The number of taxpayers that made RRSP contributions rose in 2018, but the proportion of taxpayers that made contributions declined, according to new data from Statistics Canada.
The national statistical agency published new data showing the total number of RRSP contributors topped 6 million in the 2018 tax year, up by 37,360 from the 2017 tax season.
However, the total number of taxpayers rose by 2.2% year over year — much faster than the growth in RRSP contributors. As a result, the share of taxpayers that paid into an RRSP last year declined to 21.9% from 22.3% in the previous year.
Additionally, the median contribution was up from $3,030 for tax year 2017 to $3,130 in 2018, representing a 3.3% year-over-year increase. The total value of RRSP contributions rose even faster, by 3.6%.
StatsCan reported that total contributions came in at $43.5 billion for the 2018 tax year, compared with just over $42 billion in the prior year.