How much can I put in an FHSA in 2026?

$8,000 a year, plus up to $8,000 of unused room from the year before, so at most $16,000 in one year, and $40,000 in total. Room only starts building once you open your first FHSA.

Who counts as a first-time home buyer for an FHSA?

You, and your spouse or common-law partner, haven’t lived in a home either of you owned at any time in the current calendar year before you open the account, or in the four years before. You must also be a resident of Canada, at least 18 and under 72.

What happens to my FHSA if I don’t buy a home?

You can move it to your RRSP or RRIF tax-free, without using any RRSP room, before the account has to close. If you take it out as cash instead, it’s taxed as income.

Can I use an FHSA and the Home Buyers’ Plan for the same home?

Yes. You can take your FHSA out tax-free and withdraw up to $60,000 from your RRSP under the Home Buyers’ Plan, for the same qualifying home.

Should I hold cash or investments in my FHSA?

Either. You can hold savings, GICs, ETFs or other qualified investments. If you’ll buy within a year or two, safer choices like a GIC make sense; if it’s further off, you might invest some of it.

The FHSA explained: First Home Savings Account

Who can open one?

You can open an FHSA if you’re a resident of Canada, at least 18 and under 72, and a first-time home buyer: you haven’t lived in a home that you, or your spouse or common-law partner, owned in this calendar year or the four before it.

How much can I put in?

Limit	Amount
Each year	$8,000
In total	$40,000
Unused room carried over	Up to $8,000, so at most $16,000 in one year

Unused room only starts building from the year you open your first FHSA. If you open one now and put nothing in, next year you can put in $16,000. Going over the limit costs 1% a month on the excess.

The tax savings

Going in: contributions are deductible, so you get a refund at your marginal tax rate. On $80,000 in Ontario, putting in $8,000 cuts your tax by about $2,500. You don’t have to claim the deduction in the same year: you can save it for a year when your income, and your tax rate, is higher.

Growing: investment growth inside the account isn’t taxed.

Coming out: a qualifying withdrawal to buy your first home is tax-free, growth included.

$8,000 a year in an FHSA for 5 years Illustrative: earning $80,000 in Ontario, growing 5% a year

Part	Amount
What you put in	$40,000.00
Tax-free growth	$6,415.30
Tax-free for your first home after 5 years	$46,415.30

Each year’s deduction cuts your tax by about $2,522, so the refunds come to about $12,610 on top. Your income and tax rates are assumed to stay the same.

Work out your own refund and balance with the FHSA calculator.

With the Home Buyers’ Plan

You can use the FHSA and the RRSP Home Buyers’ Plan for the same home. The Home Buyers’ Plan lets you take up to $60,000 out of your RRSP, to be paid back over 15 years. So one buyer could put $100,000 plus growth towards a first home, and a couple $200,000.

	FHSA	Home Buyers’ Plan (RRSP)	TFSA
Deduction going in	Yes	Yes	No
Tax-free for a home	Yes	Yes	Yes
Pay it back?	No	Yes, over 15 years	No
Most you can use	$40,000 plus growth	$60,000	Your TFSA room

How long can it stay open?

An FHSA must be closed by the earliest of:

15 years after you open your first FHSA
the end of the year you turn 71
the end of the year after your first qualifying withdrawal

If you don’t buy a home, you can move the money into your RRSP or RRIF tax-free, and it doesn’t use any of your RRSP room. So there’s little downside to opening one if there’s any chance you’ll buy.

See your own numbers

The affordability calculator shows how much home you could buy with your savings, and the land transfer tax calculator the tax you’ll pay when you close. See also CMHC insurance explained if you’ll put down less than 20%.