Your 2026 RRIF minimum: what the percentage does and does not tell you

A RRIF question often arrives as a percentage: how much must come out this year? The percentage is only the starting point. The result depends on the account value used, your age on January 1, whether this is the year the RRIF was opened, and whether you withdraw more than the minimum. This briefing separates the mechanical rule from the planning questions around it.

The short version

According to the supplied 2026 RRIF rules explanation, multiply your RRIF's fair market value on January 1, 2026 by the prescribed factor for your age on January 1, 2026. The factor is 4.00% at age 65, 5.28% at age 71, and 20.00% at age 95 and over. The calendar year in which you open the RRIF has a $0 minimum; the first required minimum is due in the following calendar year.

The minimum is a floor, not a recommended spending amount. You can take more, but not less. The minimum is paid without withholding at source, yet it remains fully taxable income. A payment above the minimum is subject to withholding, which is a prepayment toward the year's tax rather than the final tax bill. The factors have not changed since the 2015 amendment.

The numbers worth keeping

• At ages 65 through 70, the factor is 1 divided by (90 minus your age): 4.00% at 65 and 5.00% at 70.
• The independent 2026 age table and account examples from LifeMoney lists the schedule through age 95 and over. From age 71 onward, the factor comes from a federal regulation table. Key 2026 figures are 5.28% at 71, 5.82% at 75, and 6.82% at 80.
• On a $500,000 RRIF, the minimum would be $20,000 at 65, $26,400 at 71, $29,100 at 75, and $34,100 at 80.
• The minimum must be paid by December 31. Institutions normally schedule monthly, quarterly, or annual payments; the cited material says they must top up a shortfall before year-end.
• Outside Quebec, withholding on the amount above the minimum is 10% on the first $5,000, 20% on the next $10,000, and 30% above $15,000. Quebec residents have a different combined federal-provincial schedule.
• A younger spouse's age can be elected on the RRIF application to lower the required minimum. The cited material says that election is irrevocable, so check it before finalizing the application.

What the official source says

The official authorities named in the supplied material are Justice Canada's Income Tax Regulation section 7308 for prescribed factors from age 71 onward and the CRA guide T4040, RRSPs and Other Registered Plans for Retirement, for registered-plan administration. The supplied material describes the under-71 formula and the 71-plus regulation table as parts of the same federal framework. It also reports that Quebec uses the same federal minimum factors; its difference here is the withholding schedule, not a separate factor table.

The captured material names those official authorities but does not provide their direct URLs. This briefing does not reconstruct a link from a title or domain. Before relying on a current rate, deadline, withholding amount, or OAS recovery-tax threshold, confirm the applicable official Government of Canada page. Withholding rates and OAS thresholds are reviewed annually even though the RRIF factors are described as stable since 2015.

The supplied material says an RRSP must be converted to a RRIF by December 31 of the year you turn 71, or another permitted registered-plan choice must be made. The opening year has no minimum, and the first required payment comes the next calendar year. The minimum also applies in the year of death; it is calculated normally and must be paid before a rollover to a successor annuitant or estate.

Why the distinction matters

A prescribed percentage answers one narrow question: what amount must leave the RRIF under the rule? It does not answer whether the amount is enough for spending, whether taking more is tax-efficient, or how the withdrawal fits with CPP, OAS, other income, or cash needs.

Withholding is not the same as tax. A minimum payment can arrive with no source withholding and still increase taxable income for the year. The full amount is reported on your T1 return and taxed at applicable marginal rates. If you withdraw above the minimum, the institution withholds according to the applicable schedule, but that is only an advance payment. If too much is withheld, you may receive a refund; if too little is withheld, you owe the difference when filing. Your final result depends on total income, deductions, credits, province, and other circumstances.

The January 1 inputs are easy to lose sight of. The balance used is the fair market value at the start of the year, not the balance on payment day. Your age is also the age on January 1. Someone who turns 71 during 2026 is not using the 5.28% age-71 factor for a 2026 minimum; that factor applies on the January 1 when the person is 71. Conversion timing and the first required-payment year should be checked together.

The younger-spouse election is a permanent choice, not a routine payment setting. Record what was elected and what age was used rather than assuming the payment schedule tells the whole story.

What to check next

• Ask the institution for the January 1, 2026 fair market value used and the factor applied to your January 1 age.
• Add payments received to payments scheduled for the rest of the year. Compare the total with the calculated minimum and ask how a December 31 top-up will be handled.
• Separate the minimum from any planned excess withdrawal. Check the applicable federal or Quebec withholding schedule and consider how the full withdrawal changes annual taxable income.
• If you turned or will turn 71 in the relevant year, confirm the RRSP conversion deadline and keep written confirmation of the registered-plan choice.
• If a younger spouse's age is being used, confirm the election on the application before treating the lower payment as permanent.
• Check current official CRA and Service Canada information for tax thresholds or benefit interactions that can change from year to year; do not use the RRIF percentage as a substitute for that review.

This is educational information about published Canadian RRIF rules, not individualized financial or tax advice. The briefing does not know your balance, province, other income, beneficiary or successor-annuitant arrangements, or household needs. Confirm current official figures and your institution's calculation before acting.