Form T1-OVP is the separate CRA return you file if your RRSP, PRPP and SPP contributions go more than $2,000 over your RRSP deduction limit. The excess is taxed at 1% for every month it stays in the account. For 2025, you file the T1-OVP and pay the tax no later than 90 days after the end of the year.
Everything below comes from the 2025 T1-OVP return and the CRA form page, as of October 2026. It's a separate return from your T1 income tax and benefit return.
What counts toward an excess contribution
The CRA adds up all of these, and compares the total with your RRSP deduction limit plus $2,000:
- Your own RRSP contributions.
- Your employer's and former employer's PRPP contributions, plus your own PRPP contributions.
- Your SPP contributions.
- Contributions you made to your spouse's or common-law partner's RRSPs or SPP.
- Unused RRSP contributions from earlier years that you haven't deducted.
The $2,000 buffer, and who doesn't get it
The return lets you add $2,000 to your deduction limit each month, but only if you were 18 years old or older at any time in the previous year. Line 10 of the chart says to enter $2,000 in each column if you were 18 or older at any time in 2024. A teenager who's been given an RRSP and contributes over the limit doesn't have that cushion, so tax can start with the first dollar over.
How the tax is worked out
- Step 2: work out your unused RRSP contributions at the end of December 2024, from last year's T1-OVP or the chart in Note 1.
- Part A, month by month: add contributions and employer PRPP contributions, subtract withdrawals you included in income, and compare with your 2025 deduction limit, any pension adjustment reversals and the $2,000.
- Part B: only if mandatory contributions went to a group RRSP or PRPP in 2024 or 2025, up to $32,490.
- Part C: the amount over the limit for each month is the amount subject to tax for that month.
- Step 3: add the 12 monthly amounts and multiply by the 1% rate. That's the tax you owe.
| Item | 2025 T1-OVP |
|---|---|
| Buffer above your deduction limit | $2,000, if you were 18 or older at any time in 2024 |
| Tax rate | 1% per month on the excess |
| Deadline to file and pay | No later than 90 days after the end of the year |
| Mandatory group plan cap in Part B | $32,490 |
If line 6 is less than line 11 for every month, you don't have to fill out the rest of the return, because your contributions aren't subject to tax.
What people get wrong
The tax is monthly, so speed matters more than the size of the mistake. Every month an excess sits in the plan adds another 1%, which is why the chart runs January to December. Withdrawals you include in income reduce the excess from the month you receive them, so removing the excess quickly stops the tax from that point.
The return also asks for proof of timing. When you file, send documents that show the exact months of all RRSP, PRPP and SPP contributions, and the withdrawals. A statement from your issuer usually does this.
Group plans and PRPPs
Part B exists for people in a group RRSP or PRPP at work. Mandatory contributions there come from an irrevocable agreement, usually between employee and employer, that fixes the amount. The return lets you count those mandatory amounts, up to the cap, before working out the taxable excess, so payroll contributions you couldn't stop don't push you into tax as easily. If you made mandatory contributions in 2024 but didn't file a T1-OVP that year, fill out the 2024 return to find the figure for line 13.
Employer PRPP contributions count toward the excess even though you didn't make them yourself, which is why people who also contribute on their own are the ones most often caught. Pension adjustment reversals from box 2 of your T10 slips are added back to your limit on line 8.
Spousal contributions
Contributions you make to your spouse's or common-law partner's RRSP or SPP count against your own limit, not theirs. If you both contribute to plans in each other's names, each of you needs to check your own total, month by month, against your own deduction limit plus the buffer.
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Contributions you leave out of the calculation
- Contributions made in the first 60 days of the year that you deducted or will deduct for the previous year.
- Contributions designated as repayments under the Home Buyers' Plan or the Lifelong Learning Plan.
- Certain transferred amounts you deduct for the year, such as the eligible part of a retiring allowance or a lump-sum pension payment, an RRSP refund of premiums, or a RRIF excess amount.
Your deduction limit is on your notice of assessment. If you also make payroll contributions to a group plan, check the pension adjustment shown on your T4 slip, because it reduces next year's RRSP room. Withdrawals have tax withheld and get a T4RSP.
The verdict
If you've gone more than $2,000 over your RRSP limit, don't wait for the CRA to notice. Work out the excess month by month on the T1-OVP, remove it as soon as you can, and file and pay within 90 days after the year end. If you're under 18 for the prior year, there's no buffer at all.
Frequently asked questions
When do I need to file a T1-OVP?
When your RRSP, PRPP and SPP contributions, including unused amounts, exceed your RRSP deduction limit plus $2,000 and the excess is subject to tax.
What is the tax on RRSP over-contributions?
1% per month on the excess amount for every month it's left in the account.
When is the T1-OVP due?
For 2025, you file the T1-OVP and pay no later than 90 days after the end of the tax year.
Does everyone get the $2,000 over-contribution buffer?
No. You enter $2,000 only if you were 18 years old or older at any time in the previous year.
Is the T1-OVP part of my regular tax return?
No. It's a separate return sent with your payment to your tax centre.
Do employer PRPP contributions count toward an RRSP over-contribution?
Yes. Your employer's and former employer's PRPP contributions are included with your own RRSP, PRPP and SPP contributions.
