10/16/2026
𝗖𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗨𝗽𝗼𝗻 𝗛𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗔𝗰𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻?
An FHSA is a registered account that helps first-time home buyers save for their home. You can contribute up to $8,000 each year, with a lifetime limit of $40,000, and these contributions are tax-deductible. If you use the money to buy your first home, you can withdraw it tax-free. If you do not use the funds to buy a home,
you can usually transfer them tax-free to your RRSP or RRIF, or you can withdraw them, but you will have to pay tax on those withdrawals.
On May 14, 2026, a French Technical Interpretation examined whether buying a qualifying home without making a qualifying withdrawal would end the FHSA’s participation period, limit future contributions, or affect transfers to an RRSP or RRIF.
𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
The CRA decided that simply buying a qualifying home does not end the FHSA’s participation period. This period ends at the end of the year after the first of these events: 14 years after opening your first FHSA, turning 70, or making your first qualifying withdrawal. Acquiring a home alone does not trigger it. Also, receiving a home as a gift or inheritance counts as an acquisition, not just a purchase. So, during this period, you can keep your FHSA open and keep contributing as long as you stay within the annual limit.
𝗙𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝘅-𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗱𝗿𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗹
However, if you buy and live in the home, it can affect your ability to make another qualifying withdrawal in the future. If you want to use FHSA funds tax-free to buy another qualifying home later, you must meet the rules for a qualifying withdrawal at that time. This includes the first-time homebuyer requirement. Usually, you must not have owned and lived in a home as your main residence at any time during the four years before the withdrawal, or earlier in the same year. So, if you still own and live in your first home during this period, you generally will not meet this condition.
𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗥𝗥𝗦𝗣/𝗥𝗥𝗜𝗙
Before your FHSA participation period ends, you can transfer FHSA funds (as long as they are not excess amounts) directly to your RRSP or RRIF tax-free. This does not use up your RRSP deduction room. If you acquired a qualifying home without making a qualifying withdrawal, you can still make this transfer.
𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡
Think about whether it is better to keep your FHSA open or close it with a qualifying withdrawal after you have acquired a home.