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Saving & investing · 2026 rules

FHSA

Contribution room is the part people get wrong, and an over-contribution costs 1% a month. This works out every dollar of room you have across all three registered accounts.

  • $8k per year
  • Tax-deductible
  • Tax-free withdrawal
Your numberslive
Account
$
Your FHSA
yr
$
Projection
6%
0%4%6%8%12%
25 years
5 years15 years25 years40 years

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FHSA room available now
$16,000
$28,000 of the $40,000 lifetime limit remains
Deductible going in and tax-free coming out — the only Canadian account that is both.
Refund if you fill it
$4,894
30.6% effective rate
Annual limit
$8,000
One year of unused room carries forward
Account life
15 years
Or to the end of the year you turn 71

All three accounts, side by side

Contribution room by account
TFSA$58,000
Tax-free growth, no deduction, room restores after withdrawal
RRSP$27,840
Deductible now, taxed on withdrawal, room is gone once used
FHSAbetter$16,000
Deductible now and tax-free out, for a first home

FHSA projected balance

Contributions against total balance, showing the growth you never pay tax on
$0$134,050$268,099$402,149$536,199Y1Y4Y7Y10Y13Y16Y19Y22Y25YearBalanceContributions
  • Balance
  • Contributions
Total contributed$212,000
Growth$303,576
Tax on that growthQualifying withdrawals are entirely tax-freeNone
Balance$515,576
The over-contribution penalty is realA TFSA excess is taxed 1% a month for as long as it sits there, and an RRSP excess above the $2,000 cushion is treated the same way. The CRA’s figures lag your own by a year, so check your own records rather than the portal before a large contribution.
How this is calculated

TFSA room is the sum of the annual limits from the year you turned 18 — or 2009, whichever is later — less what you have contributed, plus anything you withdrew in a previous calendar year.

RRSP room is 18% of the prior year’s earned income to the $33,810 2026 ceiling, reduced by your pension adjustment, plus unused room carried forward from every earlier year.

FHSA room begins accruing in the year the account is opened, at $8,000 a year with one year of carry-forward, to a $40,000 lifetime limit.

These results are illustrative estimates based on published 2026 rates and typical lender rules. They are not financial, tax, or legal advice, and they are not a mortgage or credit approval. See the methodology and disclaimer.

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