Alexandre Bernier, CFP®, CIM®OAS Clawback Thresholds by Year (CRA Chart, 2026)
This is the official Old Age Security recovery tax chart, the table the federal government publishes to show where the OAS clawback starts and where it takes back the whole pension. It covers 2024, 2025 and 2026 income, and the 2026 figures became final in October 2026. Below the chart you will find how to read it, how the repayment is calculated step by step, and how it is collected. To skip the arithmetic, the OAS Clawback Calculator runs the numbers on your own income.
The OAS Recovery Tax Chart
The minimum income recovery threshold is where the clawback begins. The maximum is the net income at which the full OAS pension is repaid, and it depends on your age.
| Recovery tax period | Income year | Minimum threshold | Maximum, age 65 to 74 | Maximum, age 75 and over |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2025 to June 2026 | 2024 | $90,997 | $148,451 | $154,196 |
| July 2026 to June 2027 | 2025 | $93,454 | $152,062 | $157,923 |
| July 2027 to June 2028 | 2026 | $95,323 | $155,320 | $161,320 |
Source: Government of Canada, Old Age Security pension recovery tax (canada.ca), and Canada Revenue Agency, Line 23500: Social benefits repayment, as of October 2026. From January to September of the current tax year, the maximums are estimates based on maximum OAS pension amounts; from October to December they are final. The highlighted 2026 row is therefore final.
How to Read the Chart
Income year versus recovery tax period
Each row links one calendar year of income to a July to June period that starts six months after that year ends. Your 2026 net income is measured against the $95,323 threshold when you file your 2026 return in spring 2027. That same result then sets the monthly recovery tax held back from your OAS from July 2027 to June 2028. So the deduction on an OAS payment you receive today is based on the income year listed for the current period, not on what you are earning now: an October 2026 payment, for example, reflects your 2025 income.
Why the maximum is higher at 75
OAS rises automatically by 10% in the month you turn 75. A larger pension takes more income to claw back in full at 15 cents per dollar, so the maximum threshold for ages 75 and over sits about $6,000 above the one for ages 65 to 74. The minimum threshold is the same for everyone.
The thresholds move every year
The minimum threshold is indexed to inflation each year, and the maximums follow the OAS pension amounts, which are indexed quarterly. That is why the 2026 maximums are published as estimates until October. Each new income year gets a new row.
How to Calculate Your Repayment
The rule: you repay 15% of your net income above the minimum threshold, up to the full amount of OAS you received in the year. The clawback is per person, so each spouse compares their own income to the threshold.
- Find your net income. Start from line 23400 of your return. The CRA worksheet makes a few adjustments, but for most retirees line 23400 is the number that matters.
- Pick the threshold for that income year. $93,454 for 2025 income, $95,323 for 2026 income.
- Subtract. If the result is zero or less, there is no clawback.
- Multiply the excess by 15%. That is your repayment.
- Cap it at the OAS you received. You never repay more than the pension paid to you in the year.
Example 1: 2025 income of $100,000 (the government example)
$100,000 − $93,454 = $6,546. $6,546 × 15% = $981.90 repaid for 2025 income, which also sets the recovery tax for the July 2026 to June 2027 period (about $81.83 a month).
Example 2: 2026 income of $120,000
$120,000 − $95,323 = $24,677. $24,677 × 15% = $3,701.55 repaid for 2026 income. That amount drives the monthly recovery tax from July 2027 to June 2028 (about $308.46 a month).
Example 3: full clawback at 70 versus 76
Take 2026 net income of $160,000. At age 70, that is above the $155,320 maximum for ages 65 to 74, so the calculated amount, ($160,000 − $95,323) × 15% = $9,701.55, exceeds the roughly $9,000 of OAS paid in the year and the entire pension is repaid. At age 76, the same income is still below the $161,320 maximum for ages 75 and over, so $9,701.55 is repaid and a little under $200 of OAS is kept.
The maximums assume a full OAS pension. If you receive a partial pension (fewer than 40 years of residence after 18) or deferred OAS past 65, your full-clawback point is different, because it is reached when 15% of your excess income equals the OAS you actually received.
How the Recovery Tax Is Collected
Residents of Canada. The repayment is calculated on your tax return and added to your balance owing (it appears at line 23500 and line 42200). Service Canada then uses that same net income to estimate next year's repayment, divides it into monthly amounts and deducts it from your OAS payments during the July to June recovery period. When you file the following return, the amount withheld is reconciled with what you actually owe: if your income fell, you get the excess back; if it rose, you pay the difference.
Non-residents. In January, non-resident OAS recipients receive an Old Age Security Return of Income form along with their NR4 slip. The form must reach the CRA by April 30, or OAS payments stop beginning in July. The recovery tax applies to non-residents whose net world income exceeds the threshold and who live in a country where the non-resident tax on Canadian pensions is 25% or more. Details are in the CRA's Old Age Security Return of Income page.
FAQ
What is the OAS clawback threshold for 2026?
$95,323 of net income. The clawback is 15% of every dollar above it, and it takes back the full pension at $155,320 for ages 65 to 74 and $161,320 for ages 75 and over.
Why is my OAS lower this July if my income dropped?
Because the recovery tax deducted from July to June is based on an earlier year's return. If your income has since dropped, the over-withheld amount comes back to you when you file the return for the lower-income year.
Are the 2026 figures final?
Yes. The government publishes the current year's maximums as estimates from January to September and treats them as final from October to December. As of October 2026, the 2026 row is final.
Does the clawback reduce GIS or CPP?
No. The recovery tax applies only to the OAS pension. The Guaranteed Income Supplement has its own income test, and CPP is not clawed back, although CPP income counts toward your net income.
Related Reading
This page is the reference chart. For ways to keep your net income below the threshold, such as TFSA withdrawals, pension income splitting and smoothing RRIF withdrawals, see the strategy companion: OAS Clawback 2026: $95,323 Threshold and Strategies to Reduce It. For drawing down an RRSP before 71 to shrink future RRIF minimums, see the RRSP meltdown and the OAS clawback. To estimate the pension itself, use the OAS Benefit Calculator.
For French readers: Seuils de récupération de la SV par année (tableau ARC).
Calculate Your OAS Clawback
The OAS Clawback Calculator applies the thresholds above to your net income and age, shows the annual and monthly recovery tax, and how much OAS you keep.
Open the OAS Clawback Calculator →