TFSA contribution limit 2026 and room calculator

How this calculator works

It runs the CRA's own arithmetic: this year's dollar limit, plus unused room from earlier years, plus withdrawals made last year, minus contributions already made this year. To do that from five questions it assumes:

• Your room starts in the later of 2009, the calendar year you turned 18, and the first year you were a resident of Canada. None of those years is prorated; turning 18 in December still earns the full year.
• A calendar year you spent entirely outside Canada adds no room. A year you were here for any part of it counts in full.
• Withdrawals made before this year are already back in your room. Withdrawals made this year return on January 1, together with next year's limit once the CRA has published it.
• Growth, losses and transfers between your own TFSAs change nothing. Only deposits use room.
• If the answer is negative, you have over-contributed: the card shows the excess and what it costs each month it stays in.

What it cannot know is what you actually deposited and withdrew, which is why it asks. The CRA's My Account figure is calculated as of January 1 and now refreshes in April, after institutions finish reporting, so early in the year it can be months behind your own records.

Using your room in a savings plan

Room is only worth something when it is earning. A GIC inside a TFSA pays the same rate as the same GIC outside it, with nothing skimmed off each year; our TFSA board ranks every TFSA GIC and savings rate we track, and registered GICs explains how buying one works.

Keep your own tally. A note on your phone with every deposit and withdrawal beats the CRA screen in February, and it is the only way to catch the same-year re-deposit mistake: withdraw in June, put it back in November without spare room, and the November deposit is an over-contribution until January.

If you will need the money early next year, withdraw in December rather than January. A December withdrawal comes back as room on January 1; a January one waits a full year. The withdrawal rules guide covers the timing and the product lock-ins that matter more than the TFSA rules do.

Room you cannot fill this year is not lost. It carries forward indefinitely, so a GIC ladder inside the TFSA (one maturity a year) can grow into the room as it accrues. GIC laddering walks through the mechanics, and TFSA vs RRSP vs FHSA is the place to decide which account gets the next dollar.

The rules behind the numbers

1. Who gets room. Residents of Canada for tax purposes, 18 or older, with a valid SIN. Room accrues from the calendar year you turn 18 and is never prorated.
2. Where the age of majority is 19 (British Columbia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Yukon), room still accrues at 18; you open the account at 19 and the earlier year's room carries over. The calculator never asks for a province for this reason.
3. Newcomers get no room for years before residency, and the full limit for the year they arrive.
4. A full year away adds no room. Contributions made while non-resident are taxed at 1% a month for as long as they stay in.
5. Withdrawals return as room on January 1 of the following year, except withdrawals made while non-resident, which return when residency resumes.
6. Growth doesn't use room, and losses don't restore it. Transfers between your own TFSAs are neither contributions nor withdrawals.
7. Over-contributions are taxed at 1% a month on the highest excess in the month, with no grace amount. Withdraw the excess as soon as you notice it.
8. The limit is indexed to inflation and rounded to the nearest $500, which is why it moves in $500 steps and some years it doesn't move at all.

Frequently asked questions

How much TFSA room do I have if I have never contributed?

If you were 18 or older and a resident in 2009, $109,000 through 2026. If your first eligible year was later, read the right-hand column of the table above for that year.

Can I max out my TFSA all at once?

Yes. Room is a running total, not an annual allowance, so a single deposit up to your available room is fine. The limit on deposits is your room, not the year's dollar limit.

Does the TFSA limit reset every year?

It tops up rather than resets. On January 1 the new year's limit is added and last year's withdrawals are restored. Unused room carries forward indefinitely.

Can I withdraw from my TFSA at any time?

The account itself puts no limit on withdrawals, and they are tax-free. What can lock money up is the product inside the account, such as a non-redeemable GIC before maturity. The withdrawn amount returns as room the following January 1.

What happens if I contribute too much?

The excess is taxed at 1% a month for each month it stays in the account. Withdraw it as soon as you notice, and if it was an honest mistake you can ask the CRA in writing to waive the tax.

I turned 18 in a province where the age of majority is 19. Do I have room?

Yes. Room accrues from the year you turn 18. You can open the account once you turn 19, and the room from the earlier year is still there.

I moved to Canada recently. When did my room start?

In the year you became a resident, if you were already 18. That year counts in full, however late in the year you arrived. Years before it add nothing, even if you were over 18.

Sources

All CRA pages, checked 2026-10-18. The limit for each year in the table above is recorded with its source page and the date it was verified.

• CRA: Calculate your TFSA contribution room: the formula, the 2026 limit, worked examples.
• CRA: Opening a TFSA: who can open one, the age-of-majority rule.
• CRA: If you become a non-resident: room while away, the 1% monthly tax, withdrawals made abroad.
• CRA: If you over-contribute to a TFSA.
• CRA: Withdrawing from a TFSA: when withdrawals come back.
• CRA: Indexation adjustment for personal income tax and benefit amounts: the yearly factor and the dollar limit.