OAS clawback: the threshold and how much you repay
If your net income is over a set amount, you repay part or all of your Old Age Security (OAS) pension. The government calls this the OAS recovery tax. Most people know it as the clawback.
The numbers
These figures are for income earned in 2026, from the Government of Canada's page Old Age Security pension recovery tax, checked on November 2, 2026.
| What | Amount |
|---|---|
| Net income where the clawback starts | $95,323 |
| What you repay | 15% of income over that |
| Net income where all of a full OAS is repaid | $155,320 from 65 to 74, $161,320 from 75 |
| When it comes off your OAS | July 2027 to June 2028 |
The amounts where all OAS is repaid differ by age because OAS is 10% higher from 75. The threshold is set again each year.
An example
Suppose your net income in 2026 is $110,000.
- Over the threshold: $110,000 less $95,323 is $14,677.
- Repaid: 15% of $14,677 is $2,201.55.
- When: about $183 a month comes off your OAS from July 2027 to June 2028.
Only the income over the threshold counts. Someone at $95,323 or less repays nothing.
How it is collected
The clawback is taken off your OAS a month at a time, rather than as one payment at tax time.
- The monthly amount is set from the net income on your tax return, and taken off the 12 payments from the following July to June. Service Canada sends a letter saying how much.
- At tax time, your T4A(OAS) slip shows in box 22 what was taken off. You claim it on line 43700 as tax already deducted, and work out the year's repayment on lines 23500 and 42200.
- If your income will be much lower than the year the deductions are based on, you can ask the Canada Revenue Agency in writing, with form T1213(OAS), to take less off from July.
- If the deductions cause hardship, you can ask the Canada Revenue Agency to review your situation.
What counts as income
The clawback is based on your net income, worked out from line 23400 of your tax return. It includes pensions, CPP, OAS itself, RRSP and RRIF withdrawals and pay from work. Withdrawals from a TFSA don't count.
What can change it
People who expect to be near the threshold often look at these. Whether any of them suits you depends on your situation.
- Pension income splitting. If you have a spouse or common-law partner, up to 50% of your eligible pension income can be reported on their return instead of yours, which lowers your net income. A pension from a workplace plan counts at any age, and RRIF payments from 65. OAS and CPP can't be split.
- When you draw your savings. Taking more from an RRSP or RRIF in years when your other income is lower, such as before your pension, CPP or OAS start, can leave less income in later years. From the year after it is set up, a RRIF has a minimum you must take out each year.
- When you start OAS. No OAS is clawed back before it starts. See Should I start OAS at 65 or 70?
- Saving in a TFSA. Withdrawals from a TFSA aren't income, so they don't add to the clawback.
The steps for collecting it and the lines on your return are from the Government of Canada's pages Repayment of Old Age Security pension and Line 23500 – Social benefits repayment, and the rules for splitting from Pension income splitting, checked on November 2, 2026.
In the income timeline
When the income timeline shows income after tax, it takes off the clawback for each year, at most the OAS paid that year. It counts it in the year the income is earned, rather than the July to June after, so it is a little early. It estimates for one person, so it leaves out pension income splitting.