GIS & the Allowance

GIS is a non-taxable monthly top-up to OAS for lower-income seniors — up to about $1,123/month for a single senior in 2026, reduced as other income rises and gone near $22,800 of annual income (excluding OAS). TFSA withdrawals do not count against it.

• What GIS is and who qualifies
• 2026 maximum amounts and income cut-offs
• How the income test works (and what counts)
• Why the TFSA and withdrawal order are decisive
• The Allowance (ages 60–64)
• The Allowance for the Survivor
• Common mistakes and FAQs

The Guaranteed Income Supplement is a monthly, non-taxable top-up to Old Age Security for lower-income seniors. You must be 65 or older, receiving OAS, and resident in Canada, and your income must fall below the annual thresholds. Unlike OAS, GIS is strictly income-tested — it is designed to guarantee a floor of income in retirement.

• Single, widowed, or divorced: maximum about $1,123/month; GIS phases out to zero around $22,800 of annual income (excluding OAS).
• Couple, both receiving OAS: a lower maximum each, with a combined-income test — roughly under $30,000 of combined income to receive the maximum.

Like OAS, GIS amounts are reviewed quarterly and rise with the Consumer Price Index. Because the exact tables are detailed and depend on marital status and each partner's OAS status, treat any calculator figure (including ours) as an estimate and confirm with Service Canada.

GIS is reduced as your other income rises — broadly, by about 50 cents for every dollar of income for a single recipient, which is effectively a very high marginal rate. What counts and what does not is the crucial detail:

• Counts against GIS: CPP/QPP, RRSP and RRIF withdrawals, employment and self-employment income (with a modest earnings exemption), pension income, interest, and taxable capital gains.
• Does not count: OAS itself, GIS, and — most importantly — TFSA withdrawals.

For a lower-income senior, the single most valuable planning fact is that TFSA withdrawals are invisible to the GIS income test. Funding spending from a TFSA instead of a RRIF can preserve GIS that would otherwise be clawed back at roughly 50%. In many cases this means that, counter-intuitively, a modest-income retiree may be better off drawing down an RRSP before age 65 (while GIS is not yet in play) and leaning on TFSA and GIS afterward. The withdrawal-order guide and the withdrawal sequencer explore this; for GIS-eligible households, sequencing is not a footnote — it is the main event.

The Allowance bridges the gap before OAS begins for a lower-income spouse. If you are aged 60–64 and your spouse or common-law partner receives OAS and GIS, and your combined household income is under about $41,616 (2026), you may receive the Allowance — a maximum of about $1,409.72/month. It stops when you turn 65 and become eligible for OAS and GIS in your own right.

The Allowance for the Survivor supports people aged 60–64 with low income whose spouse or common-law partner has died and who have not remarried or entered a new common-law relationship. For 2026 the maximum is about $1,680.47/month, available where annual income is under roughly $30,312. Like the Allowance, it ends the month after the recipient turns 65 and transitions to OAS/GIS.

• Not applying. GIS is not always automatic; many eligible seniors miss it. Apply through Service Canada.
• A one-time income spike. Selling an asset or taking a large RRIF withdrawal in one year can wipe out that year's GIS — spreading income helps.
• Ignoring the TFSA advantage. Building and using TFSA room is the cleanest way to protect GIS.
• Forgetting annual renewal. GIS is recalculated every year from your tax return, so filing on time matters even if you owe no tax.