FHSA + HBP: Stack Both for a $100,000 Down Payment

How we check the numbers: every figure on this page is calculated from official CRA, Statistics Canada or Bank of Canada data and cross-checked with the free calculators on this site — run them yourself to verify.

The short version

From the CRA's own HBP page: "You can withdraw amounts from your RRSP under the HBP and make a qualifying withdrawal from your first home savings account (FHSA) for the same qualifying home, as long as you meet all of the conditions at the time of each withdrawal." No choosing, no penalty for combining. The only real question is how early you start each clock.

Two programs, two very different deals

• Where the money lives. The FHSA is new savings you build from scratch. The HBP is a loan from your existing RRSP — if there is nothing in your RRSP, there is nothing to withdraw.
• The limits. FHSA: $8,000 of new room per year, $40,000 lifetime. HBP: up to $60,000 per person (raised from $35,000 on April 16, 2024).
• The tax break. The FHSA is the only account that pays you twice: contributions are deductible and a qualifying withdrawal is tax-free. The HBP withdrawal is tax-free too, but there is no new deduction at withdrawal — you got that deduction when the money went into the RRSP, and repayments are not deductible either.
• Repayment. FHSA: never repaid. HBP: repaid to your RRSP at 1/15 per year over 15 years.
• The clocks. FHSA room only starts accumulating the year you open the account, and the account must close by the end of the 15th year after opening (or the year you turn 71). HBP: money must sit in your RRSP at least 90 days before you withdraw it, or the deduction on those recent contributions can be denied.

Both programs use the same first-time buyer test: in the year you withdraw and the four calendar years before it, neither you nor your spouse or common-law partner lived in a home that either of you owned.

The stacking playbook

1. Open the FHSA now, even with $0. Room does not backdate. An FHSA opened in 2026 with nothing in it still gives you $8,000 of room this year and $16,000 of available room by 2027. Opening late is the one mistake you cannot undo.
2. Fill the FHSA first: $8,000 a year for five years. That is the full $40,000. Unused room carries forward, but only up to $8,000 — so the most you can ever contribute in a single year is $16,000. Five steady years beats one lump sum you can't fit in.
3. Build the RRSP to $60,000 in parallel. The HBP needs both RRSP room and an RRSP balance. Watch the 90-day rule: top up your RRSP at least 90 days before the purchase, not the week before closing.
4. Claim FHSA deductions in your highest-income years. You do not have to deduct contributions in the year you make them — unused deductions carry forward indefinitely. The math below shows why this is worth real money.
5. At purchase, withdraw both for the same home. You need a written agreement to buy or build before October 1 of the year after your withdrawals, and you must intend to move in within a year. Use CRA form T1036 for the HBP withdrawal.
6. After closing, mind the two endings. The FHSA closes after your qualifying withdrawal. The HBP repayment clock starts — with the current relief, a first withdrawal in 2026 means repayments begin in 2031.

What the FHSA deduction is actually worth

Run the numbers for an Ontario buyer earning $75,000 — combined federal-Ontario marginal rate of 29.65% at that income, calculated with the same formula as this site's salary pages:

Same $40,000 of contributions, a $2,304 difference — purely from timing. Claim the whole deduction in one year and part of it falls into lower tax brackets (an effective rate of just 23.9%). Claim it in slices while your income sits in the 29.65% bracket — or carry it forward to a year when you earn more — and every dollar works at your top rate. The HBP has no equivalent lever, which is why the FHSA gets filled first.

The HBP repayment reality

The $60,000 from your RRSP is a loan from your future self. On the full amount, the minimum repayment is $60,000 ÷ 15 = $4,000 a year. Two things soften that in 2026:

• Temporary relief: for first withdrawals between January 1, 2022 and December 31, 2028, the 15-year repayment period starts in the fifth year after the withdrawal year instead of the second. Withdraw in 2026 and your first $4,000 repayment lands in 2031.
• You can repay faster in any year, which shrinks the remaining annual minimums.

And the sharp edge: if you repay less than the minimum in a year, the shortfall is added to your taxable income for that year — and that RRSP room is gone for good. Budget the $4,000 a year (about $333 a month) from day one, even while the relief years give you a runway.

Traps that shrink the stack

• Opening the FHSA late. Room starts the year you open, not in 2023 when the program launched. Open in 2029 and your lifetime room still caps at $40,000 — but you will need five years to use it, and the 15-year closing clock started too.
• FHSA overcontributions. Excess amounts are taxed at 1% per month until removed — the same trap as a TFSA. Track your room on your CRA notice after filing Schedule 15.
• No RRSP room, no HBP. The $60,000 needs contribution room earned from past income (18% of earned income, up to the annual dollar cap). Newcomers and low-income years may not have $60,000 of room yet.
• Funding your spouse's FHSA. Not allowed — only the account holder can contribute to and deduct an FHSA. Couples stack by each opening and funding their own.
• Missing the October 1 deadline. Both withdrawals require a written agreement to buy or build before October 1 of the year after the withdrawal. Withdraw first and shop casually, and a withdrawal can lose its qualifying status.

One comfort if plans change: an FHSA you never use for a home can be transferred tax-free into your RRSP — without using any RRSP room. The $40,000 of shelter survives even if the house doesn't happen.

Sources

• CRA — First Home Savings Account (FHSA): $8,000 annual room, $40,000 lifetime limit, 15-year closing rule
• CRA — The Home Buyers' Plan: $60,000 withdrawal limit, combining with an FHSA, extended repayment relief to 2028
• TaxTips.ca — Ontario combined marginal tax rates 2026 (29.65% band used in the worked example)

Educational content only — not financial advice. Figures are estimates; confirm your own situation with the CRA or a licensed financial advisor. See our Disclaimer.