OAS Clawback Calculator 2026: the recovery tax
How much of your Old Age Security the recovery tax takes back, for the 2024, 2025 and 2026 income years.
The OAS recovery tax, usually called the clawback, takes back part of the Old Age Security pension from people whose net income is high. It equals 15 percent of the amount by which net world income, line 23400 of the return and OAS included, exceeds a threshold indexed each year, and it can never exceed the pension received. The repayment belongs to a given income year but is collected later: Service Canada withholds it from each monthly payment over the following July to June, on the basis of the last assessed return, and the final amount is settled when the return for that year is filed. The calculator works for the 2024, 2025 and 2026 income years, gives the annual repayment and the monthly deduction, and compares your income with the level at which Service Canada recovers the whole pension, which is higher at 75 because the pension is.
Your income
Includes your OAS, CPP, pensions, RRIF, salary and the taxable part of capital gains and dividends.
A full pension paid all year is about $9,150 at 65-74, $10,065 at 75+ at the current rate.
OAS recovery tax for the year
$2,201.55
$183.46 withheld each month, July 2027 to June 2028
Your OAS for the year
The repayment is entered on line 23500 of the return for the income year; Service Canada then withholds it from each OAS payment over the following July to June. The “whole pension recovered” incomes are those Service Canada publishes for the recovery period; they move with the quarterly OAS amount. Method.
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Updated for 2026 · Last verified 2026-10-05 · Sources: Service Canada, CRA
Thresholds by income year
| Income year | Withheld from OAS | Threshold | All OAS recovered, 65-74 | All OAS recovered, 75+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | July 2025 to June 2026 | $90,997 | $148,451 | $154,196 |
| 2025 | July 2026 to June 2027 | $93,454 | $152,062 | $157,923 |
| 2026 | July 2027 to June 2028 | $95,323 | $155,320 | $161,320 |
How the recovery tax works
The name “clawback” describes the effect, not the mechanism. Service Canada pays the pension in full; the recovery tax is a separate tax, computed on the return and entered on line 23500 as a social benefits repayment. Its amount is 15% of the difference between your net world income and the threshold of the year, with a ceiling: you never repay more OAS than you received that year.
Net world income is line 23400 of the return, the figure before deductions such as the capital gains exemption or the northern residents deduction. It includes your OAS itself, CPP or QPP, employment and business income, workplace pensions, RRSP and RRIF withdrawals, interest, rental income, the taxable half of capital gains and the grossed-up amount of dividends. Income earned abroad counts as well, which is why non-residents receiving OAS must file an annual statement of world income.
Worked example
A pensioner aged 65 to 74 with a full pension all year and a net income of $110,000 in 2026 exceeds the threshold by $14,677. The recovery tax is 15% of that, $2,201.55 for the year, and Service Canada deducts $183.46 from each payment from July 2027 to June 2028. The pensioner keeps $6,948.45 of a $9,150.00 pension.
| Net income 2026 | Repayment for the year | Withheld per month | OAS kept |
|---|---|---|---|
| $100,000 | $701.55 | $58.46 | $8,448.45 |
| $110,000 | $2,201.55 | $183.46 | $6,948.45 |
| $120,000 | $3,701.55 | $308.46 | $5,448.45 |
| $135,000 | $5,951.55 | $495.96 | $3,198.45 |
| $150,000 | $8,201.55 | $683.46 | $948.45 |
These lines assume a full pension at the current monthly rate for the twelve months; the real amount you received in 2026 is on your T4A(OAS) slip, and the calculator lets you enter it.
The marginal rate it adds
Between the threshold and the income at which the pension is fully recovered, each extra dollar of income costs 15% more than the tax brackets alone suggest, on top of your federal and provincial marginal rate, which the marginal rate guide explains. The repayment is itself deducted on line 23500 in arriving at net income for tax, which slightly softens the combined rate. It is this band, roughly the first $59,997 above the threshold, where planning pays best: splitting pension income with a spouse, drawing down an RRSP before 65, holding growth assets in a TFSA, or timing a capital gain.
Reducing the amount withheld at source
The monthly deduction is based on the income of two years earlier. A pensioner who retired, sold a rental property the previous year or had a one-off gain can find the deduction out of line with current income. Form T1213(OAS), sent to the CRA, asks for the withholding to be reduced; it is accepted when your expected income for the year justifies it. Any difference is settled on the return either way.
To see the pension before recovery, use the OAS calculator; for the overall picture with CPP, the CPP + OAS + GIS calculator. Federal and provincial income tax on the rest of your income is broken down by the income tax calculator.
Official sources
Amounts are those Service Canada pays for October to December 2026, read on 2026-10-05; the reduction formulas are applied as the Old Age Security Act writes them, roundings included.
- Service Canada, Old Age Security payment amounts
OAS, GIS, Allowance and Allowance for the Survivor: maximums and income limits for October to December 2026 (page modified 29 September 2026).
- Old Age Security Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. O-9
Residence rules, partial pension, deferral, the 75+ increase, the GIS and top-up formulas, the Allowance (consolidation current to 21 September 2026).
- Service Canada, OAS pension recovery tax
15 % rate and the thresholds for the 2024, 2025 and 2026 income years (page modified 29 September 2026).
- Canada Revenue Agency, line 23500 social benefits repayment
How the repayment is reported on the return and the T1213(OAS) request to reduce it at source.