CRA (Canada Revenue Agency)

The Canada Revenue Agency, or CRA, is the federal government body responsible for collecting taxes, delivering benefit payments, and administering the tax rules that apply to your investments. If you have a TFSA, RRSP, FHSA, or any other registered account, the CRA is the organization tracking your contribution room and making sure you follow the rules.

What it means for investors

The CRA determines how much you can contribute to your TFSA and RRSP each year. It also enforces penalties if you go over your limits. You can check your available contribution room by logging into CRA My Account online.

At tax time, any investment income earned in non-registered accounts needs to be reported to the CRA. Your brokerage sends them copies of your T3 and T5 slips, so they already know what you earned. Your job is to make sure your tax return matches.

CRA My Account

CRA My Account is a free online portal where you can view your tax information, check your TFSA and RRSP contribution room, see your Notice of Assessment, and track benefit payments. It’s the easiest way to stay on top of your registered account limits without calling anyone.

Example

Say you earned $80,000 last year. Your RRSP contribution room for this year would be 18% of that, which is $14,400. You can find this number on your Notice of Assessment or by logging into CRA My Account. If you only contributed $5,000 this year, the remaining $9,400 carries forward and adds to next year’s room. Keeping track of this yourself is a good habit, since the CRA’s numbers can sometimes take a few months to update.

A few things to know

The CRA’s contribution room numbers can sometimes lag by a few months, especially early in the year. If you’ve made recent contributions, your brokerage records may be more up to date than what the CRA shows. When in doubt, keep your own records of deposits and withdrawals to make sure you’re within your limits.