Is OAS taxable? What happens to OAS and GIS on your return

Is OAS taxable income? Yes

The Old Age Security pension counts as ordinary taxable income. It is added to your other income for the year and taxed at your federal and provincial marginal rates. There is no exemption or reduced rate because it is a government pension.

A full pension at the October to December 2026 rate of $762.50 a month is about $9,150 over a year if the rate stayed flat; the real total is a little different because OAS is adjusted every quarter. Whatever the exact total, it lands on your return in full.

So the short answer to "is Old Age Security taxable" is yes for the pension itself. The income-tested top-ups paid alongside it are a different story, explained next.

GIS is not taxed, but it still goes on your return

The Guaranteed Income Supplement, the Allowance and the Allowance for the Survivor are paid tax-free. The CRA still wants to see them, so they pass through the return in two steps.

1. Box 21 of the T4A(OAS) slip, net federal supplements, is entered on line 14600.
2. That amount flows into line 14700 with other non-taxable items and is deducted on line 25000 before taxable income is worked out.

The net effect is zero tax on GIS. It does, however, raise your net income on line 23600 for the year, and net income is the figure many credit and benefit programs look at. If your net income before adjustments is above $93,454, a CRA chart limits how much of line 14700 you can deduct on line 25000.

Is OAS taxable income for GIS purposes?

No. When Service Canada works out your GIS, it leaves your OAS pension out of the income count. Your CPP, private pensions, RRIF withdrawals and investment income all count, but OAS does not. Our GIS clawback page breaks down exactly which income reduces GIS.

Reading the T4A(OAS) slip

Service Canada issues a T4A(OAS) early each year for the previous year's payments. Residents of Canada get a T4A(OAS); people living abroad get an NR4 instead. You can also view and print the slip in My Service Canada Account.

If you received OAS for only part of the year, for example because you turned 65 in June, box 18 shows only the months actually paid. A slip that does not match your bank deposits is worth checking against your OAS payment dates before you file.

Voluntary tax withholding from OAS

Service Canada does not take income tax off OAS for people living in Canada. Retirees with a RRIF, a workplace pension and CPP on top of OAS often end up with a balance owing each spring because of this.

To have federal tax taken from each OAS payment, choose one of these routes:

• In My Service Canada Account, open the Old Age Security section and select Change my tax deductions.
• Fill in form ISP3520CPP, the request for voluntary federal income tax deductions, which covers both CPP and OAS, and send it to Service Canada.
• Ask Service Canada by phone to set it up.

The clawback is separate from income tax

The OAS recovery tax, or clawback, is a repayment of OAS that applies when net income exceeds $93,454 for 2025 or $95,323 for 2026. It is calculated on line 23500 and added to your balance on line 42200, on top of regular income tax. The current figures and the 2027 status are on our OAS clawback threshold page.

GIS recipients are almost never affected by the clawback, because GIS stops at much lower income levels than the $93,454 line.

OAS tax when you live outside Canada

Non-residents are taxed differently. Service Canada withholds non-resident tax of 25% or less from each payment, depending on the tax treaty with your country, and you can apply for a lower rate with form NR5. Many non-residents must also file form T1136, the Old Age Security Return of Income, to keep payments going. The details are on OAS outside Canada.