Contribution Room Calculator

Why this one

Each of the three accounts has one rule that catches people out, and most calculators miss all three. A TFSA withdrawal does not free up room until 1 January of the following year, so putting it back in the same year is an over contribution charged at one per cent a month on the highest excess during the month. An RRSP limit is not 18 per cent of income: the pension adjustment from a workplace pension comes off it, which a bare percentage ignores entirely. And FHSA room does not accrue before you open the account, so waiting three years banks nothing, while the carry forward is capped at one year, making 16,000 the most that can ever go in during a single year.

The formula

TFSA room  =  every limit since you turned 18 and were resident
              -  everything you have put in
              +  withdrawals from EARLIER years

RRSP limit  =  carry forward from your notice of assessment
               +  min(18% of last year's earned income, this year's limit)
               -  pension adjustment  +  pension adjustment reversal

FHSA room  =  the smaller of these two:
              8,000  +  carry forward, capped at 8,000
              40,000  -  everything put in so far

Published so you can check it. A calculator about money that will not show its working is asking to be trusted on the one thing you cannot verify.

Questions

I took money out of my TFSA this year. Can I put it back?

Not until 1 January of next year, unless you have other room. A withdrawal is added back to your room at the start of the following calendar year, not straight away. Re-contributing in the same year is an over contribution, and the tax is one per cent a month on the highest excess in the account during that month, not the balance at month end, so taking it out again partway through the month does not undo that month's charge.

Why is my RRSP limit lower than 18 per cent of my income?

Two reasons. There is an annual dollar ceiling, so above roughly 188,000 of earned income the percentage stops buying more room. And if you are in a workplace pension or a deferred profit sharing plan, the pension adjustment in box 52 of your T4 comes off your limit, because the pension has already given you the tax deferral.

Does FHSA room build up before I open the account?

No, and this is the difference that costs people the most. A TFSA earns room from the year you turn 18 whether or not you ever opened one. An FHSA earns nothing until you open your first one. Somebody who waited three years did not bank 24,000 of room by waiting.

What is the most I can put in an FHSA in one year?

16,000. You get 8,000 of participation room a year, and unused room carries forward, but the carry forward is capped at 8,000, so a single year can never allow more than this year's 8,000 plus one year of carry forward. The lifetime limit is 40,000, including anything transferred in from an RRSP.

Why does the CRA's figure disagree with mine?

The CRA calculates your room as at 1 January, and transactions during the current year only appear the following year. Issuer reporting is processed through roughly April as well. Your own records are more current than My Account for this year, which is why this asks for them.

Is this advice?

No. It is arithmetic, with the canada.ca page behind each rule named on the page. Check your own figures in CRA My Account before you contribute, and speak to an accountant about anything unusual.