Personal tax and savings
TFSA contribution room
Cumulative room from the year you turned 18 or became a tax resident, whichever is later.
A starting point, not tax advice. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
Keep in mind. An estimate from the published limits. It assumes you stayed resident from the start year onward. Your official room is in your CRA account, and it is the only figure that accounts for every year of residency and every past transaction.
How this works
What the number means
TFSA room builds in every year in which you are both 18 or older and a resident of Canada for tax purposes. So it starts in the year you turned 18 or the year you became a resident, whichever is later — and never before 2009, when TFSAs began.
That matters most for newcomers. Someone who arrived in Canada at 30 has room only from the year they became resident, not from the year they turned 18, and counting from the wrong year is an easy way to over-contribute.
Withdrawals are added back to your room, but not until 1 January of the following year. Over-contributions are taxed at 1% a month on the excess, for every month it stays there.
Worked example. Someone who turned 18 in 2012 and became a resident of Canada in 2020 has room from 2020: the 2020 to 2026 limits total $45,500. Counting from 2012 would have claimed $94,000 — $48,500 of room that does not exist.
Sources
- CRA — Before you contribute to a TFSA (age-18 rule and annual limits) — modified 20 February 2026
- CRA — Calculate your TFSA contribution room — modified 20 February 2026
Rates change. The CRA page is the authority, and these are reviewed every January.
Questions
What do I need to bring to the first conversation?
Nothing prepared. It helps to know roughly what your revenue looks like, whether you are incorporated, and whether you have employees. Documents can follow once you know what you need.
Next step
Want someone to check the real figure?
A calculator estimates. A consultation answers for your actual situation. The first one is free.