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First Home Savings Account (FHSA)

What is an FHSA?

Work towards your goal of buying your first home with a First Home Savings Account (FHSA). The FHSA is a new registered plan that can help you save for your first home tax-free. If you’re at least 18 (and no less than the age of majority in your province), have a Social Insurance Number (SIN) and have not owned a home where you lived this year or at any time in the preceding four calendar years, you may be eligible to open an FHSA.Legal Disclaimer 1

Reasons to Invest in an FHSA:

  • Use it to save up to $40,000 for your first home
  • Contribute tax-free for up to 15 years
  • Unused contribution room can be carried over to the next year, up to a maximum of $8,000
  • Potentially reduce your tax bill and carry forward undeducted contributions indefinitely
  • Pay no taxes on any investment earnings
  • Complements the Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP)

How an FHSA Works

Here’s how an FHSA can help you save for your first home:

An FHSA is a type of registered plan, which means you can hold investments in it to help you reach your goal of owning a home faster.

At RBC, there’s no minimum balance required to open an account and you’ll be able to hold a full range of investment products.

Tip: Whether you want to make your own investment decisions or have professionals manage your investments for you, it’s easy to invest in an RBC FHSA.

Since your investment earnings aren’t taxed, your money will have the opportunity to grow faster in an FHSA than it would in a traditional savings account.

You can make tax-deductible contributions of up to $8,000 a year in an FHSA, up to a lifetime maximum of $40,000. Unused room can be carried over to the next year, up to a maximum of $8,000.

Tip: Setting up regular (weekly, monthly, etc.) automatic contributions into your FHSA is an easy way to help you stay on track towards your savings goals.

Make a tax-free withdrawal at any time to purchase a qualifying home.

Tip: You’ll be able to use both an FHSA and the Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP) to purchase a qualifying home. Keep in mind that you’ll have to repay any funds through the HBP, but not with an FHSA.

Check out Save to Buy a Home for more tips on saving.

Numbers to Know

$8,000

Annual tax-deductible FHSA
contribution limit

$40,000

Lifetime FHSA
contribution limit

$0

How much you’ll pay in taxes
on FHSA earnings
(if you make a qualifying withdrawal to use for your first home)

Benefits When You Invest With RBC

Free digital tools to help you plan and save

See a clear view of your money, get tips and save automatically with smart tools such as MyAdvisor and NOMI Find & Save.

Advice when you need it

Speak with an advisor in-person, by phone or over video—whether you're investing $50 or $5,000.

Freedom to invest how you want

Work with an advisor, do it yourself, let advisors invest for you or try all three.

Compare the FHSA to Other Registered Plans

See how an FHSA compares to a TFSA or RRSP.

Compare Plans TFSA vs RRSP vs FHSA

FHSA FAQs

To open a First Home Savings Account (FHSA), you must be:

  • At least 18 years of age and no less than the age of majority in the province where you live
  • A Canadian resident
  • A first-time homebuyer (meaning, you and/or your spouse or common-law partner have not owned a home where you lived in the calendar year in which you open the account or at any time in the preceding four calendar years)

You can hold the following product offerings in a First Home Savings Account (FHSA):

  • Savings deposits
  • Stocks, options and bonds
  • Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs)
  • Cash
  • GICs4

More products will become available over time.

No, you can use both your First Home Savings Account (FHSA) as well as make a withdrawal from your Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) under the Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP) (opens in a new window) to purchase a qualifying home. Keep in mind that with a HBP withdrawal, you’ll have to repay any funds you withdraw from your RRSP. There is no repayment requirement for withdrawals from an FHSA.

Yes, you can carry forward any unused FHSA contribution room from the prior year up to a maximum of $8,000 (subject to your lifetime contribution limit of $40,000). This means that if you contribute less than $8,000 within the year, you can contribute the unused amount in the subsequent year in addition to the $8,000 annual contribution limit.

For example, if you contribute $5,000 to your FHSA in 2023, you would be allowed to contribute $11,000 in 2024 (i.e., $8,000 plus the remaining $3,000 from 2023).

See All FAQs

Invest in an FHSA today

Choose from the following options to open an account:

Have Questions ?

Call 1-800-769-2563 (1-800-ROYAL-63) or book an appointment with an RBC Advisor.

Royal Bank of Canada and RMFI shall not be liable for any losses or damages arising from any errors or omissions in information contained in this calculator.

Financial planning and investment advice are provided by RMFI. Mutual Funds are sold by RMFI. RMFI, RBC Global Asset Management Inc., Royal Bank of Canada, Royal Trust Corporation of Canada and The Royal Trust Company are separate corporate entities which are affiliated. RMFI is licensed as a financial services firm in the province of Quebec.

Information about the First Home Savings Account is based on what is currently available from the Canadian government and can be subject to change.

You may be eligible to open an FHSA if you or your spouse have never owned a home in which you lived at any time during the part of the calendar year before the account is opened or at any time in the preceding four calendar years.
Assets in an FHSA must be Qualified Investments under the Income Tax Act. If the FHSA holds non-Qualified Investments, it could be subject to tax.
Real-time streaming quotes are available automatically to all clients for exchange listed equities, ETFs and most over-the-counter (OTC) securities. Real-time streaming quotes for options and grey market OTC securities are available to Active Traders and Royal Circle clients upon accepting the terms and conditions of all exchange agreements on the RBC Direct Investing online investing site
Mutual funds, high interest savings account products and certain GICs cannot currently be purchased, sold or transferred into your FHSA.