TFSA Contribution Room: How to Check Yours (And the 1%-a-Month Trap)
By Jordan Ellis · Published · Reviewed
Quick Answer
If you were 18 or older in 2009 and have never contributed, your total TFSA room is $109,000 (through 2026). Check your exact room via CRA My Account — but treat it as a year-old snapshot and track your own contributions. Over-contributing triggers a 1%-per-month penalty tax on the excess until removed.
The TFSA is the most generous account in Canada and the one people break most often. The rules are simple; the room math is where the penalties live.
The limits, year by year
| Years | Annual limit |
|---|---|
| 2009–2012 | $5,000 |
| 2013–2014 | $5,500 |
| 2015 | $10,000 |
| 2016–2018 | $5,500 each year |
| 2019–2022 | $6,000 each year |
| 2023 | $6,500 |
| 2024–2026 | $7,000 each year |
Cumulative room for someone 18+ since 2009 who’s never contributed: $109,000. Room starts accumulating the year you turn 18 (or 2009, whichever is later), regardless of whether you have an account.
How room actually works
Room = lifetime limits − lifetime contributions + last year’s-and-earlier withdrawals. Three properties to internalize:
- Withdrawals return — next January 1. Not instantly, not in December. This single timing rule causes most over-contributions.
- Growth doesn’t consume room. Your TFSA growing from $50,000 to $90,000 uses zero contribution room. Only deposits count.
- Transfers between your own TFSAs don’t count — as long as the institution does a direct transfer. Withdraw-and-redeposit does count.
Checking your exact room
CRA My Account → “TFSA contribution room.” Two warnings: the figure is only as current as the last institution report (often a year stale), and CRA’s number is not authoritative in disputes — your own records are. Keep a simple spreadsheet; it takes one minute per contribution.
The 1%-a-month trap
Over-contribute and CRA charges 1% of the excess per month until it’s removed. $5,000 over for 8 months = $400 in penalty tax, plus a letter. If it happens: withdraw the excess immediately and file form RC243 with a reasonable-explanation letter — CRA may waive or cancel the tax for honest mistakes that you fix quickly.
What to do with the room
A TFSA holding cash at 0.5% is a wasted superpower. The same $7,000/year at 6% becomes roughly $97,000 in 10 years and $270,000 in 20 — all untouchable by CRA forever. See the trajectory in the compound interest calculator, and if you’re choosing between this and your RRSP, the RRSP vs TFSA calculator settles it with your actual tax rates.
Official sources
Rules and dollar limits change. Confirm current amounts with the official pages below before you act · Last reviewed .
- Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) (Canada Revenue Agency)
- Calculate your TFSA contribution room (Canada Revenue Agency)