Nobody enjoys paying too much tax. Yet every year, thousands of Quebeckers miss credits they qualify for, fail to split pension income when they could, or choose poorly between RRSP, TFSA and RESP. Here are the most effective tax levers we routinely activate for our clients in 2026 — all perfectly legal and well documented.
1. Pension income splitting. If you are 65 or older and receive eligible pension income (employer pension, RRIF, certain annuities), you can attribute up to 50% to your spouse on the tax return. If your spouse has lower income, the saving is immediate and substantial. On $40,000 of split pension income, a typical Quebec couple can save $4,000 to $7,000 in tax each year. A simple checkbox at filing, but too often missed.
2. Senior and home support tax credits. The Quebec home support credit (from age 70) covers 38% of eligible expenses, up to more than $7,000 of annual credit for a self-sufficient person, and more for someone losing autonomy. Eligible: housekeeping help, nursing care, medical transport, meal services, and even some senior residence fees. Over 30% of eligible people fail to properly claim it because they do not keep receipts.
3. Medical expenses. Above 3% of net income (with a federal cap), all unreimbursed medical expenses qualify for a credit. Many forget travel for medical care over 40 km, private health insurance premiums, major dental work, and even some dependent care expenses. For a retired couple at $80,000 combined income with $6,000 in medical expenses, federal and provincial credits combined can be $1,200 to $1,500.
4. Charitable giving and bunching strategy. The giving credit is more generous above the first $200 per year — combined federal and provincial around 50% in Quebec. Strategy: if you give $1,000 annually, bunching two years into one ($2,000 one year, $0 the next) increases the higher-rate portion. Even better: for sizeable gifts, donate publicly listed securities (appreciated stock) directly rather than cash. The donation completely eliminates the taxable capital gain on the transferred security, on top of the usual tax credit.
5. RESP and the Canada education savings grant. For children or grandchildren, every dollar contributed to an RESP (up to $2,500 per beneficiary per year) generates 20% federal grant and 10% Quebec incentive — $750 free per year per child, up to lifetime maximums of $7,200 and $3,600 respectively. For lower-income families, the grant rises to 30% and 15%. Over a 17-year horizon, it is simply the best guaranteed return available in Canada.
6. Strategic RRSP contribution. RRSP contributions are not just for reducing current tax: they are also a tool to recover credits that evaporate at specific thresholds. Canada child benefit, caregiver benefit, guaranteed income supplement, OAS clawback: all have net-income thresholds. A well-calibrated RRSP contribution can move a parent below the clawback threshold and restore several thousand dollars of credits.
7. Spousal RRSP, rediscovered. Often forgotten since pension splitting arrived after 65, the spousal RRSP remains useful for splitting before 65, notably for those retiring at 58 or 60. The higher-income spouse contributes to an RRSP in the lower-income spouse's name and gets the deduction. Future withdrawals are taxed in the lower-income spouse's hands. Three-year rule between contribution and withdrawal to avoid attribution.
Our approach at De Longpre: we start each year with a full three-to-five-year tax projection to identify thresholds to watch (OAS, splitting, losable credits), then calibrate RRSP, TFSA, RESP and donation amounts accordingly. Making these choices by feel, without projection, leaves money on the table every year.