What it does
The First Home Savings Account (FHSA) mixes the best parts of an RRSP and a TFSA: contributions are tax-deductible like an RRSP, and a qualifying withdrawal to buy your first home is tax-free like a TFSA. This calculator plans your yearly contributions within the limits, works out the tax refunds at your marginal rate, grows the balance, and shows the same money in an RRSP used through the Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP).
The limits are applied for you: $8,000 a year, up to $8,000 of unused room carried forward, and $40,000 for life. To see how much house the savings buy, try the mortgage calculator; to find your tax rate, the Canada tax calculator; for long-term saving, RRSP or TFSA.
How to use it
- Enter how much you want to put in each year and the years until you buy (at most 15).
- Enter a yearly return and your marginal tax rate.
- If you already have an FHSA, fill in the balance, what you have contributed so far and any unused room carried into this year.
- Read the result cards, the year-by-year table and the HBP comparison.
What each setting does
- Put in each year: your plan. If it is above your room, the tool puts in only what is allowed and says so.
- Unused room carried in: room you did not use last year, at most $8,000. It only builds after you open an account, so opening one early helps even with $0.
- Tax rate: the refund is each contribution times this rate. You can also carry the deduction to a later, higher-income year.
Worked example
You put in $8,000 a year for 5 years at 5% with a 30% tax rate. You reach the $40,000 lifetime limit, get $12,000 in refunds and have $46,415 to spend on the home, tax-free. In an RRSP the HBP lets you take that out too, but you must pay back $3,094 a year for 15 years. Ask for $10,000 a year and the tool holds each year to $8,000.
FAQs
What if I never buy? You can move the money to your RRSP or RRIF tax-free without using RRSP room, or take it out as taxable income.
Can I use the FHSA and the HBP together? Yes, for the same home.
Do these rules change? They can. Check the official source on canada.ca. Not financial or tax advice.
Where the numbers come from
- FHSA limits ($8,000 annual, $40,000 lifetime, carry-forward up to $8,000) and the maximum participation period (ends 31 December of the year of the 15th anniversary of opening your first FHSA, or the year you turn 71): CRA, Definitions for FHSAs, https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/topics/first-home-savings-account/definitions.html (checked 2026-11-10)
- Home Buyers' Plan: withdrawal limit $60,000, 15-year repayment, repayment start deferred to the fifth year for first withdrawals from 2026 to 2028: CRA, The Home Buyers' Plan, https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/topics/rrsps-related-plans/what-home-buyers-plan.html (checked 2026-11-10)
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Last updated 2026-11-10.