Tax-free savings accounts (TFSAs) have been a part of the Canadian tax system since 2009, and the TFSA program can be utilized by more Canadians than any other tax-advantaged savings program. And Canadians have clearly recognized the benefits: Canada Revenue Agency statistics show that, as of 2022, nearly 18 million Canadians had opened a TFSA.
The Canadian tax system provides a number of opportunities for taxpayers to save on a tax-assisted basis. Most Canadians are familiar with registered retirement savings plans (RRSPs) and many are also aware of the availability of the tax-free savings account (TFSA). The newest (and probably least well known) such tax-assisted savings opportunity is the first home savings account (FHSA), which was introduced by the federal government in the 2023-24 budget and first became available in 2023.
For most taxpayers, the first few months of the year can seem to involve a seemingly unending series of bills and payment deadlines. During January and February, many Canadians are still trying to pay off the bills from holiday spending. The first income tax instalment payment of 2025 is due on March 17, and the need to pay any tax balance for the 2024 tax year comes just six weeks after that, on April 30. Added to all of that, the deadline for making an RRSP contribution for 2024 falls on March 3, 2025.
For most Canadians, the subject of making RRSP or TFSA contributions, or making RRIF withdrawals, isn’t usually top of mind at year-end. Most Canadians know that the deadline for making contributions to one’s registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) comes 60 days after the end of the calendar year, around the end of February, but relatively few are aware that in some circumstances an RRSP contribution must be (or should be) made by December 31, in order to achieve the best tax result.
If there is one invariable “rule” of financial and retirement planning of which most Canadians are aware, it is the unquestioned wisdom of making regular contributions to one’s registered retirement savings plan (RRSP). And it is true that for several decades the RRSP was the only tax-sheltered savings and investment vehicle available to most individual Canadians.
For most taxpayers, the first few months of the year are a seemingly unending series of bills and payment deadlines. During January and February, many Canadians are still trying to pay off the bills from holiday spending.
Most Canadians know that the deadline for making contributions to one’s registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) comes 60 days after the end of the calendar year, around the end of February. There are, however, some circumstances in which an RRSP contribution must (or should) be made by December 31, in order to achieve the desired tax result.
If there is one invariable “rule” of financial and retirement planning of which most Canadians are aware, it is the unquestioned wisdom of making regular contributions to one’s registered retirement savings plan (RRSP). And it is true that for several decades the RRSP was only tax-sheltered savings and investment vehicle available to most individual Canadians.
Most Canadians know that the deadline for making contributions to one’s registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) comes 60 days after the end of the calendar year, around the end of February. There are, however, some circumstances in which an RRSP contribution must be (or should be) made by December 31, in order to achieve the desired tax result.
For most Canadians, registered retirement savings plans (RRSPs) don’t become top of mind until near the end of February, as the annual contribution deadline (which, for 2019 contributions, will be March 2, 2020) approaches. When it comes to tax-free savings accounts (TFSAs), most Canadians are aware that there is no contribution deadline for such plans, so that contributions can be made at any time or even carried forward to a subsequent taxation year. Consequently, neither RRSPs nor TFSAs tend to be a priority when it comes to year-end tax planning.
