Any one know of an online income tax calculator for 201"6" ? | General financial discussion | Discussion forum

I asked a question on the forum last December (perhaps November) based on the same quest, but it seemed nothing was going to be available until after the new year when the tax forms came out.
Also, remember that governments can change the rules partway through the year if so inclined.

However, in my view, what it boils down to is that you must stay at or below the point at which the age credit starts to get reduced in order to get the very best deal - about 35,500 - the specific amount is available; I may have it written down if you want me to check. Next best is to go to the top of that first tax bracket, somewhere in the low 40s.

If your income from other sources is fairly predictable, it shouldn't be too hard to figure out. The problem comes when income is not predictable.

Starting last year, I kept a monthly tally of taxable income for self and spouse, which was very helpful in figuring out how much RSP/RIF to cash late in the year. I also worked out when all the clawbacks and disentitlements might kick in. It all came down to that 35,500.

Combined Fed-Prov Average Tax on 35,500 for a person over 65 worked out to about 8% by my calculations.

A word of advice, if you hadn't thought of it: the banks are required to take a 25% withholding tax if you withdraw more than the required minimum. So, you may want to leave the withdrawal until December, depending on personal circumstances.

kanaka said

Loonie said
A word of advice, if you hadn't thought of it: the banks are required to take a 25% withholding tax if you withdraw more than the required minimum. So, you may want to leave the withdrawal until December, depending on personal circumstances.

Are you talking about RRIF withdrawals that are over the minimum mandatory amount?

This applies to both RRSP and RRIF.
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/nd.....s-eng.html

Yes, that's the one. I was a bit off in my memory of the percentage involved.
Preet may be right that you can avoid this by spreading it out through the year (although that loophole may have since been closed for all I know), but you will still be vulnerable to FI's withdrawal fees, if any, each time. Generally, they seem to be more likely to have fees for RSP than for RiF withdrawals, so this might be a motivator to convert to RIF even if not needed for the Pension Credit. The downside is that you are then stuck with the mandatory minimum before you reach 72. However, there is, if needed, a CRA form you can fill out which enables you to re-convert the RIF to an RSP until required, but I think you would have to take the current year's mandatory withdrawal first.
Another option, if you have several smaller RSP/RIFs, is to take a bit from each, but then you still have too many of them to fiddle with. In my case, I decided to just cash in one of them entirely, as the amount was just right, and I wanted to get rid of some of them. This year I will get rid of another for sure, and possibly two.
Another thing to know is that the mandatory withdrawal rates are actually based on the previous year, not the current one. I didn't know this until I worked out what they had done. In other words, if you turn 68 this year, the rate for age 67 will apply to your RIFs this year.

http://www.taxtips.ca/calculat.....ulator.htm