Tax-saving strategies for Canadians (2026)

Everyone

Rules that apply to any taxpayer with savings or investments.

• Spousal RRSPs, the three-year rule, the first-60-days rule and the $60,000 Home Buyers' Plan (2026) Couples with lopsided retirement savings, and anyone choosing which year to deduct. RRSP dollar limit $33,810; Home Buyers' Plan $60,000 (2026)
• Capital-loss harvesting and the superficial-loss rule (Canada, 2026) Anyone with a losing investment in a non-registered account, especially in a year with gains. Inclusion rate 50%; 30-day superficial-loss window (2026)

Self-employed and contractors

Deductions and structures for people who earn business income.

• Home-office expenses in Canada: employees (T2200 and T777) vs self-employed (T2125), 2026 Employees required to work from home, and sole proprietors who run the business from home. Employees: more than 50% of the time for at least four consecutive weeks, with a signed T2200 (2026)
• Incorporating: the small business deduction, salary vs dividends, and the family-income traps (2026) Owners who earn more than they spend and can leave profit in the company. Small-business rate 9% federal, 12.2% combined in Ontario, on the first $500,000 (2026)

Homeowners and investors

Making borrowing costs deductible and moving investment income to a lower bracket.

• The Smith Manoeuvre: how mortgage interest becomes tax-deductible in Canada (2026) Homeowners with a readvanceable mortgage, a high marginal rate and a real appetite for leverage. Deduction worth up to your marginal rate: 43.41% at $120,000 in Ontario (2026)
• Prescribed-rate spousal loans: splitting investment income without attribution (2026) Couples where one spouse is in a much higher bracket and has money to invest. CRA prescribed rate 3% for the quarter starting October 1, 2026

Families

Credits that depend on who in the household claims them.

• Medical expenses, the disability tax credit and the Canada caregiver amount: who should claim (2026) Families with large medical bills, a member with a certified disability, or an infirm dependant. Medical threshold: 3% of net income, capped at $2,890; disability amount $10,341 (2026)

Retirement

Splitting income between spouses once pensions and RRIFs start.

• Pension income splitting (Form T1032) and CPP pension sharing: why 50% is not always the best split (2026) Retired couples where one spouse has most of the pension or RRIF income. Up to 50% of eligible pension income; OAS recovery starts at $95,323 (2026)

How strategies get on this page

A strategy is listed only when every rule and figure in its guide traces to a primary source: a CRA page, guide or folio, a Department of Finance release, Service Canada, Revenu Québec or the Income Tax Act. Strategies that rely on grey-zone interpretations, or whose figures could not be verified against a primary source, are left out rather than hedged. Each guide lists its own sources and the date they were checked; annual figures come from the versioned 2026 data files that power the calculators, and are re-verified every January.

Not sure where to start? The checklists walk through the tools in order for a life moment, and every calculator has its own guide.