GIS (Guaranteed Income Supplement)

A tax-free top-up on your OAS

The GIS exists because OAS and CPP alone can leave a retiree well short of a livable income. If you receive OAS and your income is low, the GIS adds a monthly payment on top, deposited together with your OAS. Unlike OAS, the GIS is completely non-taxable: every dollar arrives and every dollar stays.

For a single senior with essentially no other income, the maximum supplement is roughly $1,100 per month (as of July 2026), with lower per-person maximums for couples. Like OAS, GIS amounts are indexed to inflation every quarter, so treat every figure in this article as approximate and check Service Canada for the exact current numbers.

Who qualifies

Three conditions: you must be receiving OAS, you must live in Canada, and your income must be below the threshold for your situation. For a single person, the cutoff is roughly $22,056 of annual income (as of July 2026). For couples, the thresholds differ depending on whether your spouse also receives OAS or receives the Allowance.

The GIS is not all-or-nothing. At zero income you receive the maximum, and the supplement shrinks gradually as income rises, reaching zero at the cutoff. Plenty of seniors with CPP and a small pension still qualify for a partial GIS, and a partial GIS of even $100 per month is $1,200 a year, tax-free.

One related benefit, in one line: the Allowance pays a similar income-tested benefit to spouses or common-law partners aged 60 to 64 of GIS recipients, with a version for survivors.

How the income test works

The GIS is based on your previous year's net income, combined with your spouse's if you have one, but excluding OAS and the GIS itself. Almost everything else counts: CPP, workplace pensions, RRSP and RRIF withdrawals, EI, interest, dividends, net rental income.

As a rule of thumb, you lose roughly 50 cents of GIS for every dollar of other income. The exact reduction rates vary by income bracket and family situation, and some ranges claw back faster, but 50 cents on the dollar is the right mental model.

Work is treated more gently. The earnings exemption ignores your first $5,000 of employment or self-employment income entirely, then exempts 50% of the next $10,000 (as of July 2026). A senior earning $15,000 at a part-time job only has $5,000 of it counted against the GIS.

The planning angle: TFSA in, RRSP out

Here is where the GIS quietly rewrites the usual savings advice. Withdrawals from an RRSP or RRIF count fully as income for the GIS test. Each dollar withdrawn can cost about 50 cents of GIS on top of ordinary income tax, for combined effective rates of 50% to 70% or more. A low-income senior can face a steeper effective rate on an RRSP withdrawal than a top earner faces on salary.

Withdrawals from a TFSA, by contrast, do not count as income at all. The same $5,000 spent from a TFSA costs zero GIS and zero tax. For Canadians with modest incomes approaching 65, the TFSA, not the RRSP, is usually the right savings vehicle: the RRSP deduction is worth little at a low tax rate today, and the withdrawal is punished severely later.

If you already have RRSP savings and expect to qualify for the GIS, consider melting the RRSP down before OAS starts: withdrawing in your early sixties, when the money is taxed at a low rate and no GIS is yet at stake, then living from the TFSA and non-registered savings after 65. Emptying an RRSP before the GIS begins can protect years of supplement.

Applying, and the July reset

Many people are auto-enrolled for the GIS at the same time as OAS; Service Canada sends a letter if so. If not, you must apply, and retroactive payments are limited, so apply as soon as you think you might qualify. When in doubt, apply anyway and let Service Canada do the math.

The GIS is recalculated every July based on your previous year's tax return, which is why the amount can change each summer. The practical rule: file a tax return every year, even with zero income. No return means Service Canada cannot verify your income, and your GIS stops.