TFSA contribution room: how to work it out

When your room starts

If you live in Canada, your room starts building up in the year you turn 18, or in 2009, when the TFSA was created, if you were already 18.

If you arrive in Canada at 18 or older, it starts in the year you arrive. A full year spent abroad as a non-resident gives no new room.

The annual limits

The limit is set every year and is the same for everyone. For 2026, it is $7,000.

Someone who was at least 18 in 2009, has always lived in Canada and has never contributed therefore has $109,000 of room in 2026.

Withdrawals and room

Unused room carries forward from year to year. A withdrawal does not make you lose room: the amount withdrawn is added back to your room on January 1 of the following year.

Putting the money back in the same year as the withdrawal can therefore exceed your room, if you do not have enough unused room.

Watch out for excess contributions

A contribution above your room is taxed for every month the excess stays in the account, even if it was a mistake. The rules and the rate are on the CRA pages listed below.

Where to find the official figure

CRA My Account shows your TFSA contribution room. Financial institutions report transactions to the CRA once a year, so your recent contributions and withdrawals may not show yet.