Buying Your First Home
The Home Buyers’ Plan may help an eligible buyer use RRSP savings toward a qualifying home, but the amount withdrawn generally needs to be repaid over time.
The Program
The Home Buyers’ Plan allows an eligible person to withdraw up to $60,000 from their RRSP to buy or build a qualifying home.
A qualifying withdrawal is not included as taxable income when it is withdrawn.
Unlike a qualifying FHSA withdrawal, however, the amount taken from the RRSP generally needs to be repaid.
The Home Buyers’ Plan may also be used alongside a qualifying FHSA withdrawal when the requirements for both programs are met.
Two Separate Steps
Putting money into an RRSP does not automatically make it a Home Buyers’ Plan repayment.
Contribute an eligible amount to an RRSP, PRPP, or SPP within the permitted period.
Report the amount that should count toward your Home Buyers’ Plan balance.
Example
Imagine you have a Home Buyers’ Plan balance of $35,000 when your 15-year repayment period begins.
Opening HBP Balance
Balance when repayment begins
$35,000
Approximate Annual Minimum
One-fifteenth of the opening balance
$2,333.33
Amount Designated
Contribution reported as an HBP repayment
$2,500
Approximate Remaining Balance
$32,500
In this example, the required minimum has been met and the HBP balance has been reduced by the full $2,500 designation.
If only $1,500 were designated, the remaining required amount of approximately $833.33 would generally be included as income on the tax return.
Repayment Details
Choose the part of the repayment process you need to understand.
The Grace Period
Under the regular Home Buyers’ Plan rules, the repayment period generally begins in the second year after the year of the first withdrawal.
A temporary extended grace period applies to qualifying first withdrawals made from January 1, 2022 through December 31, 2028.
For those withdrawals, the repayment period generally begins in the fifth year after the year of the first withdrawal.
Confirm your personal repayment start date through CRA My Account and your most recent Home Buyers’ Plan statement.
Planning Insight
The Home Buyers’ Plan can make RRSP savings available for an eligible home purchase without treating the qualifying withdrawal as taxable income when it is withdrawn.
The repayment obligation, however, becomes part of your finances after the purchase.
Understanding that future obligation can help you consider the withdrawal alongside your mortgage payment and other homeownership costs.
Two Different Programs
Both may help with an eligible home purchase, but an FHSA transaction does not repay an HBP balance.
Allows an eligible withdrawal from an RRSP toward a qualifying home.
Allows an eligible qualifying withdrawal from an FHSA toward a qualifying home.
Repayment Source
No. A Home Buyers’ Plan repayment needs to be made through an eligible contribution and designated as an HBP repayment.
An FHSA contribution or qualifying FHSA withdrawal does not repay an amount withdrawn through the Home Buyers’ Plan.
The two programs can work together during a qualifying home purchase, but they have different contribution, withdrawal, and repayment rules.
Frequently Asked
Clear answers to some of the most common questions about this topic.
The repayment period is generally up to 15 years. Your CRA Home Buyers’ Plan statement shows when your repayment period begins, your remaining balance, and the minimum required for the following year.
No. The amount designated as a Home Buyers’ Plan repayment cannot also be claimed as an RRSP deduction.
The amount designated as a repayment does not use your RRSP deduction limit. You still need to make an eligible contribution and report the repayment designation correctly on your tax return.
Yes. You may designate more than the annual minimum or repay the full outstanding balance early.
The unpaid portion of the required repayment is generally included as RRSP income on your tax return and deducted from your outstanding Home Buyers’ Plan balance.
Your Home Buyers’ Plan statement from the CRA shows your remaining balance and the minimum repayment required for the following year. This information may also be available through CRA My Account.
Yes. An eligible buyer may use a qualifying FHSA withdrawal and the Home Buyers’ Plan for the same qualifying home when all requirements for both programs are met.
Confirm With CRA
Your withdrawal date and Home Buyers’ Plan history affect when repayments begin. Confirm your start date, outstanding balance, and annual minimum through CRA My Account or your latest Home Buyers’ Plan statement.
Helpful Tool
Use the Down Payment Savings Roadmap to set a savings goal, estimate your timeline, and consider how an FHSA, TFSA, or the Home Buyers’ Plan may fit into your plans.
What to Explore Next
Here are a few related answers, guides, and tools that may help you take the next step.
Mortgage Minute
See when buying with less than 20% down may be possible and how minimum requirements work.
Mortgage Minute
Look beyond the down payment at closing costs, legal fees, taxes, and other purchase expenses.
Mortgage Guide
See how down payments, pre-approval, closing costs, and financing fit into the complete purchase process.
Personal Guidance
The Home Buyers’ Plan can help make RRSP savings available for a qualifying home purchase, but the repayment obligation becomes part of your finances afterward. I can help you consider how the withdrawal may fit alongside your down payment, future mortgage payment, and other homeownership costs.
Need a Second Opinion?
I can help you work through the numbers and the next step.
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