How room adds up
Your TFSA room starts in the year you turn 18, as long as you're a resident of Canada. Each January 1 adds that year's limit. Room you don't use rolls forward with no end date, and you don't need to have opened an account to build it.
Your room for a year is:
- that year's limit,
- plus any room you didn't use before,
- plus everything you withdrew last year.
Every yearly limit
2009 to 2012
Limit: $5,000 a year
2013 and 2014
Limit: $5,500 a year
2015
Limit: $10,000
2016 to 2018
Limit: $5,500 a year
2019 to 2022
Limit: $6,000 a year
2023
Limit: $6,500
2024 to 2026
Limit: $7,000 a year
Two examples
Someone who was 18 or older and living in Canada in 2009, and has never contributed, has $109,000 of room in 2026.
Someone who turned 18 in 2020 and has never contributed has $45,500: three years at $6,000, then $6,500, then three years at $7,000.
Withdrawals come back next year
Take $4,000 out in March 2026 and that $4,000 is added to your room on January 1, 2027, not before. Putting it back in 2026 uses 2026 room. If there isn't enough, it's an over-contribution, taxed at 1% a month.
Check your own number
The CRA shows your TFSA room in CRA My Account. It's not on your notice of assessment. Banks report TFSA activity to the CRA after the year ends, so this year's deposits and withdrawals may not show yet. Keep your own record until they do.
Where to find your TFSA, RRSP and FHSA room