How to open a First Home Savings Account in Canada
Eligible Canadian residents can open a First Home Savings Account through an approved bank, credit union, trust or insurance company to save for a first qualifying home. FHSA participation room starts only when you open your first account, with $8,000 of room in the first year and a $40,000 lifetime limit.
CA Canada
Housing & Property ~ 10 min read
19 FAQ
Updated 2026-08-25
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To open a First Home Savings Account in Canada, you must be a Canadian resident, meet the applicable minimum age requirement, be 71 or younger at the end of the year you open the account and qualify as a first-time home buyer under the FHSA opening rules. Open the account through an approved FHSA issuer and provide your Social Insurance Number, date of birth and any documents the issuer requests. Your participation room is $8,000 in the first year you open your first FHSA, unused room of up to $8,000 can generally carry forward, and the lifetime contribution and RRSP transfer limit is $40,000.
What you need
- You must be a resident of Canada when you open the FHSA.
- You must generally be at least 18 years old. In a province or territory where the legal age to enter into a contract is 19, you must be at least 19 to open the account.
- You must be 71 years old or younger on December 31 of the year you open the FHSA.
- You must meet the FHSA first-time home buyer conditions when the account is opened.
- You need a valid Social Insurance Number.
- You must provide your date of birth.
- You may need supporting documents requested by the issuer to certify that you are a qualifying individual.
- You must open the account through an FHSA issuer approved to offer the registered plan, such as a bank, credit union, Canadian trust company or qualifying insurance company.
Eligibility
You can open an FHSA only if you are a qualifying individual at the time the account is opened. You must be a resident of Canada, meet the applicable minimum age requirement and be 71 or younger at the end of that calendar year. You must also qualify as a first-time home buyer for FHSA opening purposes. This generally means that you did not live in a qualifying home that you owned or jointly owned as your principal place of residence during the current calendar year before opening the account or during the previous four calendar years. If you have a spouse or common-law partner, you also cannot have lived during that period in a qualifying home owned or jointly owned by that spouse or partner as your principal place of residence. If you do not have a spouse or common-law partner, only your own ownership history applies.
How to do it
- Check that you meet all FHSA eligibility conditions, including Canadian residency, age and the first-time home buyer test.
- Confirm that you have a valid Social Insurance Number and your date of birth available.
- Choose an FHSA issuer, such as an approved bank, credit union, trust company or insurance company. Compare investments, account fees and service options before opening the account.
- Contact the issuer or use its approved electronic, online, telephone or paper application process where offered.
- Provide your SIN, date of birth and any supporting documents the issuer requires to certify that you are a qualifying individual.
- Complete the issuer's FHSA holder application and certify that you meet the eligibility requirements.
- Once the account is opened, confirm your available participation room before making a contribution or RRSP transfer. Your first-year FHSA participation room is $8,000.
- Make contributions or eligible direct RRSP transfers without exceeding your participation room. Contributions may generally be deductible, while RRSP-to-FHSA transfers are not deductible.
- Keep your account-opening confirmation and contribution records.
- When filing your income tax and benefit return for the year you opened your first FHSA, complete Schedule 15 even if you made no contribution or RRSP transfer during that year.
Who can open a First Home Savings Account in Canada?
A First Home Savings Account, commonly called an FHSA, is a registered savings plan designed to help eligible first-time home buyers save for a qualifying home in Canada.
You must meet all FHSA eligibility conditions on the date you open the account. The rules cover your age, Canadian residency and whether you meet the first-time home buyer test.
What is the minimum age to open an FHSA?
You must generally be at least 18 years old to open an FHSA.
However, if you live in a province or territory where the legal age to enter into a contract is 19, you must wait until age 19 before opening the account.
You must also be 71 years old or younger on December 31 of the year in which you open the FHSA.
What does first-time home buyer mean for opening an FHSA?
For the purpose of opening an FHSA, you must not have lived in a qualifying home that you owned or jointly owned as your principal place of residence during the current calendar year before opening the account or during the previous four calendar years.
If you have a spouse or common-law partner, an additional test applies. You must not have lived during the same period in a qualifying home owned or jointly owned by your spouse or common-law partner as your principal place of residence.
If you do not have a spouse or common-law partner when you open the account, the spouse-related condition does not apply.
What counts as a qualifying home?
A qualifying home includes a housing unit located in Canada, including an existing home or one being constructed.
Government examples include single-family homes, semi-detached homes, townhouses, mobile homes, condominium units and apartments in duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes or apartment buildings.
A share in a co-operative housing corporation can qualify when it gives you ownership and an equity interest in a housing unit. A share that only gives you a tenancy right does not qualify.
Where can you open an FHSA?
You open an FHSA through an approved FHSA issuer rather than directly with the Canada Revenue Agency.
Issuers can include banks, credit unions, Canadian trust companies and insurance companies that are authorized to offer the plan.
CRA rules allow issuers to use paperless application processes, including online, electronic and telephone applications, where the issuer's approved application process meets the required conditions.
What information do you need to open an FHSA?
The CRA requires the issuer to collect information necessary to register the account. At minimum, you should be ready to provide your Social Insurance Number and date of birth.
The issuer may also request supporting documentation to confirm that you are a qualifying individual and may require identity verification under its normal account-opening procedures.
You must certify your eligibility when completing the holder application.
How much can you contribute to an FHSA?
Your FHSA participation room is $8,000 in the first year you open your first FHSA.
Participation room does not start accumulating before you actually open your first account. This differs from some other registered savings plans.
For later years, another $8,000 of participation room can generally become available, subject to your unused room, previous contributions, RRSP transfers, excess amounts and the $40,000 lifetime limit.
Can unused FHSA room carry forward?
Yes. Unused FHSA participation room can generally be carried forward, but the standard carry-forward amount is limited to $8,000.
This means that a person who opened an FHSA in an earlier year and did not use all available room may potentially have more than $8,000 available in a later year.
What is the lifetime FHSA limit?
The lifetime limit for contributions and transfers from RRSPs to FHSAs is generally $40,000.
Opening more than one FHSA does not create additional annual or lifetime participation room. The limits apply across all of your FHSAs combined.
Are FHSA contributions tax deductible?
Generally, eligible contributions you make to your FHSA can be deducted from your income for tax purposes.
You do not have to claim the deduction in the same year you contribute. Unused deductible FHSA contributions can generally be carried forward and claimed in a later tax year.
A direct transfer from your RRSP to your FHSA uses FHSA participation room but is not deductible as a new FHSA contribution.
What happens if you contribute too much?
If contributions and RRSP transfers exceed your available FHSA participation room, you can have an excess FHSA amount.
The CRA generally imposes a tax equal to 1% of the highest excess FHSA amount in each month for every month that the excess remains.
Excess amounts can also reduce future participation room and may require specific CRA forms and corrective withdrawals or transfers.
Do you have to contribute as soon as you open the account?
No. You can open an FHSA without making a contribution immediately.
Opening the account is still important because your FHSA participation room begins only when the first FHSA is opened.
You must report the opening of your first FHSA on Schedule 15 of your income tax and benefit return for that year even if you made no contribution and no RRSP transfer.
Can you have more than one FHSA?
Yes. You can have more than one FHSA through one or more issuers.
However, all accounts share the same participation room and lifetime limits. Having multiple accounts does not multiply the $8,000 annual room or $40,000 lifetime amount.
How long can an FHSA stay open?
Your maximum FHSA participation period begins when you open your first FHSA.
It ends on December 31 of the year in which the earliest of the following occurs: the 15th anniversary of opening your first FHSA, the year you turn 71, or the year following the year of your first qualifying withdrawal.
You should close all FHSAs before the end of that participation period to avoid unintended tax consequences.
How do you make a tax-free withdrawal to buy a home?
Opening an FHSA and making a qualifying home purchase withdrawal have different first-time home buyer tests.
For a qualifying withdrawal, you must meet the withdrawal-specific first-time home buyer condition, have a written agreement to buy or build a qualifying home and satisfy the other CRA requirements.
The acquisition or construction completion date in the agreement must be before October 1 of the year following the year of withdrawal.
You must not have acquired the qualifying home more than 30 days before making the withdrawal.
You must also be a Canadian resident from the time of your first qualifying withdrawal until the earlier of acquiring the home or your death, and you must occupy or intend to occupy the home as your principal place of residence within one year after buying or building it.
To request a qualifying withdrawal, complete Form RC725 and give it to your FHSA issuer.
Can you use an FHSA and the Home Buyers' Plan for the same home?
Yes. Current CRA rules allow you to make a qualifying FHSA withdrawal and also withdraw eligible amounts from an RRSP under the Home Buyers' Plan for the same qualifying home, provided you meet all applicable conditions for both programs.
The current Home Buyers' Plan withdrawal limit is $60,000.
What happens to the FHSA after buying your first home?
After your first qualifying withdrawal, your maximum FHSA participation period ends on December 31 of the following year.
You should close all of your FHSAs by that date.
Any remaining property can generally be directly transferred to your RRSP or RRIF on a tax-deferred basis if the applicable conditions are met. A regular taxable withdrawal is included in your income for the year it is received.
What if you never buy a home?
If you do not use the FHSA for a qualifying home purchase before the maximum participation period ends, you can generally transfer remaining property directly to an RRSP or RRIF without an immediate tax consequence, subject to the applicable rules.
You can also withdraw the money as a taxable withdrawal, in which case the amount must generally be reported as income.
What should you compare before choosing an FHSA provider?
FHSA issuers can offer different account structures and qualified investments. Before opening an account, compare administration fees, trading fees, investment management costs, available investments, transfer fees and withdrawal procedures.
The CRA does not set the commercial fees charged by individual FHSA providers.
Frequently asked questions
Who can open an FHSA in Canada?
You must be a Canadian resident, meet the applicable minimum age requirement, be 71 or younger at the end of the year you open the account and meet the FHSA first-time home buyer conditions.
What age do you have to be to open an FHSA?
You must generally be at least 18. If the legal age to enter into a contract in your province or territory is 19, you must be at least 19 to open the account.
Can I open an FHSA if my spouse owns a home?
It depends on whether you lived in a qualifying home owned or jointly owned by your spouse or common-law partner as your principal place of residence during the current calendar year or previous four calendar years. If you did, you generally do not meet the FHSA opening test.
How much FHSA room do I get when I first open the account?
Your participation room is $8,000 in the first year you open your first FHSA.
Does FHSA contribution room start before I open the account?
No. FHSA participation room starts only when you actually open your first FHSA.
What is the lifetime FHSA contribution limit?
The general lifetime limit for FHSA contributions and RRSP-to-FHSA transfers is $40,000.
Can unused FHSA room carry forward?
Yes. Unused participation room can generally carry forward, with the standard carry-forward amount limited to $8,000.
Can I open more than one FHSA?
Yes, but all of your FHSAs share the same annual participation room and $40,000 lifetime limit.
Do I need a Social Insurance Number to open an FHSA?
Yes. Your FHSA issuer requires your Social Insurance Number and date of birth to register the account.
Can an FHSA be opened online?
Yes, if your chosen issuer offers an approved online or electronic application process. CRA rules permit FHSA issuers to use paperless application methods.
Does it cost money to open an FHSA?
The CRA does not charge a government application fee, but financial institutions may charge account, administration, trading, investment or transfer fees.
Are FHSA contributions tax deductible?
Generally yes. Eligible contributions can be deducted from income, and an unused deduction can generally be carried forward to a later tax year.
Are RRSP transfers to an FHSA tax deductible?
No. A direct RRSP-to-FHSA transfer uses FHSA participation room but does not create an additional tax deduction.
What happens if I contribute too much to an FHSA?
An excess FHSA amount is generally subject to a 1% tax on the highest excess amount for each month the excess remains.
Do I have to report an FHSA if I did not contribute anything?
Yes. For the year you open your first FHSA, complete Schedule 15 with your income tax and benefit return even if you made no contribution or RRSP transfer.
How long can I keep an FHSA open?
The maximum participation period ends at the earliest of the 15th anniversary of opening your first FHSA, the year you turn 71, or the year following your first qualifying withdrawal.
Can I use both an FHSA and the Home Buyers' Plan for the same house?
Yes. Current CRA rules allow both for the same qualifying home if you independently meet all conditions for the FHSA withdrawal and the Home Buyers' Plan.
What form do I use to withdraw FHSA money tax-free for a first home?
Use Form RC725, Request to Make a Qualifying Withdrawal from your FHSA, and give it to your FHSA issuer.
What happens to my FHSA if I never buy a home?
Before the maximum participation period ends, remaining property can generally be transferred directly to an RRSP or RRIF on a tax-deferred basis. A regular withdrawal is generally taxable.
Official sources
Opening your FHSAsFirst Home Savings AccountParticipating in your FHSAsTax deductions for FHSA contributionsWhat happens if you contribute or transfer too much to your FHSAsWithdrawals and transfers out of your FHSAsClosing your FHSADefinitions for FHSAsFHSA application packageThe Home Buyers' PlanRelated procedures
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