TFSA contribution room in 2026: limits, withdrawals and examples
By GrowThenDraw Editorial Team · Updated July 26, 2026 · 10 min read · Editorial policy
A TFSA has two numbers that are easy to confuse: the market value of the investments and the amount you are still allowed to contribute. They are not the same calculation. Market gains and losses change the first; eligibility, deposits and withdrawals change the second.
The safest workflow is to reconcile your own transaction records with CRA My Account before depositing. This guide shows the arithmetic behind that reconciliation and links every current rule to the Canada Revenue Agency.
What a TFSA is — and what it is not
A tax-free savings account is a registered account that can hold cash savings or qualified investments. Contributions are made with after-tax money and are not deductible. Interest, dividends and capital gains earned inside the account, and ordinary withdrawals, are generally tax-free in Canada.
The name can be misleading: a TFSA is the tax wrapper, not one particular savings product. Depending on the issuer, it can hold a savings account, GICs, mutual funds, ETFs, listed securities, bonds and other qualified investments. Investment risk and fees depend on what is held inside it.
Official TFSA dollar limits from 2009 through 2026
Adding every limit produces $109,000 of cumulative room in 2026 for someone who was a Canadian resident and at least 18 in every calendar year from 2009 onward and has never contributed. It is a maximum eligibility example, not a universal limit.
Someone who turned 18 in 2024 can have at most $21,000 from the 2024, 2025 and 2026 dollar limits before accounting for contributions and withdrawals. Someone who became a resident in 2024 at age 40 starts with the 2024 limit, not room dating back to 2009.
- 2009–2012: $5,000 per year
- 2013–2014: $5,500 per year
- 2015: $10,000
- 2016–2018: $5,500 per year
- 2019–2022: $6,000 per year
- 2023: $6,500
- 2024–2026: $7,000 per year
The 2026 contribution-room formula
Start with all annual dollar limits for the calendar years in which you were both at least 18 and resident in Canada. Add ordinary TFSA withdrawals made through 31 December 2025. Subtract every contribution made through that date across all of your TFSAs, then subtract contributions already made in 2026.
Written compactly: available 2026 room = eligible annual limits + withdrawals through 2025 − contributions through 2025 − 2026 contributions so far. The calculator uses exactly this identity.
Qualifying transfers between TFSAs normally do not use room when the issuers complete them directly. A withdrawal followed by a personal re-deposit is different: the re-deposit is a contribution and needs room at that time.
Worked example: a 2020 start with a prior withdrawal
Suppose 2020 was your first eligible year. The 2020–2026 dollar limits total $45,500. You contributed $30,000 through the end of 2025 and withdrew $2,000 before the end of 2025. You have also contributed $3,000 in 2026.
The reconstructed room before another deposit is $45,500 + $2,000 − $30,000 − $3,000 = $14,500. A planned $10,000 contribution fits and leaves $4,500. A $16,000 contribution would instead create a $1,500 excess.
The current market value never enters this arithmetic. If the investments grew to $60,000 or fell to $25,000, the room result would still be $14,500.
Why a withdrawal cannot usually be re-contributed immediately
An ordinary TFSA withdrawal is added back as contribution room on 1 January of the following calendar year. A $12,000 withdrawal in July 2026 therefore creates $12,000 of new room on 1 January 2027, not in July.
You can deposit during the same year only to the extent you already have unused room from other sources. This is why the calculator reports current-year withdrawals in a separate 2027-restoration line rather than inflating the room available today.
Investment growth and losses do not change room
If a $7,000 contribution grows to $10,000, the $3,000 gain does not consume another $3,000 of room. If it falls to $4,000, the $3,000 loss does not create replacement room.
A later withdrawal is different. If the $10,000 account is withdrawn in 2026, an ordinary $10,000 withdrawal is generally added to room for 2027. If a fallen account is closed and $4,000 is withdrawn, only that $4,000 returns as room. The lost market value is not restored.
The 1% monthly excess tax
An excess TFSA amount is generally taxed at 1% per month, calculated using the highest excess that existed during each month. Removing an excess later in the same month can still leave tax for that month.
A calculator that only knows an annual total cannot reproduce the final RC243 tax. GrowThenDraw therefore shows a one-month illustration and tells you the excess amount; it does not multiply that figure by an invented number of months. If an excess already exists, CRA says to remove it as soon as possible and follow the reporting instructions.
New residents, departures and record timing
A new resident who is already 18 starts accumulating TFSA room in the calendar year residency begins. A non-resident does not receive the annual dollar limit for a full year of non-residency and can face a separate 1% monthly tax on non-resident contributions.
CRA says financial-institution records for 2025 are processed in My Account by April 2026. Contributions and withdrawals made during 2026 still need to be tracked from your own statements. Treat the displayed CRA amount as one record to reconcile, not a live bank balance.
Use the growth projection without treating it as a promise
Once room is reconciled, the second half of the calculator projects the current balance plus monthly deposits. It models a smooth return, recurring percentage fees and start-of-month contributions. The no-fee comparison keeps every other input equal.
Future TFSA dollar limits after 2026 are not yet known. A long projection does not certify that every future deposit will fit. It also does not decide whether cash, a GIC, an ETF or another qualified investment matches your horizon and risk tolerance.