Free tool · 2026 rules

FHSA
calculator

The FHSA stacks both advantages: deductible like an RRSP going in, tax-free like a TFSA coming out for a first home. Work out your room and your tax saving.

Room only starts accruing once the account is opened, not before.
Used to estimate the tax saving: an FHSA contribution is deductible like an RRSP.
Maximum you can contribute in 2026
Lifetime room remaining
Estimated tax savings
Carry-forward from last year (capped at $8,000)

Based on FHSA rules: $8,000 of room per year, unused carry-forward capped at $8,000, $40,000 lifetime limit. Educational tool, confirm your official room in CRA My Account.

Exclusive No FHSA yet? Code LOIO3A gets you $35 total: a $25 bonus + $10 by Interac e-Transfer (after the claim form). See the offer + form →

Methodology

How FHSA room
actually works

Unlike the TFSA, FHSA room doesn't accumulate automatically with age: it starts only when you open the account. Opening an FHSA even without depositing a dollar is therefore the highest-return action available, it starts the $8,000-a-year clock.

Each calendar year grants $8,000 of room, up to a $40,000 lifetime cap. Unused room carries into the next year, but the carry-forward is capped at $8,000, so the absolute maximum in any single year is $16,000. You can't bank three or four years and dump it all at once.

Contributions are deductible from taxable income exactly like an RRSP: the tax saving equals your contribution times your combined marginal rate. Estimate your rate with the RRSP calculator →


Strategy

FHSA, HBP
or both?

Since 2023 you can combine the FHSA and the Home Buyers' Plan (which lets you withdraw from your RRSP) for the same property. That's a major change: the two envelopes add up instead of excluding each other.

The fundamental difference: a qualifying FHSA withdrawal is permanently tax-free and never has to be repaid, whereas the HBP is a loan to yourself that must go back into your RRSP over 15 years. For equal savings capacity, fill the FHSA first.

If the purchase never happens, nothing is lost: the balance can be transferred to an RRSP or RRIF without using your RRSP room and with no immediate tax consequence. That's what makes the FHSA close to risk-free for anyone eligible.


FAQ

Common questions


You must be a Canadian resident, between 18 (or the age of majority) and 71, and a first-time home buyer: you haven't lived in a home you owned during the current year or the four preceding calendar years.
$8,000 of new room per year, plus unused carry-forward capped at $8,000, an absolute maximum of $16,000 in a single year. The lifetime cap stays at $40,000.
Because room only accrues from the opening date. Opening in December rather than the following January gains a full year of $8,000 in room, at no cost.
The balance can be transferred to an RRSP or RRIF without using your RRSP room and with no immediate tax. Withdrawn as cash, it becomes taxable income.
Yes, since 2023 both can be used for the same property. The FHSA never has to be repaid, unlike the HBP, which must go back into your RRSP over 15 years.
The FHSA has a maximum participation period tied to the year you opened it and your age. Confirm the deadline that applies to your account with the CRA or your institution.

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Exclusive offer · $35 total


Open your FHSA
and start the clock

Code LOIO3A: a $25 Wealthsimple bonus + $10 by Interac e-Transfer after the claim form = $35 total. Just opening the account starts your room accruing.

Copy the code and open Wealthsimple →