FHSA — First Home Savings Account
Deductible going in, tax-free coming out — the best account available to a first-time home buyer.
The First Home Savings Account combines the two advantages that used to be mutually exclusive. Contributions are tax-deductible like an RRSP, and a qualifying withdrawal to buy a first home is entirely tax-free like a TFSA. Nothing has to be repaid.
You can contribute up to $8,000 a year to a lifetime maximum of $40,000. Unused room carries forward once the account is open, which is the strongest reason to open one even if you cannot fund it yet. An FHSA can also be combined with the RRSP Home Buyers’ Plan on the same purchase.
Who this is for
- First-time home buyers aged 18 to 71 resident in Canada
- Anyone who has not owned a home they lived in this year or the previous four
- Couples buying together, who can each open their own account
- Parents helping an adult child build a down payment
What you get
Deductible contributions
Reduce your taxable income exactly as an RRSP contribution does, generating a refund at your marginal rate.
Tax-free qualifying withdrawal
Take the money out to buy a first home and pay no tax on the contributions or the growth.
Nothing to repay
Unlike the RRSP Home Buyers’ Plan, an FHSA withdrawal is not a loan to yourself. There is no repayment schedule.
$8,000 a year, $40,000 lifetime
Room carries forward once the account is open, so opening early is worth doing even before you can contribute.
Stacks with the Home Buyers’ Plan
Use both on the same purchase to assemble a substantially larger down payment.
Rolls into an RRSP if unused
If you do not buy a home, the balance transfers to your RRSP or RRIF without using RRSP contribution room.
Questions we get asked
You must not have lived in a home you or your spouse owned at any point in the current calendar year or the four preceding years. Owning a home long ago does not necessarily disqualify you.
Yes. Each of you has a separate $40,000 lifetime limit, so a couple can accumulate $80,000 plus growth toward the same home.
Transfer the balance to your RRSP or RRIF tax-free. It does not consume RRSP room, so nothing is lost.
Up to 15 years from opening, or until the end of the year you turn 71, whichever comes first.
Get a fhsa quote
Tell us a little about who needs covering. We will compare the market and come back with two or three options worth considering, with the trade-offs spelled out.
- Advice and paperwork cost you nothing
- Available in English, Punjabi and Hindi
- Most quotes returned the same business day