Year-End Tax Checklist for Seniors: What to Do Before December 31

October 30, 2026 · 8 min read

Older couple sorting tax receipts at a kitchen table before December 31

Somewhere in your parent’s house there is a drawer of pharmacy receipts, a RRIF statement nobody has opened, and a contractor’s invoice for the grab bars from the spring. In April, someone will sit down to do the taxes and discover that half of what could have been claimed needed to happen before December 31. This page is the list to work through now, while there is still time to act on it.

The short answer: Before December 31, 2026, a senior or the family helping them should: take any required RRIF minimum, convert an RRSP if your parent turns 71 this year, pay and gather medical and home accessibility expenses, time any large withdrawal so it does not cost next year’s GIS or trigger the OAS clawback (which starts at $95,323 of 2026 income), make donations, and start the Disability Tax Credit form if it applies. Most of it takes an afternoon.

Every figure below is for the 2026 tax year and comes from the Canada Revenue Agency or Service Canada, checked on October 27, 2026. Sources are at the bottom.

1. Take the RRIF minimum, if your parent has a RRIF

A Registered Retirement Income Fund has a minimum that must come out every calendar year. The bank usually handles it automatically, but not always, and a parent who set up manual withdrawals years ago may be behind. Check the 2026 statement now. If the minimum has not been paid by December 31, the institution will usually pay it out anyway, often in a rush and with tax withheld.

The minimum is a percentage of the RRIF’s value on January 1, 2026, set by age at the start of the year:

Age on January 1	Minimum withdrawal
65	4.00%
70	5.00%
71	5.28%
72	5.40%
75	5.82%
80	6.82%
85	8.51%
90	11.92%
95 and older	20.00%

A $200,000 RRIF held by an 80-year-old needs at least $13,640 out in 2026. Taking more is allowed. Taking less is not.

2. Turning 71 in 2026? The RRSP has to close by December 31

December 31 of the year someone turns 71 is the last day an RRSP can exist. By then it has to be converted to a RRIF, used to buy an annuity, or withdrawn. Withdrawing it all is almost always the worst choice, because the whole balance lands on one year’s tax return.

If nothing is done, the plan is deregistered and paid out, and the entire amount becomes taxable income. For a parent on GIS, that single event can wipe out the supplement for the following year. Call the bank or advisor in November, not on December 30. It is also the last day your parent can contribute to their own RRSP.

3. Pay and gather medical expenses

The medical expense tax credit is the one families leave on the table most. You claim expenses above 3 percent of net income or $2,890, whichever is less, for 2026. For a parent with $30,000 of income, everything above $900 counts.

Two rules make December matter:

Expenses count in the year they are paid. An unpaid invoice for a hearing aid or private home care in December counts for 2026 only if it is paid by December 31.
You choose any 12-month period ending in 2026. If a big bill landed in March 2025, a period from April 2025 to March 2026 may capture more than the calendar year.

Eligible costs are wider than people think: prescriptions, dental work, hearing aids, walkers and wheelchairs, incontinence supplies, private nursing and, in many cases, attendant care and home care. One spouse can claim both spouses’ expenses, and it is usually best claimed by the lower-income spouse because the 3 percent floor is smaller. Start a folder now and put every receipt from this year in it.

4. Pay for accessibility renovations before the year ends

The Home Accessibility Tax Credit covers renovations that make a home safer for someone 65 or older, or someone who qualifies for the Disability Tax Credit: grab bars, a walk-in shower, a stair lift, ramps, wider doorways. For 2026 the credit is 14 percent of up to $20,000 of eligible spending, worth up to $2,800 a year.

The credit counts the year the work is paid for. If a bathroom job is booked for January, ask whether paying a deposit or finishing a first phase in December makes sense, and split large projects across two years if the total is above $20,000. Keep the contractor’s invoice with the address and description. For what these jobs actually cost, see our aging in place cost guide.

5. Watch the timing of any big withdrawal

This is where December decisions cost the most money, because of two income tests that look back at the year.

If your parent receives GIS

The Guaranteed Income Supplement for July 2027 to June 2028 is set from 2026 income. A single senior loses the supplement entirely by about $23,112 of income, and RRSP and RRIF withdrawals count in full. A $10,000 extra withdrawal in December can quietly cost thousands in supplement next year. If money is needed, take only the minimum, and ask whether a TFSA or a smaller spread of withdrawals can cover the rest.

If your parent’s income is high

Old Age Security is clawed back at 15 cents on the dollar once 2026 net income passes $95,323. A capital gain, a large RRIF withdrawal or the sale of a cottage in December pushes the income line up for the whole year. If the sale can close in January instead, the income lands in 2027. The OAS page explains how the clawback reaches the monthly deposit.

6. Use the $2,000 pension credit, unless GIS is in the picture

Anyone 65 or older can claim a federal credit on up to $2,000 of eligible pension income, and RRIF withdrawals count. A parent with RRSP savings but no workplace pension often gets none of it. Converting part of the RRSP to a RRIF and taking $2,000 out before December 31 uses the credit and can be split with a spouse.

The exception is a parent who receives GIS or is close to qualifying. That $2,000 counts as income for the supplement, and the GIS loss is usually larger than the tax saved. Run it past whoever prepares the return first.

7. Make donations by December 31

Donations count in the year they are made, so a cheque mailed on January 2 goes on next year’s return. The federal credit rate jumps once a year’s total passes $200, which is why couples usually pool their receipts on one return. If your parent gives every year, consider making two years of gifts in one year to clear the $200 tier more often.

8. Start the Disability Tax Credit form now

The Disability Tax Credit is worth a $10,341 base amount for 2026 and opens the door to other help, including the Canada Caregiver Credit of up to $8,773 for a family member supporting the parent, and the Home Accessibility Tax Credit for someone under 65. It is not a December deadline, but the form, T2201, needs a doctor or other medical practitioner to fill in their part, and that takes weeks. Starting now means approval can be in place before the return is filed in the spring. CRA can also adjust earlier years, up to ten, once it is approved.

Dementia, severe arthritis, vision loss and the effects of a stroke often qualify. If the doctor fills in the form, ask them to describe what your parent cannot do in daily life, not only the diagnosis.

9. If you are thinking about the TFSA

Money taken out of a TFSA is added back to your parent’s room on January 1 of the next year. If a withdrawal is coming in early 2027 anyway, taking it in December means the room comes back a full year sooner. TFSA withdrawals do not count as income, so they do not touch GIS or the OAS clawback, which makes the TFSA the safest place to draw from for a lower-income parent.

Provincial notes worth a look

Quebec: the tax credit for home-support services for seniors 70 and over counts eligible services paid during the year, including part of the rent in a seniors’ residence. Our Quebec benefits guide has the rates.
Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta: provincial medical expense credits follow the federal receipts, so the folder from step 3 does double duty. Provincial programs are in our guides for Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta.

The one-afternoon version

Open the RRIF and RRSP statements. Confirm the 2026 RRIF minimum is paid, and convert the RRSP if your parent turned 71.
Pay any outstanding medical, dental, hearing or home care bills you were going to pay anyway.
Put every 2026 receipt in one folder: medical, renovation, donations.
Before any extra withdrawal, ask: does my parent get GIS, or is their income near $95,323?
Book the doctor’s appointment for the Disability Tax Credit form if it applies.
Put April 30, 2027 in the calendar. Filing on time, even with no income, is what keeps GIS and provincial benefits flowing.

Frequently asked questions

What is the deadline to take a RRIF minimum withdrawal?

December 31 of each year. The minimum is a percentage of the RRIF’s value on January 1, set by age, for example 5.28 percent at 71 and 6.82 percent at 80. Most institutions pay it automatically, but check the statement before the end of the year.

What happens to an RRSP when you turn 71?

It must be converted to a RRIF, used to buy an annuity, or withdrawn by December 31 of the year you turn 71. If nothing is done, the plan is paid out and the full amount is taxable income for that year.

Do medical expenses have to be paid by December 31?

To count for the 2026 return, yes, unless you use a 12-month period that ends later in 2026 than the bill. Expenses count when they are paid, and you can claim the amount above 3 percent of net income or $2,890, whichever is less.

Will a December RRIF withdrawal affect GIS?

Yes. GIS for July 2027 to June 2028 is based on 2026 income, and RRSP and RRIF withdrawals count in full. A large withdrawal in December can reduce or end the supplement for that year.

Where to get help

Canada Revenue Agency, individual tax enquiries: 1-800-959-8281
Service Canada, OAS and GIS: 1-800-277-9914
Free tax clinics for low-income seniors: the Community Volunteer Income Tax Program runs clinics, mostly from February to April. Dial 211 to find one

Find senior services near your parent

If this list turned up a renovation or a care need, the next step is finding someone to do the work. Browse home modification, home care and other aging-in-place services:

Sources

2026 medical expense threshold ($2,890), disability amount ($10,341), Canada caregiver amount ($8,773): Canada Revenue Agency, indexation adjustment for personal income tax and benefit amounts, read October 27, 2026. RRIF prescribed factors: Canada Revenue Agency, chart of prescribed factors. RRSP maturity at 71: Government of Canada RRSP information. Pension income amount and qualifying RRIF income: CRA, line 31400. Home Accessibility Tax Credit, 14 percent of up to $20,000 for 2026: CRA, line 31285. OAS recovery tax threshold for the 2026 income year ($95,323, final from October): Service Canada, OAS recovery tax. GIS income cut-off for a single senior ($23,112): Service Canada, October to December 2026 payment amounts. TFSA withdrawal rules: CRA. Everyone’s situation differs, so check large moves with whoever prepares the return.