When your repayments start
Normally the first repayment year is the second calendar year after the withdrawal. Budget 2024 added a temporary three-year deferral: if your first withdrawal was made between January 1, 2022 and December 31, 2025, repayments start in the 5th year instead. A 2022 withdrawal starts repaying in 2027, while a 2026 withdrawal starts in 2028.
| Withdrawn in | First repayment year | First repayment due by | Last repayment year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2027 | February 29, 2028 | 2041 |
| 2023 | 2028 | March 1, 2029 | 2042 |
| 2024 | 2029 | March 1, 2030 | 2043 |
| 2025 | 2030 | March 3, 2031 | 2044 |
| 2026 | 2028 | March 1, 2029 | 2042 |
| 2027 | 2029 | March 1, 2030 | 2043 |
The minimum is a floor, not a cap. You can repay more in any year, and the extra lowers every minimum after it.
The deadline for each year's repayment
A repayment counts toward a year if you contribute it to your RRSP (or a PRPP or SPP) during that year or in the first 60 days of the next one. That's the same window as the RRSP deduction deadline, which moves to the next business day when it falls on a weekend. For example, the 2028 repayment is due by March 1, 2029.
Contributing isn't enough on its own. You also have to designate the amount as an HBP repayment on Schedule 7 when you file the return for that year (it goes on line 24600). An undesignated contribution is treated as an ordinary RRSP contribution, and the year counts as missed.
A designated repayment doesn't use new RRSP room, and you can't deduct it: you deducted that money when you first contributed it. The same contribution made in the first 60 days of a year can be a repayment for the year before or a deduction, never both.
How each year's minimum is set
The minimum is your remaining HBP balance divided by the years left in the 15-year period. With no extra repayments, that's 1/15 of the withdrawal each year: $2,000 on a $30,000 withdrawal, $4,000 on the $60,000 maximum.
HBP balance left after each minimum repayment
On a $60,000 withdrawal the minimum is $4,000 a year for 15 years. Any year you repay less, the shortfall is added to your income.
Example: the maximum $60,000 withdrawal, repaid at the minimum| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Start | $60,000 |
| Year 1 | $56,000 |
| Year 2 | $52,000 |
| Year 3 | $48,000 |
| Year 4 | $44,000 |
| Year 5 | $40,000 |
| Year 6 | $36,000 |
| Year 7 | $32,000 |
| Year 8 | $28,000 |
| Year 9 | $24,000 |
| Year 10 | $20,000 |
| Year 11 | $16,000 |
| Year 12 | $12,000 |
| Year 13 | $8,000 |
| Year 14 | $4,000 |
| Year 15 | $0 |
Worked example. You withdrew $30,000 in 2026. Your first repayment year is 2028, with a minimum of $2,000 due by March 1, 2029. Three ways that year could go:
| You designate | Added to your 2028 income | Balance left | 2029 minimum |
|---|---|---|---|
| $2,000 (the minimum) | $0 | $28,000 | $2,000 |
| $500 | $1,500 | $28,000 | $2,000 |
| $9,000 | $0 | $21,000 | $1,500 |
The short year doesn't make later years more expensive. The $1,500 you didn't repay is taxed as income instead, and it comes off the balance as if you had repaid it. The extra $7,000 in the third row is spread over the 14 years that are left.
What happens if you miss a repayment
The difference between the minimum and what you designated is reported as RRSP income on line 12900 of that year's return and taxed at your marginal rate. There's no separate penalty or interest, and the amount comes off your HBP balance, so it doesn't have to be repaid later.
Missing a year costs tax, not a bigger bill later. Once it's included in your income, that money is permanently out of your RRSP: you've lost the tax-sheltered growth on it, and it can only go back in using ordinary contribution room.
Where to find your balance and next minimum
- Your notice of assessment. Each year CRA includes an HBP statement showing your remaining balance and the minimum for the next year. It already accounts for any extra repayments you made.
- CRA My Account. The same balance appears with your RRSP information.
Both update only after CRA assesses your return, so a repayment you made this year won't show until next spring. To see where you stand before then, use the Home Buyers' Plan repayment calculator.
Special cases
- You turn 71. You can't contribute to an RRSP after the end of the year you turn 71, so you can't repay after that either. The balance at the start of that year is divided by the years left, and that amount is added to your income on line 12900 each remaining year.
- You become a non-resident. Repay the whole remaining balance by the earlier of two dates: before you file your return for the year you leave, or 60 days after you become a non-resident. Whatever isn't repaid is added to your income for that year.
- The participant dies. The remaining balance is included in income on the final return. If there's a surviving spouse or common-law partner living in Canada, they can elect, jointly with the legal representative, to take over the repayments instead.
Keep the schedule next to the RRSP it came from
The HBP is easy to lose track of because it spans 15 or more years and lives on a tax schedule, not in your brokerage account. Looniee's Planner records the withdrawal and each repayment alongside your RRSP and shows the balance and this year's minimum. It's on the free plan, and Looniee never asks for a bank login.
Buying with an FHSA too? Check your room with the FHSA contribution room calculator; an FHSA withdrawal for the same home never has to be repaid, which is why the FHSA usually comes first. For your RRSP room after repayments, use the RRSP contribution limit calculator.
