TFSA Overview

You are on: Contributions

The annual contribution limit is $5,000. This annual limit will rise along with inflation in future years, in $500 increments.

In addition, you can carry forward unused contribution room indefinitely. The federal government will report your TFSA contribution room to you annually.

You are on: Eligibility

Any Canadian resident age 18 or older with a Social Insurance Number can open a Tax-Free Savings Account.

Note: The age of majority is 19 for residents of Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, British Columbia, Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut, which may delay the opening of a TFSA. However, the accumulation of contribution room will start at age 18.

You are on: Income Requirements

You are not required to have earned income to contribute to a Tax-Free Savings Account.

You are on: Tax Benefits

There is no tax deduction for contributing to a TFSA. However, the returns your investments generate (interest, dividends or capital gains) are not taxable (except for any foreign tax on foreign investments).

In addition, your withdrawals are tax-free.

You are on: Withdrawals

You can withdraw money from your account at any time, (depending on what you invested in). At RBC^®, we will not charge you a TFSA withdrawal fee.

In addition, you can re-contribute the amounts you withdrew anytime after the year of withdrawal.

For example:
Jan 2009: You contribute $5,000
July 2009: You withdraw $2,000

2010 TFSA allowable contribution = $7,000
( $5,000 annual allowable + $2,000 re-contribution)

You are on: Investment Options

You can invest in RBC Savings Deposits, RBC GICs and RBC Funds through RBC Royal Bank. You can always make regular automatic contributions with an RBC TFSA-Matic^®.

You can also invest in stocks and bonds through RBC Direct Investing™ and RBC Dominion Securities.