The First Home Savings Account, introduced in 2023, is the strongest single tax shelter currently available to most Canadian renters: contributions are deductible like an RRSP, and qualifying withdrawals to buy a first home are tax-free like a TFSA.
Eligibility: Canadian resident, 18+, has not owned a home in the past 4 calendar years and isn't living in one owned by a spouse.
Contribution limits: $8,000 per calendar year, up to a lifetime cap of $40,000. Unused annual room carries forward, but only after you've opened an FHSA.
Maximum lifespan: 15 years from when you opened the account, or your 71st birthday, whichever comes first. After that, any remaining balance must either be transferred to an RRSP/RRIF (tax-deferred, doesn't use RRSP room) or withdrawn taxably.
Qualifying home purchase: must be your principal residence, you must intend to occupy it within one year, and you must not have lived in a home you owned in the last 4 calendar years.
Why it's powerful for couples: each spouse can have their own FHSA. Two FHSAs = up to $80,000 of combined shelter going toward your first home down payment, plus the deductions saving you tax along the way.
Order of operations for most first-time buyers: max the FHSA first, then RRSP (especially with employer match), then TFSA. The FHSA's tax-free and deductible double-benefit makes it strictly superior for the “saving for a first home” goal up to the lifetime cap.