Side by side
Who can open one
FHSA: First-time home buyers, 18 to 71
RRSP: Anyone with RRSP room from earned income, until the year they turn 71
TFSA: Anyone 18 or older
New room in 2026
FHSA: $8,000, up to $40,000 in a lifetime
RRSP: 18% of last year's earned income, up to $33,810
TFSA: $7,000
Deduction for what you put in
FHSA: Yes
RRSP: Yes
TFSA: No
Tax when you take money out
FHSA: None, for a qualifying first home
RRSP: Taxed as income
TFSA: None
Room back after a withdrawal
FHSA: No
RRSP: No
TFSA: Yes, on January 1 of the next year
Unused room
FHSA: Carries forward, up to $8,000
RRSP: Carries forward
TFSA: Carries forward
The FHSA
The FHSA is the only account that is tax-free at both ends: a deduction going in, and no tax coming out when you buy a qualifying first home. The catch is that it's only for first-time buyers, and room starts only once you open the account.
If you don't buy, you can move the money to an RRSP without using RRSP room, or take it out as taxable income. The account has to close by the end of the year of the 15th anniversary of your first FHSA, or the year you turn 71, if that comes first.
The RRSP
The RRSP gives you the deduction now and taxes the money when it comes out. It tends to work best when your tax rate today is higher than it will be later.
How the RRSP refund is worked out
The TFSA
The TFSA gives no deduction, but nothing inside it or coming out of it is taxed, and you can take money out at any time. Withdrawals come back as room the next year, which makes it the most flexible of the three.
Which comes first
It depends on whether you're buying a first home, your tax rate now compared with later, and when you'll need the money. Kova works through the same questions in a fixed order using your own numbers.
How Kova orders the FHSA, RRSP and TFSA