Contribution Room

Contribution room is the total amount of money you’re allowed to deposit into a registered account. Each account type has its own rules for how much room you get and how it’s calculated.

TFSA contribution room

Every Canadian resident 18 or older accumulates TFSA room each year, set by the federal government. For 2024, the annual limit is $7,000. If you’ve never contributed and were 18 or older in 2009 (when TFSAs launched), your total lifetime room is $95,000. Any amount you withdraw gets added back to your room the following year.

RRSP contribution room

Your RRSP room is based on 18% of your previous year’s earned income, up to an annual maximum (around $31,560 for 2024). Unused room carries forward from year to year. You can find your exact RRSP room on your CRA Notice of Assessment or by logging into your CRA My Account.

Why it matters

Going over your contribution limit comes with penalties. The CRA charges 1% per month on the excess amount in your TFSA. For RRSPs, there’s a $2,000 grace buffer, but anything beyond that is also penalized at 1% per month.

The most common mistake is re-contributing to a TFSA in the same year you made a withdrawal. If you took $10,000 out in June, you can’t put that $10,000 back until January of the following year (unless you had unused room).

Checking your contribution room takes a minute through CRA My Account and can save you from an unexpected tax bill. Our TFSA contribution room guide explains how the math works year by year.