Every December, someone asks me a version of the same question: “I’ve got until March for the FHSA, right? Same as my RRSP?”

No. And that one assumption costs people real money.

The RRSP gives you the first 60 days of the new year to make contributions that count for last year. The First Home Savings Account doesn’t. If the money isn’t in your FHSA by December 31, it counts for next year. And if you haven’t opened one yet, waiting until January costs you a full year of room.

So here’s how the deadline works, and what I’d do before New Year’s if buying a home is anywhere in your next few years.

The rule

FHSA contributions for 2026 have to be made by December 31, 2026. Anything you put in during January or February counts toward 2027. There’s no grace period and no way to assign it back.

How the room works, in plain numbers

• You get $8,000 of room a year, up to $40,000 over your lifetime.
• If you don’t use your room, up to $8,000 of it carries forward to the next year.
• So the most you can ever put in during a single year is $16,000: this year’s $8,000 plus $8,000 carried forward.

Example: you opened an FHSA last year and never put anything in. You can contribute up to $16,000 before December 31. Even if you opened it in 2023 and left it empty, the carry-forward caps at $8,000, so your number this year is still $16,000.

Why I’d open one now, even with $0 in it

This is the move most people miss. Your room only starts building once the account is open. The year you open it counts in full, whether that’s January or December 20.

• Open an FHSA in December with nothing in it, and you start 2027 with $16,000 of room.
• Wait until January, and your 2027 room is $8,000.

Same person, same savings, one form filled out a few weeks earlier, and twice the room next year.

One caveat: opening the account starts a 15-year clock. You have until the end of the 15th year after you open it (or the year you turn 71, if that comes first) to use it for a home. If buying is 10+ years away for you, opening today isn’t automatically the right call. For anyone thinking about the next one to five years, it usually is.

What to do before New Year’s

Buying in the next few years and haven’t opened one: open it before December 31. It takes a few minutes at most banks and online brokerages, and it costs nothing to hold.

You have room and the cash: contribute by December 31. You don’t have to take the tax deduction this year. You can carry it forward and claim it in a higher-income year, when it’s worth more.

You have RRSP savings but not much cash: you can transfer money from your RRSP to your FHSA. It uses your FHSA room and you don’t get a second deduction, but once it’s in the FHSA, it comes out tax-free when you buy, with no repayment schedule.

You’re buying soon: you can use your FHSA and the RRSP Home Buyers’ Plan on the same purchase, as long as you qualify for each one. I covered who qualifies for what in an earlier article.

Your plans change: if you never buy, your FHSA money can move into your RRSP tax-free, without using any of your RRSP room. That’s what makes the FHSA so low-risk to open.

Two watch-outs

Don’t over-contribute. Going over your room costs 1% a month on the excess until you fix it. If you have more than one FHSA, your limit is shared across all of them. Check your room before you contribute.

Opening has its own first-time buyer test. To open an FHSA, you can’t have lived in a home that you or your current spouse or common-law partner owned, this year or in the previous four calendar years. If your partner owns the home you live in, you may not be able to open one, even if your name has never been on a title.

The takeaway

The FHSA is the best tool most first-time buyers have, and the rules reward people who start early. If a purchase is anywhere in your next few years, open the account before December 31. If you have room and the cash, put it in by then too.

This Week’s Market Update

Fixed rates finally started coming down. Then on Tuesday, hot U.S. inflation and a wave of hawkish central bankers sent bond yields right back up.

The Bank of Canada’s own meeting notes say it may need to raise rates again. Markets now see a December hike as a coin flip, and close to certain by January.

Buying, renewing or on a variable rate? Now is the time to get a plan in place.

Watch this week’s rate update →

If you’d like help figuring out how the FHSA, your RRSP and your down payment fit together for your own purchase, I’m happy to walk you through it.

Book a Free Consultation →