Nuclear safety structures are designed for loads arising due to shrinkage of concrete based on the formulations given in AERB/SS/CSE-1 [AERB/SS/CSE-1.: Design of Concrete Structures Important to Safety of Nuclear Facilities. Atomic Energy Regulatory Board, Niyamak Bhavan, Mumbai (2002)]. In these formulations, the effect of reinforcement on concrete shrinkage is not considered as empirical equations were derived considering plain cement concrete samples. Presence of reinforcement in a structural concrete member, restraints the induced shrinkage strains in concrete. In the present study, effect of reinforcing steel on concrete shrinkage is estimated by modeling concrete and reinforcement in FEM software. In first part of the study, structural members like beams and walls are modeled separately along with their reinforcement. Shrinkage strain is calculated as per the provisions of AERB/SS/CSE-1 [AERB/SS/CSE-1.: Design of Concrete Structures Important to Safety of Nuclear Facilities. Atomic Energy Regulatory Board, Niyamak Bhavan, Mumbai (2002)] and incorporated as temperature change for the respective structural member. Concrete shrinkage strain without and with reinforcement (for different percentages) is calculated using FE analysis. Variation of shrinkage strain in concrete with and without reinforcement % is recorded. The effect of shrinkage is studied by varying the parameters of structural members like their size and grade of concrete. In second part of the study, a thick Reinforced Cement Concrete (RCC) vault of a nuclear structure is considered and similar analysis as first part of the study is carried out. Based on the study for M30, M40, M50, and M60 concrete, it is observed that reduction in shrinkage strain increases with reinforcement but it increases marginally with compressive strength. If RCC vault is designed for M30 concrete, it is observed that there is a reduction of approximately 2.4–13.71% of shrinkage strain in the RCC vault when the reinforcement is around 0.5–2.46%. Hence, in the case of heavily reinforced structures considering the effect of reinforcement on the shrinkage strain in concrete can lead to more realistic and economical design.