RRSP, TFSA and FHSA — the 2026 rules

That single comparison decides most of it. An RRSP deduction at a 43% marginal rate that comes out later at 25% is a 18-point gain on top of tax-deferred growth. The same deduction claimed at 20% and withdrawn at 30% is a loss. If you genuinely can't tell, the TFSA is the safer default because it never turns into a liability.

RRSP contributions reduce net income, which can increase the Canada Child Benefit, the GST/HST credit and the Ontario Trillium Benefit — sometimes worth more than the tax deduction itself. RRSP and RRIF withdrawals do the reverse and can trigger the OAS clawback. TFSA withdrawals are invisible to every income test.

You don't have to claim an RRSP deduction in the year you make the contribution. Money can go in this year and the deduction can wait for a year with a bonus, a promotion, or a large capital gain. Students and people between jobs should almost always park the deduction rather than waste it at 14%.

FHSA room only starts accumulating once the account exists, and it can be carried forward. If a first home is anywhere in your plans, opening one costs nothing and starts the clock. It can be combined with the RRSP Home Buyers' Plan for the same purchase.

Room from a withdrawal comes back on January 1 of the next year — not immediately. Taking $10,000 out in June and putting it back in August is an over-contribution, penalised at 1% a month.

Institutions only see their own accounts, and the CRA's own figure lags — it may not include contributions made this year. Add up what you've deposited yourself before topping up.

If you're in a workplace pension, your PA reduces RRSP room substantially — sometimes to almost nothing. The 18% rule on its own will overstate what you can contribute.

Frequent, business-like trading in a TFSA has been assessed as business income — fully taxable, in an account you assumed was sheltered. It's a real audit target, not a theoretical one.

Tax is withheld at source, then the full amount is added to your income and taxed at your marginal rate — so you often owe more at filing than was withheld. Worse, the contribution room is gone permanently.

Lets a first-time buyer withdraw from an RRSP tax-free, to be repaid in annual instalments over 15 years. Miss a repayment and that year's share becomes taxable income. Can be stacked with an FHSA.

A tax-free RRSP withdrawal for full-time training or education, repayable over 10 years. Far cheaper than a straight withdrawal if you're going back to school.

You can transfer the balance to an RRSP or RRIF tax-free without using RRSP room, which is the usual move. Withdrawing it as cash instead makes the whole amount taxable.

The RRSP calculator estimates your 2026 room and the tax a contribution gives back at your own marginal rate.

With a pension, a spouse, benefits and a mortgage in the mix, the ranking changes. It's a 20-minute conversation.