The 2026 year-end deadlines at a glance
Read across for the date, what has to be done by then, and what happens if it slips into 2027.
| Deadline | What has to happen | If it slips into January |
|---|---|---|
| Wed, Dec 30 | Last trade that settles in 2026, for a capital loss you want on your 2026 return | The loss belongs to 2027 |
| Thu, Dec 31 | FHSA contributions you want to deduct for 2026, and opening your first FHSA | No 2026 room is ever created; the contribution is a 2027 one |
| Thu, Dec 31 | RESP contributions for the 2026 grant | Usually just deferred, but lost for good when the child runs out of years |
| Thu, Dec 31 | TFSA withdrawals you want back as room on January 1, 2027 | The room comes back a year later |
| Thu, Dec 31 | RDSP contributions for the 2026 grant and bond | They count toward 2027 |
| Thu, Dec 31 | Last contribution to your own RRSP if you were born in 1955, and the RRSP has to become a RRIF or an annuity, or be withdrawn | No more RRSP contributions of your own |
| Mon, Mar 1, 2027 | Every other RRSP contribution you want to deduct for 2026 | Not a December deadline |
FHSA: no 60-day window, and the room only starts once the account exists
FHSA contributions count for the calendar year you make them. Unlike the RRSP, CRA says contributions made in the first 60 days of the year can't be deducted on the previous year's return. So a deposit on December 31, 2026 can go on your 2026 return, and one a few days later, in January 2027, can't. You don't have to claim the deduction in the year you contribute, though: it can wait for a year when your income is higher.
The bigger deadline is opening the account. CRA's words: “your FHSA participation room only starts when you officially open your first account.” Open one by December 31, 2026, even with nothing in it, and 2026 adds $8,000 of room that carries into 2027. Here is the difference for someone who qualifies as a first-time buyer and contributes nothing in 2026:
| Opened by Dec 31, 2026 | Opened in Jan 2027 | |
|---|---|---|
| Room in 2027 | $16,000 | $8,000 |
| First year the $40,000 can be full, maxing every year from 2027 | 2030 | 2031 |
| Account must close by | December 31, 2041 | December 31, 2042 |
The last row is the trade-off. The 15-year limit runs from the year you open your first FHSA, so opening early only makes sense if you expect to buy within about 15 years. Most people who are saving for a first home do. The FHSA contribution room calculator shows your own carry-forward, and FHSA vs RRSP covers which account to fill first.
RESP: the grant counts what's in by December 31
The Canada Education Savings Grant adds 20% to the first $2,500 contributed in each calendar year, so $500 a year. Unused grant room carries forward, but you can only catch up one extra year at a time ($1,000 of grant on $5,000). For a young child, a missed December only delays the grant. Once the years start running out, it costs real money. The table shows the grant still collectable depending on when the first contribution goes in, assuming nothing has been contributed yet and $5,000 a year from then:
| Child born | Start by Dec 31, 2026 | Start in 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 (age 10) | $7,200 | $7,000 |
| 2012 (age 14) | $4,000 | $3,000 |
| 2011 (age 15) | $3,000 | $0 |
The last row is the age-15 rule. The grant is only paid at 16 and 17 if at least $2,000 went in by the end of the year the child turned 15, or at least $100 in any four earlier years. A child born in 2011 turns 15 in 2026, so December 31, 2026 is the last day to meet it. The grant stops for good after the year the child turns 17. Lower-income families also get the Additional CESG on the first $500 each year, which this table leaves out. The RESP grant calculator works out your own child's numbers.
TFSA: withdraw by December 31 and the room is back a year sooner
A TFSA withdrawal is added back to your room on January 1 of the following year. So if you're going to take money out in the next few weeks anyway, doing it in December instead of January brings the room back 12 months earlier. Say your room is fully used and you withdraw $10,000:
| Withdrawn Dec 31, 2026 | Withdrawn in Jan 2027 | |
|---|---|---|
| Room on January 1, 2027 | $17,500 | $7,500 |
| The $10,000 comes back as room | January 1, 2027 | January 1, 2028 |
Both columns include $7,500 for 2027, an estimate until CRA announces the 2027 limit, usually in November. If you have to sell first, the sale has to settle before the cash can leave the account: a trade on December 30, 2026 settles on December 31, 2026, which leaves no margin. Institutions set their own cut-offs for year-end withdrawals, so check yours. And don't put the money back before January unless you have unused room: the TFSA calculator's worked example shows what a same-year re-contribution costs at 1% a month. Moving money between your own TFSAs is different: ask for a direct transfer and it counts as neither a withdrawal nor a contribution.
Tax-loss selling: the last trade is Wednesday, December 30, 2026
For listed shares, CRA treats a sale as happening on the settlement date. Canadian and US stocks and ETFs settle one business day after the trade, so a trade on December 30, 2026 settles on December 31, 2026 and the loss is a 2026 loss. A trade on December 31, 2026 settles on January 4, 2027, so its loss belongs to 2027. If you or your spouse buy the same security back within 30 days, including in a TFSA or RRSP, the superficial loss rule can deny the loss: the superficial loss rule guide works through each kind of buy-back and the safe date to buy back.
Born in 1955: your last RRSP contribution, and the switch to a RRIF
CRA: “December 31 of the year you turn 71 years of age is the last day that you can contribute to your RRSPs.” The usual 60 days of the next year don't extend it, because by then you can't contribute at all. In the same year you have to choose what happens to the RRSP: withdraw it (fully taxable), transfer it to a RRIF, or use it to buy an annuity. A RRIF keeps the money tax-sheltered and pays out a minimum each year from the year after it's set up.
If your spouse or common-law partner is younger, you can keep contributing to a spousal RRSP, using your own unused room, until December 31 of the year they turn 71.
Spousal RRSP: a December contribution starts the clock a year earlier
When your spouse withdraws from a spousal RRSP, the withdrawal is taxed to you, the contributor, if you contributed to any spousal RRSP for them in the year of the withdrawal or either of the two years before. A contribution is dated when you make it, not the tax year you deduct it for. So:
- Contribute on December 31, 2026: withdrawals from January 1, 2029 are taxed to your spouse.
- Contribute in February 2027 and deduct it for 2026: the deduction is the same, but withdrawals stay taxed to you until the end of 2029.
That assumes no other spousal contributions in the years in between; each one restarts the count.
What can wait until next year
RRSP contributions for 2026 can be made up to March 1, 2027: the RRSP deadline guide has the date and limit for each tax year. TFSA contributions have no deadline at all: unused room carries forward indefinitely, and the 2027 limit is added on January 1, 2027. If you're unsure what your TFSA room is, CRA's figure lags by up to a year; how to check your TFSA room explains how to correct it.
Have the numbers ready when January comes
Each of these deadlines needs a figure you have to work out first: this year's TFSA withdrawals, FHSA carry-forward, how much grant room is left. Looniee's Planner keeps each person's contributions and withdrawals and works out TFSA, RRSP and FHSA room from CRA's rules, so the January 1 figure is already there when the new year starts. It's on the free plan, and Looniee never asks for a bank login. More on the TFSA tracker. Figures on this page are examples; verify your own against CRA My Account.
