Single seniors tax relief
Petitioners ask the Government to amend tax rules for single seniors: offset pension‑income splitting; create credit of half personal amount; raise pension amount to $3,000; lift OAS/age‑credit clawbacks; permit 10‑year tax‑deferred RRSP/RRIF rollovers. The government responds that existing targeted tax measures and seniors' benefits provide relief and it will continue supporting single seniors.
Why we would sign this petition
- Redresses a tax disadvantage caused by couples' pension‑income splitting, narrowing tax gaps between single and partnered seniors.
- Delivers direct, predictable relief: a half‑personal‑amount credit, higher pension amount and raised clawback thresholds would increase many single seniors' net income.
- Allows 10‑year tax‑deferred RRSP/RRIF rollovers, reducing estate tax spikes and easing transfers to chosen beneficiaries.
Why we wouldn’t sign this petition
- Would increase federal costs; the petition does not specify offsets or funding, so taxpayers or other programs might bear the burden.
- Adds complexity and administrative burden to the tax system and may create new tax‑planning opportunities that could undermine intended fairness.
- May overlap existing seniors' measures; policymakers might prefer targeted income supports or benefit adjustments rather than broad tax changes.
The summary and both sets of reasons are AI-generated from the petition and given equal weight. Claims are the petitioners’ own; consult the official record for the full text.
Official petition
Petition to the Government of Canada The income tax system needs to be revised to provide fairness for single seniors (widowed, divorced, separated, never married 65 +); solo or single seniors pay from 2 to 10 times the taxes on the same total combined incomes as senior couples; Couples can split their pension incomes to reduce taxes, dropping below clawback levels for the Age Amount Tax Credit/Old Age Security; Each spouse may claim 3 tax credits, personal, age, and pension amount ,and share unused credits, reducing their total taxes payable; singles may only claim 3; Non-discretionary expenses – mortgage, rent, utilities, property taxes, condo fees etc. – are the same for senior singles and couples; and When a spouse dies, their Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP)/Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF) can be transferred to the remaining partner tax-deferred; a single’s RRSP/RRIF is taxable as income to the deceased resulting in higher taxes, up to 50%. We, the undersigned, The single seniors of Canada (widowed, separated, divorced or never married age 65 and up), call upon the Government of Canada to implement for singles: A tax provision to offset the reduction in taxes by couples applying pension income splitting; A tax credit equivalent to half of the personal amount for the applicable taxation year; An increase in the pension income amount from 2,000 to 3,000; An increase in the income clawback thresholds for Old Age Security/age amount tax credit; and An amendment to the tax treatment of registered plan proceeds on the death of a single senior to allow a tax-deferred rollover to a beneficiary of choice with the proceeds to be paid out, and taxable to that beneficiary, over a maximum of 10 years.
Government response
Response by the Minister of Finance and National Revenue Signed by The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne The Government of Canada understands that, after a lifetime of hard work, Canadians have earned a secure and dignified retirement. In this regard, single seniors may benefit from a number of targeted tax relief measures, such as the Age Credit and Pension Income Credit. Seniors, and those who support them, may also benefit from tax credits such as the Disability Tax Credit, the Medical Expense Tax Credit, the Home Accessibility Tax Credit and the Canada Caregiver Credit. Single seniors may also benefit from general tax relief that the government has introduced. For example, the middle-class tax cut is providing tax relief for nearly 22 million Canadians, including many seniors, by lowering the first marginal personal income tax rate from 15 percent to 14 percent. This tax cut is saving individuals up to $420 and is expected to deliver over $27 billion in tax savings to Canadians over five years, starting in 2025-26. The tax relief currently available to seniors and pensioners allows a single senior to have at least $27,660 in taxable income (assuming at least $2,000 in income eligible for the Pension Income Credit) before paying federal income tax in 2026. Single seniors may transfer, upon their death, a Registered Retirement Savings Plan or Registered Retirement Income Fund to a financially dependent child or grandchild who ordinarily resided with them because of a mental or physical infirmity. Single seniors may also transfer the value of their Tax-Free Savings Account to a beneficiary tax-free. Beyond the tax system, single seniors may also be eligible for targeted support. For example, the government has more than doubled the maximum Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) top-up benefit for low-income single seniors. As well, single seniors aged 75 and above are benefiting from the 10 percent increase to the Old Age Security (OAS) pension that began in July 2022. Between April and June 2026, single seniors could receive up to $1,109.85 per month in GIS benefits, up to $743.05 per month in OAS benefits between the ages of 65 and 74, and up to $817.36, if aged 75 and above. For the Canada Pension Plan (CPP), for 2026, the maximum monthly amount of the retirement pension that could be received when starting to receive the pension at age 65 is $1,507.65. Whether, and how much of each benefit/pension a single senior could receive, will depend on their specific circumstances, including qualifying residence and their income for OAS and GIS, and their contribution history for CPP. The Government of Canada will continue to support the needs of single seniors.