Which pension or annuity income qualifies for the pension income amount?

Answer the following questions to find out if your pension income qualifies for the pension income amount.

You may be able to claim the pension income amount if you reported:

• eligible annuity and/or pension income on line 115 of your return;
• eligible pension income on line 116 of your return; or
• annuity payments on line 129 of your return (shown in box 16 of your T4RSP, Statement of RRSP Income slips), only if you were 65 years of age or older on December 31, 2011, or you received the payments because of the death of your spouse or common-law partner.

For a more detailed list of eligible pension and annuity income, see the Eligible Pension and Annuity Income (less than 65 years of age) chart or the Eligible Pension and Annuity Income (65 years of age or older) chart.

Eligible pension income does not include the following income amounts:

• any foreign source pension income that is tax-free in Canada because of a tax treaty that entitles you to claim a deduction at line 256;
• income from a United States individual retirement account (IRA); or
• amounts from a RRIF included on line 115 and transferred to an RRSP, another RRIF or an annuity.

If you and your spouse or common-law partner elected to split pension income, follow the instructions at Step 4 on Form T1032, Joint Election to Split Pension Income, to calculate the amount to enter on line 314 of your and your spouse's or common-law partner's Schedule 1, Federal Tax.

Note
Amounts such as Old Age Security benefits, Canada Pension Plan benefits, Quebec Pension Plan benefits, death benefits, retiring allowances, excess amounts from a RRIF transferred to an RRSP, another RRIF or annuity, amounts shown in boxes 18, 20, 22, 26, 28, and 34 of your T4RSP slips, and amounts distributed from a retirement compensation arrangement shown on your T4A-RCA slips, do not qualify for the pension income amount.

Forms and publications

• General Income Tax and Benefit Package - Guide, Returns, and Schedules
• Form T1032, Joint Election to Split Pension Income