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Self-Directed FHSA

Save for Your First Home
Tax-Free

Achieve your dream of home ownership by taking control of your investments in an RBC Direct Investing First Home Savings Account (FHSA). This new registered plan lets you contribute up to $8,000 per year to save towards a qualifyingDisclaimer 1 home, with built-in features to help you get there faster. The best part? Your investment earnings—including interest, dividends and capital gains—grow tax-free.

Benefits of an FHSA

Reduce your tax bill—contributions are tax-deductible

Buy and sell stocks, ETFs, bonds and more in your FHSADisclaimer 2

Contribute up to $40,000 over 15 years

Pay $0 in taxes on earnings and qualifying withdrawalsDisclaimer 1

Transfer unused funds, tax-free, to your RRSP

Participate in both the Home Buyer’s Plan (HBP) and FHSA

Why Choose a Self-Directed
FHSA at RBC Direct Investing?

Call the shots and invest toward your first home with
an RBC Direct Investing FHSA:

Enjoy total freedom to research and pick investments that match how much risk you’re willing to accept and when you want to buy a home. Choose from:

If an investment isn’t meeting your needs—or you spot another opportunity — you have complete control over your investment decisions.

To help you filter and choose the right investments, you’ll have access to:

  • Powerful screeners, market research and analysis, and more
  • Economic insights on current events that could impact your investments
  • In-depth guides in the Investing Academy

If you’re new to investing—or just new to DIY investing—use a risk-free Practice Account to get up to speed on our trading platform. It’s a great way to practice buying and selling different types of investments before investing your own money.

Discover More About the FHSA

FHSA: 9 Questions Answered About the New First Home Savings Account

As higher interest rates and a shrinking supply of homes on the market continue to hamper housing affordability, a new registered investment plan is on the way to help more Canadians enter the housing market.

Learn more

Start Saving for a
Home in an FHSA

Complete your application online in minutes—your FHSA can be open within 24 hours3.

FHSA FAQS

A First Home Savings Account (FHSA) is a new type of registered plan that is designed to help Canadians contribute up to $40,000 on a tax-free basis to use towards the purchase of their first home.

You can open a self-directed First Home Savings Account (FHSA) at RBC Direct Investing and make tax-deductible contributions of up to $8,000 annually, to a lifetime maximum of $40,000. If you don’t contribute the full $8,000 in a single year, the balance can be carried forward and added to next year’s contribution amount. You can use up to $8,000 of your contribution room from last year, in addition to the $8,000 annual contribution limit. That means you could contribute a maximum of $16,000 in a given year.

At RBC Direct Investing, you have the freedom to pick, buy and manage the investments you want to hold in your FHSA. Your funds and any investment earnings can stay in the FHSA and grow tax-free with every contribution you make until you’re ready to buy your first home. As long as you use the funds for your qualifying first home, you won’t have to pay any taxes on your FHSA withdrawal(s).

The funds in your FHSA have to be used by December 31 of the 15th year after opening the account, or by December 31 of the year you turn 71, whichever comes earlier. If you have not used the funds in your FHSA by that time, you can transfer the funds from your FHSA on a tax-free basis to your Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) without impacting your RRSP contribution room, or to your Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF). Otherwise, you can withdraw funds from your FHSA, but your withdrawal will be taxed.

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) to purchase a qualifying home. Keep in mind that with an HBP withdrawal, you’ll have to repay any funds you withdraw from your RRSP. There is no repayment requirement for withdrawals from an FHSA.

You can also transfer funds tax-free from your RRSP to your FHSA, up to your contribution limit. However, transfers from an RRSP to an FHSA will not be tax deductible and won’t reinstate your RRSP contribution room.

It depends on your savings goals. A Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) is the go-to choice for most Canadians saving for retirement, and you can save on a tax-deferred basis until retirement. A Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) can be used to save for any purpose—including retirement or short-term goals. A TFSA also lets you invest in qualified investments, tax-free, and you can contribute and withdraw funds at any time. A First Home Savings Account (FHSA) can help you save for your first home, tax-free. You’ll pay no taxes on contributions or withdrawals, as long as you the funds to buy a qualifying home.

Keep in mind, you don’t have to pick just one—you can save for each of your goals in different accounts. Best of all, at RBC Direct Investing, you have the freedom to research and pick the investments that you want to hold in each of these accounts!

Not at all. A First Home Savings Account (FHSA) can help you save for your first home, even if you plan to buy in the next few years. You can contribute up to $8,000 each year, tax-free, towards your down payment. When you open an FHSA at RBC Direct Investing, you have the freedom to buy investments that make the most sense for your timeline.

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

  • At least 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)

At RBC Direct Investing, you can hold the following investments in an FHSA:

  • Stocks, options and bonds
  • Exchange-traded funds (ETFs)
  • Mutual funds
  • Certain GICs

More products will become available over time.

You can complete your account application online in minutes and you’ll be able to start investing in your account within 24 hours.

Open your account now.

No, the First Home Savings Account (FHSA) is an individual account and cannot be held jointly. However, you and your spouse could each have an FHSA and can combine your savings to buy a qualifying home.

Plus, attribution rules will not apply to amounts that you receive from your spouse or common-law partner that you contribute to your FHSA—and vice versa. This means that any investment earnings in your FHSA will not be added to your or your spouse’s taxable income regardless of whether you or your spouse fund the contribution, as long as they are used to purchase a qualifying home.

You can hold multiple First Home Savings Accounts (FHSAs), but your total contribution room will remain the same as if you had only one FHSA. Plus, your maximum participation period of 15 years will be based on the date you open your first account.

The lifetime contribution limit for the First Home Savings Account (FHSA) is $40,000.

The annual contribution limit for the First Home Savings Account (FHSA) is $8,000. You may also be able to contribute up to $8,000 of unused contribution room from the previous year. That means you could contribute up to $16,000 in a given year, if you have contribution room left from the year prior.

Note: You do not start accumulating contribution room until you open an FHSA account.

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 in a given year, you can contribute the unused amount next 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).

You can only make contributions to your own First Home Savings Account (FHSA). Your spouse or partner can also have their own FHSA and make contributions to their account.

Attribution rules will not apply to amounts that you receive from your spouse or common-law partner that you contribute to your FHSA—and vice versa. This means that any investment earnings in your FHSA will not be added to your or your spouse’s taxable income regardless of whether you or your spouse fund the contribution, as long as they are used to purchase a qualifying home.

If you over contribute to your First Home Savings Account (FHSA), you’ll pay a 1% tax on the overcontributed amount each month until the excess amount is withdrawn, or until more contribution room becomes available.

For example, if you contribute $12,000 to your FHSA in December (and you had no unused FHSA contribution room carried forward), you’ll pay $40 (1% x $4,000 x 1 month). More contribution room would become available January 1, so at that time, the additional $4,000 would no longer be considered an overcontribution.

At this time, we do not offer RRSP-to-FHSA transfers. We’re working to make them available this summer. Thank you for your patience.

It depends. If you make a qualifying tax-free withdrawal, no taxes will be deducted from the amount, and you will not have to include the amount in your taxable income that year.

To make a qualifying withdrawal from your First Home Savings Account (FHSA) you must meet the following conditions:

  • Be 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)
  • Have a written agreement to buy or build a qualifying home in Canada by October 1 of the year after you make the withdrawal from your FHSA
  • Intend to live in the home within a year of buying or building it
  • Be a resident of Canada throughout the period from the withdrawal to the acquisition of the house

You can also transfer funds from your FHSA to another FHSA, Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP), or Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF) on a tax-free basis.

If you make a withdrawal from your FHSA for any other purpose, your withdrawal will be subject to withholding tax and the amount you withdraw will be added to your taxable income. Plus, your FHSA contribution room will not be re-instated.

Once you make a qualifying withdrawal, you will need to close your account and transfer or withdraw all funds left in your FHSA by December 31 of the following year. If you make a non-qualifying withdrawal, you will not have to close your account (unless you have had it for 15 years or are turning 71)—but your contribution room will not be reinstated.

You can make a withdrawal from your First Home Savings Account (FHSA) at any time.

Once you make a qualifying withdrawal, you can no longer make contributions. Plus, you will need to close your FHSA and transfer or withdraw all remaining funds in your FHSA by December 31 of the following year.

If you make a non-qualifying withdrawal, you will not be required to close your account, but your contribution room will not be reinstated.

The funds in your First Home Savings Account (FHSA) have to be used by December 31 of the 15th year after opening your first FHSA account or the year you turn 71, whichever comes first. If you have not used the funds in your FHSA by that time, they can be transferred tax-free to your Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) without impacting your RRSP contribution room, or to your Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF); otherwise, your withdrawal will be taxed.

If you withdraw only a portion of the funds from your First Home Savings Account (FHSA) to purchase your first home, you can transfer any remaining funds to your Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) or Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF) on a tax-free basis on or before December 31 of the year following the initial withdrawal. Otherwise, you can withdraw the remaining balance, but it will be taxed.

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