Age and pension tax credits in Quebec

Past 65, two tax credits open up automatically for almost every Quebec retiree: the age amount and the pension income amount. Neither needs a special step — your tax software applies them — but they’re worth understanding, because one of them shrinks as your income rises. Knowing the income at which it starts to fade changes how you plan your drawdown, and it ties into pension income splitting and the OAS clawback threshold. Here’s how these credits work federally and in Quebec, for the 2026 tax year.

The federal age amount

The age amount (line 30100 of the federal return) is for people 65 or older at December 31. For the 2026 tax year, it reaches $9,208 if your net income is $46,432 or less. It isn’t a $9,208 refund: it’s an amount that, converted at the lowest federal tax rate, reduces the tax you owe.

Above $46,432 of net income, the amount shrinks — which is the whole point of this credit, covered below.

The federal pension income amount

The pension income amount (line 31400) covers the first $2,000 of eligible pension income: you claim the lesser of $2,000 or your eligible pension income. Eligible income includes, for example, the annuity from a registered pension plan such as RREGOP (the Quebec public-sector plan) and, from age 65, withdrawals from a RRIF (FERR, the registered retirement income fund) or income from an RRSP (REER) annuity.

Watch what isn’t eligible: neither OAS (Old Age Security, the federal pension, called PSV in Quebec) nor the QPP (Quebec Pension Plan, RRQ) qualifies for this credit. It’s a common mix-up.

Quebec’s equivalent credits — and where they differ

Quebec grants comparable credits but groups them on a single line. Line 361 of the Quebec return combines three amounts: the age amount ($3,986 in 2026), the retirement-income amount ($3,541 in 2026), and the living-alone amount ($2,172 base in 2026). The total of these eligible amounts is then reduced in one step based on family net income, and converted to a credit at a rate of 14% (this rate was 15% before 2023).

Two differences from the federal side are worth keeping. First, Quebec folds age, retirement income, and the living-alone situation into a single reduction based on family income — federally, the age amount has its own reduction. Second, Quebec’s retirement-income amount ($3,541) is larger than the federal pension income amount ($2,000): the base isn’t the same.

The income reduction: the age amount fades

This is the most important point, and the least known. The age amount isn’t the same for everyone who turns 65: it fades as income rises.

Federally, the age amount starts shrinking as soon as net income exceeds $46,432, at 15% of every excess dollar, and reaches zero at $107,819 of net income (2026). In Quebec, it’s the whole of line 361 that’s reduced by 18.75% of every dollar of family net income above $42,955.

This is why two people of the same age can receive very different credits: it all depends on income. And it’s precisely the income band where the age amount fades that creates a higher effective tax rate than it first appears.

See how these credits fit into the whole retirement plan

How these credits interact with splitting and OAS

These credits aren’t planned in isolation. Three interactions matter.

• With pension income splitting. Retirement income allocated to a spouse can qualify them, on their own return, for the pension income amount — federally as well as in Quebec. Used well, splitting lets both spouses claim this credit rather than just one. Splitting also lowers the higher earner’s net income, which can preserve part of their age amount that would otherwise be reduced.
• With the OAS clawback. The age amount and the OAS clawback respond to the same net income: the higher it climbs, the more the credit fades and the more OAS is clawed back. Managing a year’s net income therefore serves two goals at once.
• In Quebec, the shared reduction. Because line 361 groups age, retirement, and the living-alone situation under one reduction based on family income, a spouse’s income counts. A couple doesn’t reason the way two single people would.

Pension income splitting can preserve the age amount

The same net income triggers the OAS clawback above $95,323

Frequently asked questions

Before you count on these credits

• Identify your expected net income at 65 and beyond: it’s what determines how much of the age amount is left.
• If your net income approaches $46,432 (federal) or your family net income $42,955 (Quebec), a better-spread drawdown can preserve part of the credit.
• Check that each spouse receives at least some eligible pension income, so both can claim the pension income amount — splitting helps.
• Look at the combined effect of the credits, the OAS clawback, and the tax brackets, year by year. It’s all verified by projection.

Sources: Canada Revenue Agency / Government of Canada — "Age amount" (line 30100: $9,208, full up to $46,432 of net income, nil at $107,819, 15% reduction, 2026) and "Pension income amount" (line 31400: maximum $2,000), canada.ca. Ministère des Finances du Québec — "Paramètres du régime d'imposition des particuliers pour l'année d'imposition 2026" (age amount $3,986, retirement-income amount $3,541, living-alone amount $2,172, reduction threshold $42,955) and "Crédit d'impôt en raison de l'âge" (18.75% reduction, 14% conversion rate), budget.finances.gouv.qc.ca. 2026 tax year data, accessed June 5, 2026. The lowest federal rate, cut from 15% to 14%, is a full 14% for the whole year from 2026 onward; that's the rate that converts the credit.