Tax Tip: Open Your FHSA Now — Contribution Room Only Starts After You Open

How to do it

1. Check eligibility. You must be 18 or older, a Canadian tax resident, and a first-time home buyer (you haven't owned a home you lived in during the current year or the previous four calendar years).
2. Open the account this year, even if you can't fund it yet. Room accrues from the opening year — waiting a year to open permanently loses that year's room.
3. Contribute by December 31 — no extension. Unlike the RRSP's 60-day grace period, the FHSA deadline is hard: December 31, 2026 for the 2026 tax year. Up to $8,000 for the year, or $16,000 if you carried forward unused 2025 room.
4. Claim the deduction on your return (it works even if your income is modest — and unlike the RRSP, you don't need earned income to generate room).
5. Withdraw tax-free for a qualifying first home purchase, or transfer the balance to your RRSP/RRIF if plans change.

Watch out

• The lifetime cap is $40,000. Five years of maximum contributions and you're done — even if you still have annual room left.
• Carry-forward is capped at $8,000. Skip 2025 entirely and your 2026 limit is $16,000 — but skip two years and it doesn't stack to $24,000.
• The 15-year clock is ticking. The account must be closed (used or transferred) within 15 years of opening or by age 71, whichever comes first.
• RRSP transfers count against the $40,000 lifetime limit (though not the annual limit), and overcontributions are taxed at 1% per month — same as the TFSA.
• Spouses each get their own. Two first-time buyers can each open an FHSA and combine toward the same home: up to $80,000 lifetime as a couple.