T4RIF boxes: 16 is taxable, 24 is the excess, 28 is the tax withheld

Which T1 line does each T4RIF box go to?

The 2026 T4RIF carries amount boxes 16 through 38, plus the payer's account number in box 61 canada.ca. Box 16 is the number your client reports. The CRA tells annuitants to include only box 16, and says box 24 is for information purposes only canada.ca. A client who is 65 or older on December 31 puts boxes 16 and 22 on line 11500, and so does a client of any age who received the payments because a spouse or common law partner died canada.ca. Everyone else reports RRIF income on line 13000 canada.ca.

The issuer reports gross amounts before tax. When mutual fund redemption fees reduce the payout, the slip shows the net amount paid out of the RRIF canada.ca. Box 20 holds the fair market value of all fund property just before the fund was revised or substituted, and nothing else canada.ca.

Why does box 28 cover so little of the tax?

Issuers don't withhold tax on the minimum amount. They withhold only on the excess reported in box 24, paid during the annuitant's lifetime canada.ca. The excess is a lump sum, and as of October 2026 the rates are 10% up to $5,000, 20% from $5,001 to $15,000 and 30% from $15,001, or 5%, 10% and 15% federal in Quebec canada.ca. How the bands apply to instalments is on the lump sum withholding page.

Worked example. Your client is 75 on January 1, 2026, and the RRIF holds $250,000 at that date. The factor at 75 is 5.82% canada.ca, so the minimum is $14,550. The client asks for $20,000 in one request.

On the T1, $20,000 goes on line 11500 and $1,090 on line 43700. Don't add box 24 again: the $5,450 is already inside the $20,000. The $1,090 is 5.45% of the income, far below any marginal rate that applies at this level, so most RRIF clients owe on filing. The full factor table is on the RRIF minimum withdrawal page, and repeated balances owing can lead to instalment reminders.

Which T4RIF slips does the CRA expect when the annuitant dies?

It depends on who takes over the fund and whether the money moved in time. The exempt period runs from the date of death to December 31 of the year after the year of death canada.ca.

The CRA's own successor example: the issuer paid a $4,000 minimum to the original annuitant before death, reported in box 16 of that slip, then paid the successor a $3,000 minimum plus a $1,500 excess. The successor's slip shows $4,500 in box 16, $1,500 in box 24 and $150 in box 28 canada.ca. Withholding applies to a successor's excess too.

Watch box 24 on a designated benefit slip. There it isn't an excess amount: it's the part of the designated benefit eligible for transfer, worked out with Appendix C of the guide, and no slip goes out in the deceased's name canada.ca. The spouse reports box 16 on line 11500, then deducts the amount transferred on line 20800 for an RRSP or line 23200 for a RRIF or annuity. The transfer must happen in the year the benefit is received or within 60 days after it ends, and the RRSP route needs the survivor to be 71 or younger at the end of that year canada.ca.

Worked example. Your client dies in 2026 with a $300,000 RRIF naming an adult, financially independent daughter, and the fund earns $4,000 before it is paid out later in 2026. The issuer sends a 2026 T4RIF in the deceased's name with $300,000 in box 18 and the date of death in box 30, and a 2026 T4RIF to the daughter with $4,000 in box 22 canada.ca. The legal representative reports $300,000 on line 13000 of the final return, the daughter reports $4,000 on line 13000 of her own, and no tax is withheld on either amount canada.ca.

If the fund loses value between death and the final distribution, the issuer gives the executor Form RC249, and the decline is deducted on line 23200 canada.ca. Box 36 tax paid amounts from a trusteed RRIF enter that calculation canada.ca. When the estate is the beneficiary and a qualifying survivor inherits from it, the legal representative and the survivor can jointly file Form T1090 to treat amounts as the survivor's designated benefit canada.ca.

What do boxes 26 and 32 change on a spousal RRIF?

Box 26 says Y for a spousal or common law partner RRIF. The issuer fills in box 32 with the contributor's SIN when the annuitant is under 74 at the end of 2026 and the slip shows an excess in box 24, a box 20 amount above the minimum or a box 35 transfer canada.ca.

The minimum never moves to the contributor. Only the amount above the year's minimum can be taxed to the contributor, and only if the contributor paid into the annuitant's RRSPs in the payment year or either of the two years before it. For a 2026 payment, that means contributions in 2024, 2025 or 2026. The annuitant completes Form T2205 to split the income, but the tax in box 28 is claimed only by the person named on the slip, usually the annuitant canada.ca. The dated examples are on the spousal RRSP attribution page.

When does T4RIF income earn the pension income amount?

From 65. Boxes 16 and 22 qualify for the line 31400 pension income amount once your client is 65 or older, and before 65 only if the payments were received because a spouse or common law partner died canada.ca. Any part transferred to an RRSP, a RRIF or an annuity doesn't qualify.

The claim is the lesser of $2,000 and the eligible pension income. At the 14% lowest federal rate for 2026, a full claim is worth $280 of federal tax, covered on the pension income amount page. The same age test decides whether the RRIF payments can be split with a spouse under pension income splitting.