How much FHSA contribution room do you have?
You can contribute $8,000 a year to an FHSA, up to $40,000 in your lifetime, and carry forward at most $8,000 of unused room, so the most you can put in during any one year is $16,000. Room only starts in the year you open the account.
Enter what you put in each year: the carry-forward cap makes the timing matter. See this year's room, January's, the year your $40,000 can be full, and the tax a contribution saves.
You and your account
What you put in, by year
All your FHSAsFor the deduction
Up to $8,000 a year is new; the rest is last year's unused room, which only carries for one year ($8,000 at most).
On January 1, 2027
Your $40,000 lifetime limit
Room each year
How FHSA contribution room works
- You can contribute $8,000 per year, up to a lifetime maximum of $40,000. Contributions are deductible like an RRSP, and a qualifying withdrawal to buy a first home is tax-free like a TFSA.
- Room only starts once you open the account — unlike a TFSA, nothing accrues for the years before that.
- Unused room carries forward, but only up to $8,000. Skipping two years does not give you $24,000 of room in the third.
- The account can stay open for 15 years, until the end of the year you turn 71, or until the year after your first qualifying withdrawal, whichever comes first. Unused balances can then move to an RRSP or RRIF tax-free.
- You must be a Canadian resident aged 18 to 71 and a first-time home buyer: no home you or your spouse owned and lived in during this year or the previous four.
- Transfers from an RRSP into an FHSA use FHSA room but do not create a new deduction; the money was already deducted once.
Source rules: CRA: First Home Savings Account · Last updated
How FHSA carry-forward works: a worked example
Say you opened an FHSA in 2024, put in $2,000 that year, and nothing since. Each January you get $8,000 of new room, plus whatever you didn't use last year, but never more than $8,000 of it:
| Year | New room | Carried in | Room that year | Contributed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $8,000 | $0 | $8,000 | $2,000 |
| 2025 | $8,000 | $6,000 | $14,000 | $0 |
| 2026 | $8,000 | $8,000 | $16,000 | $0 |
In 2025 you had $14,000 of room and used none of it, but only $8,000 carried into 2026. The rest didn't carry. It isn't taken off your $40,000 lifetime limit; you simply need more years inside the account's 15-year life to use it.
So skipping years costs you speed, not the lifetime total: in any single year you can never put in more than $16,000. Open the account early even if you can't fund it yet, because room only starts building once it exists.
FHSA questions, answered
How much can I contribute to an FHSA each year?
$8,000 per calendar year, plus up to $8,000 of carried-forward room from a previous year in which the account was open. The lifetime limit is $40,000.
What is the last day to contribute to an FHSA for 2026?
December 31, 2026. FHSA contributions count for the calendar year you make them, and unlike an RRSP there is no 60-day window: a contribution in January 2027 counts for 2027. If you haven't opened an FHSA yet, opening one by December 31 also creates your $8,000 of 2026 room, which carries into 2027 even if you put nothing in.
Does FHSA room accumulate before I open the account?
No. Participation room begins in the year you open your first FHSA. This is the biggest difference from a TFSA, and the main reason to open the account early even if you cannot fund it yet.
Can I use both the FHSA and the Home Buyers' Plan?
Yes. Since 2023 you can make a tax-free FHSA withdrawal and an RRSP Home Buyers' Plan withdrawal of up to $60,000 for the same home purchase.
What happens to my FHSA if I never buy a home?
When the account reaches its 15-year limit or you turn 71, the balance can be transferred to an RRSP or RRIF without using RRSP room and without tax. Cashing it out instead is taxable income.
Is the FHSA deduction like an RRSP deduction?
Yes. Contributions reduce taxable income in the year you claim them, and like an RRSP you can carry the deduction forward to a higher-income year. Contributions in the first 60 days of a year do not count for the previous year, unlike an RRSP.
Related calculators and guides
Looniee tracks FHSA room with the carry-forward cap and the lifetime limit applied, alongside your TFSA and RRSP. Create a free account or try the live demo.
Informational only — verify your numbers at CRA My Account before contributing.