TFSA contribution room calculator

Updated September 26, 2026

Your TFSA contribution room is how much you can put into your tax-free savings accounts without paying a penalty. It depends on three things: when you turned 18, when you were living in Canada, and what you’ve put in and taken out since.

Enter your birth year and your contributions and withdrawals. You’ll get an estimate of your room for 2026 and a year-by-year table going back to 2009.

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TFSA contribution limit 2026

The TFSA limit for 2026 is $7,000. It was added to everyone’s room on January 1, 2026, as long as they were 18 or older and a resident of Canada.

That $7,000 is new room for this year. Your total room can be much higher. Any room you haven’t used carries forward, and so do withdrawals from past years.

The limit is indexed to inflation and rounded to the nearest $500, so it doesn’t change every year. The 2027 limit hasn’t been published yet.

TFSA limits by year, 2009 to 2026

This TFSA contribution chart shows every annual limit since the TFSA started in 2009, plus the running total. The total is the room someone would have built up by the end of each year if they were 18 or older and living in Canada since 2009, before any contributions or withdrawals.

The 2015 jump to $10,000 was a one-year change. The limit went back to $5,500 in 2016.

Total TFSA contribution room since inception

If you were 18 or older in 2009 and have lived in Canada every year since, your total TFSA contribution room since inception is $109,000 in 2026. That’s every annual limit from 2009 through 2026 added together. At the start of 2025 the same person had $102,000.

You only get this full amount if you qualified in every one of those years. Room starts in the year you turn 18, as long as you live in Canada. You also need a valid social insurance number to open the account and contribute. Any room you don’t use carries forward with no expiry date, so a year without contributions doesn’t cost you anything.

TFSA room by age or birth year

Your room starts in the year you turn 18, or in 2009 if you were already older. After that, you get each year’s limit for every year you’re a resident of Canada. It builds even if you’ve never opened a TFSA or filed a tax return.

A few details matter:

• You get the full limit in the year you turn 18. It isn’t prorated. Turn 18 in December and you still get the whole year.
• You need a valid social insurance number (SIN) to open a TFSA and contribute.
• New residents start from the year they arrive. If you moved to Canada as an adult, your room starts in the year you became a resident, not in 2009. You get that year’s full limit.
• Years spent fully outside Canada add nothing. If you’re a non-resident for a whole year, you get no new room for that year.

Example: born in 2005. You turned 18 in 2023. Your room is 2023’s $6,500 plus $7,000 each for 2024, 2025 and 2026:

$6,500 + $7,000 + $7,000 + $7,000 = $27,500

Example: moved to Canada in 2020, age 30. Room starts in 2020:

$6,000 × 3 (2020–2022) + $6,500 (2023) + $7,000 × 3 (2024–2026) = $45,500

Subtract what you’ve contributed and add back past withdrawals to get what’s left.

If the age of majority in your province is 19

In British Columbia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Yukon, the age of majority is 19. There, you may not be able to open a TFSA until you turn 19.

Your room still starts in the year you turn 18. Nothing is lost. You carry it over and can use it once you open the account.

Example: born in 2007 in British Columbia. You turned 18 in 2025 and turn 19 in 2026. By the start of 2026 you have $14,000 of room ($7,000 for 2025 plus $7,000 for 2026). You can use all of it once you open a TFSA after your 19th birthday.

What is my TFSA contribution limit? Working it out yourself

The calculator above does this for you. Here’s how to do it by hand, or check its answer:

1. Add up the annual limits from the year you turned 18 (or 2009, or the year you became a resident, whichever is latest) through this year. Use the table above.
2. Subtract everything you’ve contributed to any TFSA over those years.
3. Add back withdrawals from earlier years. A withdrawal counts on January 1 of the year after you made it. Withdrawals from this year don’t count until next year.

What’s left is how much you can put in your TFSA this year.

Worked example. Priya turned 18 in 2019 and has lived in Canada since. Her limits from 2019 to 2026 add up to $51,500 ($6,000 × 4 + $6,500 + $7,000 × 3). She has contributed $30,000 in total. In 2024 she withdrew $4,000, and in 2026 she withdrew $2,000.

$51,500 − $30,000 + $4,000 = $25,500 of room in 2026

The $2,000 she took out in 2026 comes back on January 1, 2027.

For the official number, check your CRA account (My Account). The CRA updates it once a year from your financial institution’s records, so it won’t show anything you’ve done this year. Use it as your starting point and adjust it with your own records of recent deposits and withdrawals.

How withdrawals add back to your room

When you take money out of a TFSA, that amount goes back into your room on January 1 of the next year. It doesn’t come back the same year.

This is the most common way people over-contribute. They take money out, then put it back a few months later, thinking the room is still there. It isn’t, unless they had unused room left over.

Worked example. At the start of 2026, Sam has $10,000 of room.

1. In March, Sam contributes $10,000. Room left: $0.
2. In June, Sam withdraws $5,000. Room left in 2026: still $0.
3. In August, Sam puts the $5,000 back. That’s a $5,000 over-contribution. The CRA charges 1% per month, $50 for every month it stays in the account, until it comes out.

If Sam waits until January 1, 2027, the $5,000 comes back as room, plus that year’s new limit. Then putting it back costs nothing.

Investment gains and losses don’t change your room. Neither do direct transfers from one of your TFSAs to another. Moving money yourself (withdrawing, then depositing) counts as a withdrawal and a contribution.

Frequently asked questions

What does contribution room mean?

It’s the most you can put into your TFSAs without paying a penalty. It’s the total of every yearly limit you’ve qualified for, plus withdrawals from past years, minus everything you’ve contributed. The limit covers all your TFSAs together, not each account separately.

What happens if I go over?

You pay a tax of 1% per month on the excess. The CRA calculates it on the highest excess amount in your account in each month, for as long as it stays there. Taking the extra out quickly is the best way to keep the tax small. You’ll also need to file a TFSA return for that year.

Where do I find my official number?

Sign in to your CRA account (My Account) and look under savings and pension plans. The CRA updates that figure once a year, in the spring, using the previous year’s records. It won’t include anything you did this year, and early in the year it may not include last year yet. Keep your own record of recent contributions and withdrawals.

Do I have room if I’ve never opened a TFSA?

Yes. Room builds every year you’re 18 or older and a resident of Canada, whether or not you have an account. If you’ve never contributed, all of it is still available.

Does investment growth use up my room?

No. Only contributions use room. Interest, dividends and gains don’t change it. Losses don’t give room back either.

What is the TFSA contribution room for 2026?

The 2026 annual limit is $7,000, the same as in 2024 and 2025. If you were 18 or older and lived in Canada every year since 2009, your total room for 2026 is $109,000, minus what you’ve contributed, plus past withdrawals. In 2025 that total was $102,000.

What is the TFSA limit by age?

The yearly limit is the same for everyone 18 and older. Age only decides when you start. Someone born in 1991 or earlier who has always lived in Canada has $109,000 of total room in 2026. Someone born in 2000 turned 18 in 2018 and has $57,000. Someone born in 2008 turned 18 in 2026 and has $7,000.

How much does an over-contribution cost?

The tax is 1% per month on the highest excess in your account during each month. A $2,000 excess that stays in for six months costs about $120. Take it out as soon as you notice. You don’t have to wait for the CRA to contact you.

If I withdraw money, can I put it back right away?

Only if you have unused room left over. A withdrawal is added back to your room on January 1 of the following year, not when you take it out.

Is the 2027 TFSA limit out yet?

Not yet. It’s indexed to inflation and rounded to the nearest $500. We’ll update this page once the CRA publishes it.

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