TFSA questions
What is the TFSA limit for 2026?
| Years | Annual limit |
|---|---|
| 2009–2012 | $5,000 |
| 2013–2014 | $5,500 |
| 2015 | $10,000 |
| 2016–2018 | $5,500 |
| 2019–2022 | $6,000 |
| 2023 | $6,500 |
| 2024–2026 | $7,000 |
The 2027 limit is expected to rise to $7,500 based on inflation indexing; CRA usually confirms it in November. Want your personal number? Use the TFSA room finder.
How do I check my TFSA contribution room?
Log in to CRA My Account → Tax-Free Savings Account. One catch: CRA's figure is as of January 1 and doesn't include what you've contributed or withdrawn this year. Keep your own running total.
What happens if I over-contribute?
CRA charges 1% per month on the highest excess amount in each month until it's removed. The most common cause: withdrawing and re-contributing in the same year. Withdrawals only come back as room on January 1 of the next year.
What can I hold in a TFSA?
Cash, GICs, bonds, stocks, ETFs and mutual funds listed on designated exchanges. A TFSA is a container, not an investment: leaving it in cash earning little is one of the most common (and costly) mistakes.
Do US stocks and ETFs in a TFSA pay tax?
US dividends paid into a TFSA usually have 15% withheld by the US, and you can't recover it. In an RRSP, that withholding generally doesn't apply to US-listed securities because of the tax treaty. That's why some investors hold US dividend payers in their RRSP (see strategy 6).
Can I day-trade in my TFSA?
CRA can treat frequent trading in a TFSA as "carrying on a business", which makes the gains taxable. The TFSA is designed for long-term investing.
TFSA vs FHSA vs RRSP: limits, taxes and which comes first. Free, plus a 5-minute Sunday email.
FHSA & your first home
How does the FHSA work?
- You must be 18+, a Canadian resident and a first-time buyer (you didn't live in a home you or your spouse owned this year or the previous four).
- Room only starts the year you open the account. Up to $8,000 of unused room carries forward, so the most you can add in one year is $16,000.
- No 60-day grace period: contributions count for the calendar year they're made.
- Don't buy a home? The money can move to your RRSP without using RRSP room.
FHSA or RRSP Home Buyers' Plan?
You can use both for the same home. The HBP lets you withdraw up to $60,000 from your RRSP, but you must repay it over 15 years. The FHSA never needs repaying. Together, one buyer could put up to $100,000 toward a first home, or $200,000 as a couple, before any growth.
RRSP questions
How much can I put in my RRSP for 2026?
What's the RRSP deadline?
For the 2026 tax year: March 1, 2027. Contributions in the first 60 days of 2027 can count for 2026.
How is an RRSP taxed?
You get a deduction when you contribute, growth is tax-deferred, and withdrawals are taxed as income. Most people withdraw in retirement, often at a lower tax rate. The account must be converted (usually to a RRIF) by the end of the year you turn 71.
TFSA, FHSA or RRSP first?
There's no single right answer, but this is the common-sense order many Canadians follow:
- Employer RRSP/pension match if you have one. It's an instant return.
- An emergency fund (1 month first, working toward 3–6 months), often kept in a TFSA savings account.
- FHSA if a first home is possible in the next 15 years. Opening it early starts the room clock.
- TFSA if your income is modest now or you value flexibility.
- RRSP once your income (and tax bracket) is higher. The deduction is worth more then.
| TFSA | FHSA | RRSP | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Going in | After-tax | Deductible | Deductible |
| Growth | Tax-free | Tax-free | Tax-deferred |
| Coming out | Tax-free, anytime | Tax-free for a first home | Taxed as income |
| 2026 room | $7,000 | $8,000 | 18% up to $33,810 |
ETFs & index investing
What is an ETF?
An exchange-traded fund is a basket of investments you buy in one trade. A broad index ETF can hold hundreds or thousands of companies, so one purchase gives you instant diversification.
What is an all-in-one (asset allocation) ETF?
A single ETF that holds a global mix of stock and bond ETFs and rebalances itself. They're labelled by how much is in stocks (for example 100%, 80% or 60%). Many long-term Canadian investors use one as their whole portfolio.
What is an MER, and why does it matter?
The management expense ratio is the yearly fee, taken as a percentage of your balance. It compounds against you: on $50 a week for 30 years (illustrative 6% before fees), a 1% fee instead of 0.2% could cost about $29,000. Every fund's MER is in its Fund Facts or ETF Facts document.
Crypto in registered accounts
Can I hold Bitcoin in a TFSA?
How much crypto is too much?
Nobody can tell you the right number, but position size is the key question. Crypto can drop 50%+ in a year. Many long-term investors who hold it keep it to a small slice they could see fall sharply without changing their plan. Compare crypto ETF fees (MERs vary a lot) and check whether a fund is currency-hedged.
Planted North's writer is a long-term Bitcoin believer. This page doesn't recommend any specific product.
One idea, one move, one number. 5 minutes. No picks, ever.
10 long-term wealth-building strategies
These are the evergreen principles behind most real wealth. None of them are exciting, which is exactly why they work.
Pay yourself first, automatically
Move money to your investing account on payday, before you can spend it. Automation beats willpower.
Why it works: it turns investing into a default instead of a decision.
Dollar-cost average
Invest the same amount on a schedule regardless of the market. You buy more units when prices are low and fewer when they're high, and you stop trying to time things.
Lump sums have historically done better more often when you already have the cash, but regular investing is how most people build wealth from a paycheque.
Own the whole market, cheaply
Broad, low-fee index funds or an all-in-one ETF give global diversification in one purchase. Most active funds don't beat their index over long periods after fees.
Guard the fee line
Know the MER of everything you own. A percent a year sounds small until you compound it for decades (see the $29,000 example above).
Fill the right containers in the right order
Use registered room before taxable accounts: employer match, FHSA if buying, TFSA and RRSP by income (see order of operations).
Think about asset location
Where you hold something matters. Some investors put US dividend-paying holdings in the RRSP (to avoid the 15% US withholding) and their highest-growth assets in the TFSA, where gains are never taxed.
Build the root system first
An emergency fund (start with one month of expenses, build toward 3–6) keeps you from selling investments at the worst time.
Pay off high-interest debt
Paying off a card charging ~20% is a guaranteed return no investment reliably matches. A $1,000 balance at 20.99% costs about $233 a year.
Use the raise rule
Every time your pay goes up, raise your automatic investment by half the raise. You still feel the raise, and your savings rate climbs without effort.
Rebalance and otherwise leave it alone
Pick a target mix, check it once or twice a year, and rebalance if it drifts a lot (all-in-one ETFs do this for you). Time in the market, not timing, does the compounding.
Where these numbers come from
- Canada Revenue Agency: Tax-Free Savings Account
- Canada Revenue Agency: First Home Savings Account
- Canada Revenue Agency: RRSPs and related plans, including the Home Buyers' Plan
- Expected 2027 TFSA limit ($7,500): The Globe and Mail, June 2026
- Fee and interest examples: Planted North calculations (monthly compounding, constant returns), illustrative only