on withdrawals up to $5,000, 20% from $5,000 to $15,000 and 30% over $15,000. In Quebec the federal rates are 5%, 10% and 15%, and provincial tax is withheld on top. Non-residents face a flat 25%, which a treaty may lower.
Withholding is a down payment. It’s not your final bill.
How far apart can the two be? We used the RRSP withdrawal tax calculator for an Ontario resident with $60,000 of other income. On a $4,000 withdrawal, $400 is withheld but the real tax is $1,186, so about $786 is still owing. On $10,000, the bank holds $2,000 and the real tax is $2,965, leaving $965 to pay. On $30,000, $9,000 is withheld against real tax of $9,045, which is nearly a match.
So the small withdrawals catch people out. A low withholding rate on a modest amount still lands on top of a $60,000 salary.
Where does the T4RSP go on your return?
RRSP income gets reported on line 12900 of your return, and any tax already withheld counts as tax paid. Home Buyers’ Plan and Lifelong Learning Plan withdrawals are different. The CRA’s guide tells you to take your HBP total from box 27 and your LLP total from box 25, because those amounts aren’t taxed if you repay them on schedule.
Want to know what the extra income will do to your refund or balance owing? Add it to the tax refund calculator as other income. And if you’re drawing from RRSPs in retirement, the retirement income tax calculator shows how the withdrawals stack up with pensions and government benefits.
Common slip problems
A missing slip is the first one. Issuers generally have until the last day of February to file, so a slip may not show up in your account before then. Check your CRA account before you file, and ask the issuer if it’s still absent in March.
Next is the surprise slip. If one arrives for money you thought you’d only moved, don’t ignore it. Direct transfers between plans can generate slips too, and the CRA’s own guide says the transferring entity completes a T4RSP, T4RIF or T4A for some of them. We couldn’t confirm which slip a plain RRSP-to-RRSP transfer gets, so ask the issuer what it filed.
And if you’re unsure whether putting money in is worth it at all, run the RRSP calculator first.
Where the numbers come from
Box descriptions come from the Canada Revenue Agency’s T4RSP statement page, and the withholding rates from its page on RRSP withdrawals, both read in September 2026. The dollar examples come from this site’s calculator, which uses 2026 Ontario and federal rates. This site has no link with the CRA or any government.
Frequently asked questions
What is a T4RSP?
The CRA calls it the Statement of RRSP Income. Your plan issuer sends it to report payments from your RRSP in the year.
Which box shows an ordinary withdrawal?
Box 22 covers withdrawals before the plan matured, plus commutation payments.
Where do Home Buyers' Plan withdrawals appear?
In box 27. Lifelong Learning Plan withdrawals appear in box 25.
How much tax is withheld outside Quebec?
The CRA lists 10% up to $5,000, 20% from $5,000 to $15,000 and 30% above $15,000. It may not match what you finally owe.
When do issuers file the slip?
Information slips like this are generally due by the last day of February after the year. Check your CRA account before you file.
- How Canadian income tax works: brackets and credits
How federal and provincial Canadian income tax stack up, what marginal and average rates mean, and how credits and deductions change your bill
Information only. This page is general information, not tax, legal or accounting advice. Tax-Services.ca is an independent publisher: we don't prepare or file tax returns or offer tax services, and we have no connection with the CRA, Revenu Québec, any government or any company named on this page. Check the figures that matter with an official source or a qualified professional.