The year-end money checks worth doing before December 31

Donations, the RRIF minimum, medical receipts and TFSA timing all run on the calendar year. A short list for the last weeks of December, without any investment tips.

A couple in their seventies sorting paper receipts into folders under a lamp on a December evening. — Illustrative photograph. The people shown are not identified benefit recipients.

The tax year in Canada is the calendar year, and a surprising number of things only count if they happen before midnight on December 31. A donation made on January 2 belongs to next year. A RRIF minimum that has not been paid by the end of December is a problem. A TFSA withdrawal made a few days too late takes a full extra year to come back as room.

None of this needs to be complicated, and none of it is about picking investments. It is a short list of dated checks, best done in the first half of December, before the holidays and before institutions slow down.

Dates in this article

28 Oct 2026in 6 days Next CPP and OAS payment date

15 Dec 2026in 54 days Last CRA instalment date of the year, if you pay instalments

31 Dec 2026in 70 days Donations, RRIF minimum and year-end withdrawals count for this tax year only if made by today

1 Jan 2027in 71 days New TFSA room arrives

Filled square: the next date. Day counts update daily from today’s date.

The list at a glance

Year-end checks for retirees. General information only; not every item applies to every household.
Check	By	Why the date matters
Last tax instalment, if you pay them	December 15	Late or short instalments can attract interest
December CPP and OAS deposit	Late December (22 December in 2026)	Paid early; has to last until the January payment
RRIF minimum withdrawn	December 31	The yearly minimum must be paid within the calendar year
Donations made and receipted	December 31	Only gifts made in the year count for this year's credit
Medical receipts gathered	December 31	Helps choose the best 12-month window
TFSA withdrawal timing	December 31	Room returns on January 1 of the following year
RRSP converted, if you turned 71	December 31	The plan cannot continue past the year you turn 71

The RRIF minimum

A RRIF must pay out at least a minimum amount every year, starting in the year after the RRIF is set up. The minimum is a fixed percentage of the fund's value at the start of the year: 5.28% at 71, for example, and 6.82% at 80, under the CRA's prescribed factors. Most issuers pay it automatically on a schedule you have chosen, but it is worth confirming in early December that the full amount has been or will be paid by the end of the month, especially if you changed institutions during the year. Anyone converting an RRSP this year should read what has to happen before December 31 of the year you turn 71.

Charitable donations

For a given tax year, the CRA allows a credit for gifts made in that year, or carried forward from any of the previous five years, as long as the amount has not already been claimed and an official receipt was issued by a qualified donee such as a registered charity. The practical deadline is December 31: a cheque dated and delivered after New Year's Day, or an online gift processed on January 1, belongs to the next year. If you give regularly, keep the receipts together and check that each one carries the charity's registration number.

Medical expenses and the 12-month window

This is the year-end item people most often get wrong, because the rule is not tied to the calendar year. For the 2025 return, the CRA allows eligible medical expenses paid in any 12-month period ending in 2025 that were not claimed for 2024. The claim is reduced by the lesser of 3% of net income or a fixed amount, which was $2,834 for 2025 and is set each year.

Worked example · illustrative only

A hypothetical retiree with net income of $40,000 paid for glasses ($600) in November 2025, dental work ($1,800) in February 2026 and hearing aids ($2,400) in September 2026. The glasses were not claimed on the 2025 return. The threshold here is 3% of $40,000, or $1,200, which is lower than the fixed amount.

12-month window ending in 2026	Expenses in window	Above the $1,200 threshold
January to December 2026	$4,200	$3,000
October 2025 to September 2026	$4,800	$3,600

The second window captures the glasses as well. These are the amounts eligible for the credit, not the tax saved, which is a percentage of them.

Gathering every receipt by year-end, including pharmacy printouts and travel costs where they qualify, makes it possible to choose the best window when the return is prepared in the spring.

TFSA timing

TFSA withdrawals are added back to your room on January 1 of the year after you make them. A withdrawal you know you will need in early January can be made in late December instead, so the room comes back twelve months sooner. The opposite also applies: putting money back before January 1, without spare room, can trigger the 1% monthly tax on excess contributions. Both are explained in how much TFSA room opens up every January.

Gains, losses and settlement

For people with non-registered investments, capital gains and losses are counted by tax year, and a sale only counts for this year if the trade settles before the year ends. That makes the last few trading days of December a practical cut-off, which varies by institution. Whether selling anything makes sense is an investment decision outside the scope of this site; the only point here is that the date matters, and your institution can tell you its last day.

Who this matters for, and what to check

RRIF holders: confirm the minimum will be paid in full by December 31.
Regular donors: make December gifts early enough to be processed and receipted in the year.
Anyone with large medical costs: collect the receipts now, whatever the window you eventually choose.
Anyone paying instalments: December 15 comes first; see the quarterly instalment reminders.
Everyone budgeting for January: the December deposit arrives early; the dates are in the CPP and OAS payment calendar.

The short version

December 31 closes the tax year for donations, RRIF minimums, TFSA withdrawals and RRSP conversions at 71, and it marks the end of one possible window for medical expenses. December 15 and the early December benefit payment come first. A half-hour with the list above, done before the holidays, is usually enough.

Keep the dates in view.

The Monday Calendar: one email each Monday with the week’s retirement dates and one rule explained. Free, and you can unsubscribe from any email.

We email once to confirm first.

Official sources

Canada Revenue Agency, Lines 33099 and 33199, eligible medical expenses, any 12-month period ending in the year; 3% or $2,834 threshold for 2025
Canada Revenue Agency, Donations and gifts: who can claim, gifts made in the year or the previous five years, official receipts
Canada Revenue Agency, Chart of prescribed factors for RRIFs, minimum withdrawal percentages by age
Canada Revenue Agency, Calculate your TFSA contribution room, withdrawals restored on January 1 of the following year

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