GIC in an RRSP: rules, rates and timing
Which issuers hold a GIC in an RRSP, the two separate locks people mix up, withholding tax on an early withdrawal, and what a five-year term means at 71.
Withholding is a down payment on the tax rather than the whole of it. The full amount is added to your income for the year and the bill is settled on your return. Quebec residents have less withheld federally and provincial tax withheld separately.
Which banks hold a GIC in an RRSP?
27 of the 28 issuers this site tracks say on their own sites that they will. Their posted non-redeemable rates are below, ranked by the 5-year term.
| # | Institution | 1Y | 2Y | 3Y | 5Y |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | WealthONE Bank of CanadaCDIC · $1,000 min | 3.70% | 3.95% | 4.05% | 4.30% |
| 02 | Oaken FinancialCDIC · $1,000 min | 3.55% | 3.90% | 4.00% | 4.25% |
| 03 | Achieva FinancialDGCM · $1,000 min | 3.65% | 3.75% | 3.95% | 4.10% |
| 04 | Saven FinancialFSRA · $1,000 min | 3.70% | 3.85% | 3.95% | 4.10% |
| 05 | EQ BankCDIC | 3.40% | 3.65% | 3.80% | 4.00% |
| 06 | TangerineCDIC | 3.30% | 3.65% | 3.75% | 4.00% |
| 07 | Meridian Credit UnionFSRA · $100 min | 3.10% | 3.50% | 3.70% | 4.00% |
| 08 | Northern Credit UnionFSRA · $1,000 min | 2.90% | 3.35% | 3.50% | 4.00% |
| 09 | Kindred Credit UnionFSRA · $500 min | 3.10% | 3.30% | 3.75% | 4.00% |
| 10 | DUCA Credit UnionFSRA · $500 min | 3.10% | 3.45% | 3.60% | 3.85% |
| 11 | Coast Capital SavingsCDIC · $500 min | 2.90% | 3.50% | 3.50% | 3.80% |
| 12 | Tru Cooperative BankCDIC · $500 min | 3.21% | 3.51% | 3.61% | 3.71% |
| 13 | Simplii FinancialCDIC · $100 min | 2.90% | 3.00% | 3.20% | 3.65% |
| 14 | Beem Credit UnionCUDIC · $500 min | 3.15% | 3.30% | 3.45% | 3.65% |
| 15 | VancityCUDIC · $500 min | 3.00% | 3.10% | 3.55% | 3.60% |
| 16 | FirstOntario Credit UnionFSRA · $1,000 min | 3.00% | 3.20% | 3.35% | 3.50% |
| 17 | National Bank of CanadaCDIC · $500 min | 2.85% | 3.25% | 3.15% | 3.35% |
| 18 | ATB FinancialGovernment of Alberta · $1,000 min | 3.00% | 3.00% | 3.00% | 3.35% |
| 19 | Alterna SavingsFSRA · $500 min | 2.65% | 2.85% | 3.10% | 3.30% |
| 20 | Tandia Financial Credit UnionFSRA · $500 min | 2.65% | 2.85% | 3.10% | 3.30% |
| 21 | Libro Credit UnionFSRA · $1,000 min | 3.05% | 3.15% | 3.25% | 3.20% |
| 22 | TD BankCDIC | 2.70% | 2.80% | 2.85% | 3.10% |
| 23 | BMOCDIC · $1,000 min | 2.70% | 2.75% | 2.85% | 3.10% |
| 24 | Servus Credit UnionCUDGC · $1,000 min | 2.70% | 2.75% | 2.85% | 3.10% |
| 25 | RBC Royal BankCDIC | 2.45% | 2.55% | 2.55% | 2.75% |
| 26 | ScotiabankCDIC | 2.45% | 2.50% | 2.60% | 2.75% |
| 27 | CIBCCDIC · $1,000 min | 2.45% | 2.55% | 2.60% | 2.75% |
These are the posted non-registered rates, checked against each issuer's own page each month. Most issuers pay the same rate inside a plan. Check the issuer's own page before you apply.
Who is left out of this table, and where each issuer's eligibility was read
Not in this table: MCAN Wealth (sells registered GICs through deposit brokers only, not directly).
Eligibility was read from each issuer's own site on Sep 6, 2026: WealthONE Bank of Canada, Oaken Financial, Achieva Financial, Saven Financial, EQ Bank, Tangerine, Meridian Credit Union, Northern Credit Union, Kindred Credit Union, DUCA Credit Union, Coast Capital Savings, Tru Cooperative Bank, Simplii Financial, Beem Credit Union, Vancity, FirstOntario Credit Union, National Bank of Canada, ATB Financial, Alterna Savings, Tandia Financial Credit Union, Libro Credit Union, TD Bank, BMO, Servus Credit Union, RBC Royal Bank, Scotiabank, CIBC.
Can I transfer an RRSP to a GIC without penalty?
Yes, if you mean buying a GIC with money already inside the plan. That is an investment change inside the plan, with no withdrawal and no tax.
Two separate locks apply, and they belong to different things.
What an early withdrawal costs
Tax is withheld at source on the way out, at three rates that step up with the amount. Quebec halves the federal rate and withholds provincial tax on top.
| Amount withdrawn | Withheld outside Quebec | Federal part in Quebec |
|---|---|---|
| Up to $5,000 | 10% | 5% |
| Over $5,000, up to $15,000 | 20% | 10% |
| Over $15,000 | 30% | 15% |
The withheld amount is a credit against the tax you actually owe. The whole withdrawal is added to your income for the year, so at a marginal rate above 30% you will owe more when you file, and the room you used is gone for good.
Withholding for Quebec residents
The federal rate withheld in Quebec is half the rate withheld elsewhere: 5%, 10% or 15% by the same three bands. The institution also withholds Quebec provincial tax on the same withdrawal, so the total taken at source is higher than the federal column shows. Confirm the combined figure with Revenu Quebec before you rely on it.
Source: CRA, Tax rates on withdrawals.
The Home Buyers' Plan and the maturity date
Both plans let you take money out of an RRSP without tax. Neither of them unlocks a GIC.
The Home Buyers' Plan lets you withdraw up to $60,000 to buy or build a first home, tax free, repayable to the RRSP over 15 years. The Lifelong Learning Plan lets you withdraw up to $10,000 in a calendar year and $20,000 across one participation period, repayable over ten years. Both are withdrawals the CRA does not tax. Both still require the money to be available on the day you ask for it.
If a house purchase is plausible within the term, the GIC inside the RRSP should mature before the closing date rather than after it, or the money should sit in something redeemable. A five-year GIC with an offer accepted in year three cannot be fixed by either plan.
Sources: CRA, What is the Home Buyers' Plan and CRA, Participating in the Lifelong Learning Plan.
How does a RRIF GIC work at 71?
An RRSP has to mature by the end of the year you turn 71, and the RRIF that usually replaces it has to pay you a minimum every year after that.
Take a 5-year GIC bought at 68. The RRSP becomes a RRIF at 71, the first minimum payment is due the year after the RRIF is established, and the GIC does not mature until 73. The GIC itself transfers into the RRIF intact, so the term survives the conversion. The difficulty is funding that first minimum payment. A locked GIC cannot pay it, so something else in the plan has to, and if the GIC is the whole plan there is nothing else.
Keep the terms short enough that one matures each year once you are past about 65, or hold a cash portion sized to a few years of minimum payments. A GIC ladder does this by construction.
Sources: CRA, RRSP options when you turn 71 and CRA, Receiving income from a RRIF.
Build a GIC ladderHow much can I put in an RRSP GIC?
Your deduction limit, which is 18% of last year's earned income up to $33,810 for 2026, less any pension adjustment, plus room carried forward.
The limit belongs to the RRSP rather than to the GIC. Whatever you contribute is deductible against your income for the year, and it makes no difference to the deduction whether the money then buys a GIC, a fund or nothing at all. Your own figure is on your notice of assessment and in your CRA account, and it is the only one to act on.
On $25,000 at 4.30%, the 5-year term pays $5,858 of interest, and none of it is taxed while it stays in the plan. Compare the same terms outside a registered plan on the 1-year and 5-year pages. If the deduction is worth less to you than a permanent shelter, the same GIC in a TFSA is bought with income already taxed and its interest is never taxed at all.
Sources: CRA, MP, DB, RRSP, DPSP, ALDA, TFSA limits and CRA, How contributions affect your RRSP deduction limit.
Put 3.70% through the calculator
Change the amount and the term to see what the GIC pays at maturity. The calculator does not model tax. On an RRSP the rate you pay on the way out depends on your income in a year that has not happened yet.
Common questions about RRSP GICs
What is an RRSP GIC?
A GIC held inside a registered retirement savings plan. The contribution is deductible against your income for the year, the interest compounds without being taxed while it stays in the plan, and every dollar taken out is taxed as ordinary income in the year you take it.
Are RRSP GICs tax deductible?
The contribution is deductible, not the GIC. What you put into the RRSP reduces your taxable income up to your deduction limit, whether it buys a GIC, a fund or nothing at all. The GIC is the investment the contribution is held in.
What happens when an RRSP GIC matures?
The proceeds stay inside the RRSP and nothing is taxable. Most issuers roll the money into a new term at the posted rate unless you give other instructions, so a maturity date is the moment to compare rates.
How does a RRIF GIC work?
The same way an RRSP GIC does, with one addition: a RRIF has to pay you a minimum amount every year, and a locked GIC cannot fund it. Holding some of a RRIF in short terms, or in a GIC maturing before the payment is due, is what keeps the minimum payable without selling anything at a bad moment.
Which is better, a GIC or an RRSP?
An RRSP is an account and a GIC is something you hold in one, so the two are not alternatives. A GIC in an RRSP is the ordinary case. The real choice is which of the 27 issuers on this page you buy it from, and for how long.
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