FHSA vs RRSP Home Buyers’ Plan: Stacking $40,000 + $60,000 for One Down Payment

Canada gives first-time buyers two separate tax-advantaged stacks for the same house, and the CRA lets you use both on the same purchase: the First Home Savings Account (FHSA), worth up to $40,000 of contributions plus tax-free growth, and the RRSP Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP), worth up to $60,000 per buyer. Stacked, that is $100,000 per buyer — $200,000 for a couple — assembled with tax relief at both ends. Here is how each program works, where they differ, and the order to use them in.

The stack at a glance

	FHSA	RRSP Home Buyers’ Plan
Maximum	$40,000 of contributions over your lifetime ($8,000/year of new room), plus growth	$60,000 withdrawn from your RRSP
Tax going in	Contributions are tax-deductible	RRSP contributions were deducted when made
Tax coming out for a qualifying home	Tax-free	Tax-free
Repayment	None — ever	Yes — over 15 years, 1/15 per year
Key timing rule	Room starts only in the year you open the account	Money must sit in the RRSP at least 90 days before withdrawal
If you never buy	Balance can transfer to your RRSP without using RRSP room	Money simply stays in your RRSP
Combined maximum	$100,000 per buyer; $200,000 for a couple who each qualify

That $100,000 stack is not a marketing number — it is exactly what the queue of programs adds up to: $40,000 of FHSA contribution room (which itself takes at least five years to build at $8,000 a year) plus the $60,000 HBP withdrawal limit that has applied since April 16, 2024. Check the stack against real house prices with the 32% and 39% framework in our guide to how much house you can afford in Canada before you fall in love with a listing.

The FHSA side: $40,000 you never pay back

The FHSA is the only registered account in Canada that is deductible going in and tax-free coming out. The mechanics that matter:

• $8,000 a year, $40,000 lifetime. New participation room is $8,000 for each year — but only from the year you open your first FHSA. Opening in 2026 with $0 still starts the clock; waiting until 2027 throws away a year of room you can never recover. That is the entire logic of our guide to opening an FHSA before December 31, 2026.
• Carry-forward is capped in a useful way. Unused room carries forward, but you can hold at most $8,000 of carried room at once — so a buyer who opened in 2025 and contributed nothing can contribute up to $16,000 in 2026, not more.
• No repayment, ever. A qualifying withdrawal for a first home is simply yours. Compare that with the HBP below before deciding which dollars to spend first.
• A soft landing if plans change. If you never buy a qualifying home, the FHSA balance can be transferred to your RRSP without using any RRSP contribution room — the savings are repurposed for retirement, not lost or taxed on the way.

Worked example: a buyer opens an FHSA in 2026 and contributes $8,000 a year for five years: $40,000 of contributions. At a hypothetical 8% illustration rate that stream grows to roughly $50,600 by the end of year five (illustration only, not a promise of returns) — and on a qualifying purchase, the full amount, growth included, comes out tax-free with nothing to repay.

The HBP side: a $60,000 tax-free loan from yourself

The Home Buyers’ Plan is not new money — it is permission to withdraw up to $60,000 from your existing RRSP, tax-free, on one strict condition: you pay yourself back.

• The 90-day rule. RRSP contributions must stay in the plan at least 90 days before an HBP withdrawal, or the deduction for those contributions can be denied. Last-minute RRSP top-ups in the month before closing are the classic trap.
• Repayment: 1/15 per year over 15 years. On a full $60,000 withdrawal that is $4,000 a year. Repayments generally begin the second year after the year you withdraw (with a temporary later start for first withdrawals made in 2022–2025). Designate repayments on your tax return each year.
• Missed repayments become income. Any part of a year’s required 1/15 that you do not repay is added to your taxable income for that year, and that RRSP room is permanently lost.
• It only works on money already in an RRSP. Unlike the FHSA, the HBP creates no new room — it is a withdrawal window on savings you have already built, which is why savers with a young RRSP get more from the FHSA side of the stack.

How to stack them: the order that works

1. Open the FHSA now, even with $0. Room starts in the opening year only. Every buyer in the household should open their own — the stack is per person.
2. Fill the FHSA first each year. Its dollars are deductible, tax-free out, and never repaid. Prioritise the $8,000 of annual FHSA room before general RRSP contributions meant for the home.
3. Build the RRSP layer next — remembering the 90-day rule, so the money is seasoned well before you need it. Track total registered room carefully; the TFSA room guide shows the ledger habit that keeps all three accounts straight.
4. At purchase, withdraw the FHSA first, then top up with the HBP. Spend the money you keep before the money you must repay. On closing day the sources blend into one down payment; afterwards only the HBP creates a repayment schedule.
5. Budget the repayment from day one. $4,000 a year on a maximum withdrawal is $333 a month of forced RRSP saving. Treat it like a bill in the new household budget — the same discipline our 2026 mortgage renewal guide applies when that first term comes due.

Worked example — a couple buying together: each partner maxes an FHSA ($40,000 each = $80,000) and each withdraws $60,000 under the HBP ($120,000). Total down-payment stack: $200,000, before any TFSA or regular savings. Against a $750,000 home that is a 26.7% down payment — over the 20% line that avoids default insurance — assembled entirely inside registered accounts. Run your own price point through the free calculators at MyFinancesGuru Tools to see where your stack lands.

What counts as a qualifying first home?

Both programs use a similar first-time test: generally, you must not have owned a home you lived in as your principal residence during the current year or the previous four calendar years, and the home itself must be in Canada, be bought or built before the program deadline that follows your withdrawal, and become your principal residence within a year of buying or building it. The details differ slightly between the FHSA and the HBP — including how a partner’s ownership history can affect your eligibility — so confirm your exact situation against the conditions at withdrawal time, not at contribution time. Eligibility is judged when the money comes out, which is why a buyer whose circumstances change mid-plan should re-check both programs before closing rather than assuming the stack they built still qualifies in full.

Common mistakes when stacking

• Waiting to open the FHSA until you are “ready to save.” Readiness is irrelevant — the $8,000-a-year clock only runs in years the account exists.
• Topping up the RRSP inside the 90-day window and losing the deduction on the HBP withdrawal.
• Counting one stack for a couple. FHSA room and the HBP limit are both per person. Two qualifying buyers means two of everything.
• Forgetting the HBP is a debt to your future self. Fifteen years of $4,000 repayments compete with every other goal; missing a year converts the shortfall into taxable income and destroys that RRSP room for good.
• Assuming the programs cannot combine. They can — the CRA expressly allows a qualifying FHSA withdrawal and an HBP withdrawal for the same qualifying home, provided you meet each program’s conditions at the time you withdraw.

Frequently asked questions

Can I really use the FHSA and the Home Buyers’ Plan on the same house?

Yes. The CRA allows both for the same qualifying home if you meet each program’s conditions. That is $40,000 of FHSA contributions (plus tax-free growth) plus up to $60,000 from your RRSP — $100,000 per buyer.

Which should I fund first, the FHSA or my RRSP?

For a first home, the FHSA first in most cases: contributions are deductible, the qualifying withdrawal is tax-free, and there is no repayment. The RRSP/HBP layer comes second — especially if the money will not be seasoned for the 90-day rule or if a 15-year repayment schedule would strain your budget.

How long does it take to max out the FHSA?

At least five years: $8,000 of new room a year against a $40,000 lifetime limit. Opening the account starts the clock, so a buyer who opens in 2026 and contributes the maximum every year reaches $40,000 of contributions in 2030.

How much do I have to repay under the Home Buyers’ Plan?

One-fifteenth of the withdrawal per year over 15 years — $4,000 a year on a full $60,000 withdrawal. Amounts not repaid in a year are added to your taxable income, and that RRSP room is lost permanently.

What happens to my FHSA if I never buy a home?

The balance can be transferred to your RRSP on a tax-free basis without using your RRSP contribution room (subject to the FHSA closing deadlines). The savings become retirement savings instead of a down payment — you do not lose the money or the shelter.

Does my partner get their own stack?

Yes, if they qualify as a first-time buyer under each program’s rules. Two qualifying partners can assemble $80,000 of FHSA contributions plus $120,000 of HBP withdrawals — $200,000 in total.

The bottom line: do not choose between the FHSA and the Home Buyers’ Plan — sequence them. Open the FHSA today to start the $8,000-a-year clock, fill its $40,000 before general RRSP saving for the home, keep RRSP money seasoned past 90 days, and at purchase spend the no-repayment FHSA dollars before the repayable HBP dollars. Stacked properly, the two programs put $100,000 per buyer — $200,000 per couple — behind one down payment.