FHSA vs RRSP vs TFSA first-home scenario calculator

Compare account outcomes with your confirmed CRA room and user-entered tax assumptions. This does not determine eligibility or issue tax advice.

Your inputs

Eligible for FHSA / qualifying first-home withdrawal?Choose Yes only to model an assumed qualifying first-home withdrawal; check actual rules with CRA.

Available cash contribution (C$)One initial contribution; no recurring deposits.

Confirmed remaining FHSA participation room (C$)Use your current-year CRA participation room. Usually $8,000 plus up to $8,000 carried forward, subject to adjustments; $40,000 is a lifetime limit, not an ordinary one-year contribution limit.

Confirmed available RRSP contribution room (C$)Include only unused deductible room.

Confirmed available TFSA contribution room (C$)Only eligible available room; no assumed restoration until following year.

Marginal tax rate on contribution (%)Editable simplification, not computed from provincial tax brackets.

Assumed future RRSP withdrawal marginal tax rate (%)Ordinary taxable RRSP withdrawal, not HBP.

Years since your first FHSA openedUse 0 if planning to open your first FHSA now. All FHSA accounts share the first-account deadline.

Years until usePlanning horizon; FHSA projection is withheld if the approximate 15-year limit would be exceeded. Confirm actual deadline with CRA.

Reinvest estimated FHSA / RRSP tax refund?Yes assumes enough permitted account room, immediate refund receipt and the same tax-free growth with no tax drag; it is illustrative, not a personal tax forecast.

What does refund reinvestment assume?

The default keeps deduction refunds separate. Switching reinvestment on assumes immediate receipt and tax-free growth at the same return, with enough applicable room. Timing, tax drag and extra account-room verification are excluded.

Hypothetical annual return (%)Not guaranteed; a constant annual compounded scenario.

Your estimate

Estimated value

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Result details, breakdown & comparisons

Calculation breakdown

Your confirmed contribution room and qualifying-withdrawal assumptions control this comparison. RRSP Home Buyers’ Plan rules are excluded.

What this result includes—and excludes

The numbers are editable planning scenarios and are not professional advice, quotes or eligibility decisions. No entered information is submitted to a server by this calculator.

How the calculation works

Contribution used for each account = min(user cash, confirmed available account room), with FHSA available in this comparison only under the stated qualifying-withdrawal and approximate 15-year horizon assumptions. Future value = contribution × (1 + annual return)^years. FHSA and TFSA future values are shown without withdrawal tax only under their respective qualifying assumptions. RRSP after-tax value = future × (1 − entered withdrawal marginal rate). The current deduction-refund estimate = applicable contribution × entered current marginal rate. When “Reinvest deduction refund?” is No (the default), refunds are displayed separately and excluded from each account’s compared future value. When Yes, the model assumes the FHSA/RRSP deduction refund is received immediately and reinvested to grow at the same assumed annual rate, without additional tax drag; this is an illustrative assumption requiring sufficient available room and eligible tax treatment, not a prediction that refunds can actually be invested tax-free. TFSA contributions do not generate a deduction refund. RRSP Home Buyers’ Plan treatment is not included. The highest calculated figure is a model comparison, not an account recommendation.

Understand the calculation

Before relying on the scenario, read FHSA annual room, carryforward and the 15-year rule for its assumptions, worked examples and official-source references.

Your next money decision

Compare the scope of the two tax tools

This first-home model differs from the RRSP/TFSA equal-out-of-pocket comparison. Verify account room and eligibility before acting.

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Sources and further checking

Source scope checked October 7, 2026. External material supports principles and published rules, not the calculator implementation or your project quotes.