FHSA vs RRSP Home-Buying Calculator Canada

What the FHSA vs RRSP calculator does

Should a first down payment be built in a First Home Savings Account, in an RRSP withdrawn under the Home Buyers’ Plan, or in both? Enter your income, province, yearly savings and time until you buy, and the calculator projects each route and reports the cash available at closing.

The two plans are good at different things. The FHSA gives a deduction and a tax-free withdrawal but limits how much you can put in. The RRSP has much more room for a decent earner, but the Home Buyers’ Plan limits what you can take out and requires repayment over fifteen years.

How the two plans differ

Both give a deduction in the year you contribute, so the refund per dollar is the same. Everything after that differs.

An FHSA has an annual limit ($8,000) and a lifetime limit ($40,000). Money inside grows sheltered, and a qualifying withdrawal for a first home is entirely tax-free with nothing owing afterwards: deductible like an RRSP going in, tax-free like a TFSA coming out.

The Home Buyers’ Plan is effectively a loan from yourself. You build an RRSP, withdraw up to $60,000 without immediate tax, and repay it to the RRSP over the repayment period. Miss an instalment and that amount is added to your income for the year. While the repayment runs, retirement saving in the RRSP effectively stalls.

What the calculator models

Each year the tool contributes what you can save, up to each plan’s room, and grows the balance at your chosen return. Savings above a plan’s annual room go into an ordinary non-registered pot at the same return, still available for the down payment, and reinvested refunds go there too.

The refund is calculated by working out tax on your income with and without the deduction, using current federal and provincial brackets and both basic personal amounts, which matters near a bracket edge. Ontario and British Columbia low-income tax reductions and the Quebec abatement are applied.

RRSP room is 18% of earned income, capped at the annual dollar limit. The FHSA is capped by its annual and lifetime limits.

The three routes compared

FHSA only: new savings fill the account up to its annual limit, the overflow and any reinvested refund sit beside it, and the whole balance is withdrawn tax-free at purchase.

RRSP only: new savings and any existing RRSP balance grow together, and at purchase you withdraw up to the Home Buyers’ Plan maximum; anything above stays in the RRSP. The overflow pot is available as before.

Both: new savings fill the FHSA, and the Home Buyers’ Plan draws on the RRSP balance you already had. For anyone with an existing RRSP this is usually the largest figure.

A worked example

With the default inputs ($95,000 income in Ontario, $10,000 saved a year for five years at 5%, $20,000 already in an RRSP, refunds reinvested, an $80,000 target), the FHSA route reaches about $71,781, about $8,219 short of the target. The RRSP route reaches about $77,203, including the full $60,000 HBP withdrawal, which must then be repaid at $4,000 a year. Using both reaches about $97,307. The FHSA route produced about $11,860 of refunds and the RRSP route about $14,825.

Reading the result

If the FHSA advantage is positive, the FHSA route puts more cash on the table with no repayment, and the choice is easy. If it is negative, the Home Buyers’ Plan route delivers more up front, usually because an existing RRSP lets you hit the withdrawal maximum immediately while the FHSA fills a year at a time. That money is borrowed, so read it next to the annual repayment.

The shortfall shows whether the FHSA route alone reaches your target in time. If not, the combined route usually closes the gap, and the unused lifetime room shows how much FHSA capacity is still idle.

Limits of the estimate

The model does not tax growth in the non-registered pot, which flatters both routes similarly. It assumes refunds arrive in the year of the contribution rather than the next spring. Provincial surtaxes and health premiums are not included in the marginal rate, so a high-income Ontario figure is slightly conservative. Unused FHSA room carried forward from earlier years and a spouse’s own FHSA, which can double a couple’s tax-free withdrawal, are not modelled.

Contribution limits, the withdrawal maximum, the repayment period, the RRSP percentage and dollar limit, and the tax brackets and basic personal amounts are parameters sourced from the CRA.

This is a planning estimate, not financial, tax or mortgage advice. Check your contribution room on your CRA notice of assessment and speak to a qualified adviser before committing to either plan.

About This FHSA vs RRSP Calculator

Use this FHSA vs RRSP calculator to get an instant, accurate estimate. The figures follow official CRA guidance and every rate and threshold is kept up to date for 2026. Adjust the inputs above to match your situation, or browse all our calculators to plan your next step.