Free tool · Canada
TFSA Contribution Room Calculator
Across every TFSA you hold, since you opened your first.
Not money taken out during 2026. That comes back on January 1.
Accruing since 2009, the year TFSAs launched.
- Lifetime limit
- $109,000
- Contributed
- −$40,000
- Withdrawals back
- +$0
Figures from the CRA, checked . They change every January. Your actual payment also depends on the years you were a non-resident, and any transfers between your own accounts, which this page does not ask about.
The rule that catches people
Money you take out does not become room again until January 1 of the next year. Withdraw $10,000 in March, put it back in June, and the CRA counts the second one as a brand new contribution. Anyone already near their limit is then over it, paying 1% a month on the excess, without ever seeing a balance go up.
That is why the field above asks for withdrawals in earlier years only. Money you took out this year is not room you have yet.
Annual limits since 2009
The limit is indexed to inflation and rounded to the nearest $500. Someone eligible for all of it has $109,000 of lifetime room in 2026.
| Year | Limit | Cumulative since 2009 |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | $5,000 | $5,000 |
| 2010 | $5,000 | $10,000 |
| 2011 | $5,000 | $15,000 |
| 2012 | $5,000 | $20,000 |
| 2013 | $5,500 | $25,500 |
| 2014 | $5,500 | $31,000 |
| 2015 | $10,000 | $41,000 |
| 2016 | $5,500 | $46,500 |
| 2017 | $5,500 | $52,000 |
| 2018 | $5,500 | $57,500 |
| 2019 | $6,000 | $63,500 |
| 2020 | $6,000 | $69,500 |
| 2021 | $6,000 | $75,500 |
| 2022 | $6,000 | $81,500 |
| 2023 | $6,500 | $88,000 |
| 2024 | $7,000 | $95,000 |
| 2025 | $7,000 | $102,000 |
| 2026 | $7,000 | $109,000 |
Questions
- What is my TFSA limit if I have never contributed?
- If you were 18 or older in 2009 and have been a Canadian resident since, your lifetime room in 2026 is $109,000. If you turned 18 later, you accrue from that year instead, and nothing before it counts.
- When does money I withdraw come back as room?
- On January 1 of the following year, not immediately. This is the rule that costs people money: withdrawing in March and putting it back in June counts as a fresh contribution, so anyone already near their limit goes over without ever seeing a balance rise.
- What happens if I over-contribute?
- The CRA charges 1% a month on the highest excess amount in each month it stays over, until it is withdrawn. It is a penalty on the excess rather than on the account, and it keeps running for as long as the extra money sits there.
- Does unused room expire?
- No. Room carries forward indefinitely, which is why someone who has never contributed still has every year's limit waiting. It is also why the number surprises people the first time they work it out.
- Why was 2015 ten thousand dollars?
- It was a one-off increase that was reversed the next year, so the limit went back to $5,500 in 2016. Every other year moves with inflation; that one did not.
Room is not the same as a plan
Knowing you have room does not put anything in it. What fills a TFSA is a monthly amount decided before the month starts, which is what a sinking fund is. Zero Budget gives every dollar a job, including the ones headed for savings.
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