FHSA vs the Home Buyers’ Plan
It isn’t either/or — they stack on the same purchase. What matters is the order you use them in, and the two timing rules that quietly cost people money.
The FHSA and Home Buyers’ Plan can be combined on a qualifying purchase, subject to each program’s conditions. FHSA participation room generally starts at $8,000 in the year you open your first account, with eligible carry-forward capped at $8,000 and an ordinary $40,000 lifetime limit. Contributions and RRSP-to-FHSA transfers share the available room. Opening also starts the maximum participation period; check eligibility and timing before opening or contributing. FHSA qualifying withdrawals do not need repayment; an HBP withdrawal from your RRSP is repaid under CRA’s schedule. RRSP contributions generally need to remain in the account for 90 days before an HBP withdrawal to preserve the deduction.
The difference that matters
- FHSA — contributions can be deductible and qualifying withdrawals tax-free, with nothing to repay. FHSA participation room generally starts at $8,000 in the year you open your first account, with eligible carry-forward capped at $8,000 and an ordinary $40,000 lifetime limit. Contributions and RRSP-to-FHSA transfers share the available room. Opening also starts the maximum participation period; check eligibility and timing before opening or contributing.
- Home Buyers’ Plan — up to $60,000 per buyer from your RRSP ($120,000 for a couple), tax-free at withdrawal but repayable over 15 years. Miss a repayment year and that portion becomes taxable income.
The two timing rules
- Check eligibility and timing before opening an FHSA. Opening starts participation room and the maximum participation period. The $40,000 figure is a lifetime limit, not immediate contribution room. Check CRA participation room and closure rules.
- The 90-day rule. RRSP contributions generally need to sit 90 days before an HBP withdrawal. Contribute and withdraw in the same month and the deduction can be denied.
General information, not tax, legal or lending advice. Program rules and lender policies change and personal eligibility has edge cases — confirm yours with the CRA, an accountant, or a licensed mortgage professional.
If you’re on a work permit
Two separate rules that get conflated: you may be able to open and contribute to an FHSA as a Canadian tax resident, and still be barred from purchasing under the federal prohibition on non-Canadian purchases, which runs to January 1, 2027 with specific exemptions. Saving is not buying. The work-permit guide walks the exemption checklist — sort eligibility before you build a purchase timeline on it.
Your savings plan, sequenced
Tell me what you have where — FHSA, RRSP, cash — and your target timeline, and I’ll send back the order of operations: what to open, what to move, when, and what it adds up to as a down payment. Paired with the full program stack. One reply, no drip campaign.
Last updated 2026-10-15 · Written by Mohammad Emon, REALTOR® (SRES®) & Licensed Property Manager, KO Realty · RECA licence CON-00133897