- The HBP withdrawal limit is $60,000 per person, so two qualifying buyers can take out $120,000 for the same home.
- You qualify as a first-time buyer if you haven’t lived in a home you or your spouse owned this year or in the previous four calendar years.
- For a first withdrawal from 2026 to 2028, repayment starts in the fifth year after, then runs 15 years. A 2026 withdrawal is first repaid in 2031.
- Miss a minimum repayment and the shortfall is added to your income for that year, taxed at your marginal rate.
- You can use the HBP and an FHSA for the same home. The FHSA money never has to be paid back.
Checked October 2026
What is the Home Buyers’ Plan?
The Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP) is a CRA program that lets you withdraw money from your own RRSP to buy or build a qualifying home in Canada. Unlike a normal RRSP withdrawal, it isn’t taxed as long as you repay on schedule.
The limit is $60,000. Your RRSP issuer won’t withhold tax on HBP withdrawals totalling $60,000 or less. Anything above that is taxed as ordinary income, and the issuer withholds tax on the excess. The limit is per person and applies to your own RRSPs, so a couple who both qualify can each withdraw up to $60,000.
Who qualifies for the HBP?
The main test is the first-time home buyer rule. You qualify if, in the current calendar year before the withdrawal or in the four calendar years before that, you didn’t live as your principal residence in a home that you or your current spouse or common-law partner owned. The 30 days just before the withdrawal don’t count.
So the 4-year rule is about living in a home you own, not about ever having owned one. The CRA gives the reverse case: a buyer who sold her home in 2022 and withdrew $60,000 in 2025 was not eligible, because 2022 fell inside the window.
- Your partner’s home counts. If you live in a condo your partner owns, you don’t qualify, even if your name isn’t on title.
- You need a signed written agreement to buy or build. A mortgage pre-approval is not a written agreement.
- You must intend to live in the home as your principal residence within one year of buying or building it.
- You must be a resident of Canada at the withdrawal and until you buy.
- If you used the HBP before, your balance must be zero on January 1 of the year you withdraw again.
Two exceptions: the first-time buyer test doesn’t apply to a withdrawal for a person with a disability, if the home suits their needs better, and it may be waived after a marriage or common-law breakdown. See our first-time home buyer guide for the other programs that use a similar definition.
The 89-day rule for new contributions
You can’t put money into an RRSP, take the deduction and pull it straight out under the HBP. If you contributed in the 89 days before a withdrawal, part or all of that contribution may not be deductible. In practice, money that has sat in the plan for 90 days or more is safe.
The non-deductible amount is your contributions in those 89 days minus what the RRSP is worth just after the withdrawal. Say you contributed $10,000 in that window and the RRSP holds $7,000 once the HBP money is out. Then $3,000 of the contribution can’t be deducted.
How HBP repayment works
You have 15 years to put the money back into an RRSP. Normally repayments start in the second year after the withdrawal. Under temporary relief, a first withdrawal from January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2025 starts repaying in the fifth year after, and the CRA says the same applies to a first withdrawal from January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2028.
| Year of first withdrawal | First repayment year |
|---|---|
| Before 2022 (normal rule) | Second year after, e.g. 2020 to 2022 |
| 2022 to 2025 | Fifth year after, e.g. 2022 to 2027 |
| 2026 to 2028 | Fifth year after, e.g. 2026 to 2031 |
Source: CRA, What is the Home Buyers’ Plan (page dated February 17, 2026) and How to repay amounts withdrawn under the HBP.
The minimum each year is your balance divided by the years left. On a $60,000 withdrawal that is $4,000 a year. Payments count if you make them during the year or in the first 60 days of the next one. You then designate them as an HBP repayment on Schedule 7 of your return. Repayments are not deductible, and you can’t repay HBP money into an FHSA.
| Year | HBP balance | Minimum | Paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2028 | $30,000 | $2,000 | $2,000 |
| 2029 | $28,000 | $2,000 | $2,000 |
| 2030 | $26,000 | $2,000 | $2,000 |
| 2031 | $24,000 | $2,000 | $8,000 |
| 2032 | $16,000 | $1,454.55 | $1,454.55 |
Source: CRA, How to repay amounts withdrawn under the HBP. Paying extra lowers later minimums but does not shorten the 15 years.
Using the HBP and FHSA together
You can make an HBP withdrawal and a qualifying FHSA withdrawal for the same home, as long as you meet each program’s conditions at the time.
Take Maya and Sam, both first-time buyers. Each opened an FHSA in 2024 and put in $8,000 in 2024, 2025 and 2026, so each has $24,000 (we ignore growth). Each also has $35,000 in an RRSP that has been there for years, and each withdraws it under the HBP in 2026.
| Source | Maya | Sam | Together |
|---|---|---|---|
| FHSA qualifying withdrawal | $24,000 | $24,000 | $48,000 |
| RRSP Home Buyers’ Plan | $35,000 | $35,000 | $70,000 |
| Total | $59,000 | $59,000 | $118,000 |
$118,000 is 20% of a $590,000 home. Each HBP balance of $35,000 is repaid at $2,333.33 a year from 2031, $4,666.66 a year for the two of them. The FHSA money is not repaid.
The ceiling is higher. With a full $40,000 FHSA and a $60,000 HBP withdrawal each, a couple could put $200,000 toward one home. Run your own numbers in the FHSA calculator and the down payment calculator.
HBP vs FHSA: which to use first?
If you can only fund one, the FHSA usually wins: you get a deduction going in and a tax-free withdrawal with nothing to repay.
| Home Buyers’ Plan | FHSA | |
|---|---|---|
| Most you can use for a home | $60,000 per person | $40,000 lifetime contributions, plus growth |
| Contributions deductible | Yes, as RRSP contributions | Yes |
| Withdrawal for the home | Tax-free if repaid | Tax-free, never repaid |
| Repayment | Over 15 years, or added to income | None |
| Spouse’s home counts at withdrawal | Yes | No |
| Buy or build by | October 1 of the year after | October 1 of the year after |
| Form | T1036 | RC725 |
Source: CRA HBP pages and CRA FHSA withdrawals page. The FHSA annual limit is $8,000.
How to withdraw under the HBP
- Confirm you qualifyCheck the 4-year rule for you and your spouse, and that any earlier HBP balance is zero.
- Sign the agreementGet a written agreement to buy or build. Line up your mortgage pre-approval and budget for land transfer tax at the same time.
- Check the 89-day windowMake sure recent contributions are covered by money staying in the plan.
- Fill out Form T1036Complete Area 1 and give it to your RRSP issuer, who completes Area 2. Use one form for each withdrawal.
- Take all the money in timeYou can withdraw more than once, but only in the year of your first withdrawal and in January of the next year.
- Close and move inBuy or build before October 1 of the year after your first withdrawal, and move in within one year.
- Repay on scheduleWatch your notice of assessment for the minimum, and designate repayments on Schedule 7 each year.
If the deal falls through, you can usually cancel by putting the money back by December 31 of the year after your first withdrawal. Anything not returned is added to your income for the withdrawal year.
The real cost: lost RRSP growth
The HBP charges no interest, but the money stops growing while it is out. Assume a 5% annual return, which is an assumption, not a forecast. $60,000 left in an RRSP from 2026 would be about $159,198 after 20 years. Withdraw it and repay the $4,000 minimum each year from 2031 to 2045, and those repayments grow to about $86,314. The gap is about $72,884.
- No tax on the withdrawal if you repay on time
- No interest, and repayment doesn’t start for years
- Stacks with an FHSA for a bigger down payment
- Lost tax-sheltered growth while the money is out
- Missed repayments are taxed as income
- Repayments use RRSP savings you could otherwise deduct
Frequently Asked Questions
How much can I withdraw under the Home Buyers’ Plan?
Up to $60,000 from your own RRSPs, with no tax withheld. If you and your spouse both qualify, each of you can withdraw up to $60,000 for the same home.
Who counts as a first-time home buyer for the HBP?
Someone who, in the current year before the withdrawal or the previous four calendar years, didn’t live in a home owned by them or their current spouse or common-law partner. The 30 days before the withdrawal are ignored.
When do I start repaying the HBP?
For a first withdrawal from 2022 to 2028, the CRA defers the start to the fifth year after the withdrawal. A first withdrawal in 2026 is first repaid in 2031. You then have 15 years.
What is the minimum HBP repayment?
Your balance divided by the years left. On a $60,000 withdrawal it starts at $4,000 a year. Payments made in the year or in the first 60 days of the next year count.
What happens if I miss an HBP repayment?
The shortfall is added to your income on line 12900 and taxed at your marginal rate. Your balance goes down by that amount, and you keep repaying in the following years.
Can I use the HBP and FHSA for the same home?
Yes. You can make an HBP withdrawal and a qualifying FHSA withdrawal for the same home if you meet the conditions for each. The FHSA money doesn’t have to be repaid.
What is the 89-day rule?
RRSP contributions made in the 89 days before an HBP withdrawal may not be deductible, to the extent the RRSP is worth less than those contributions after the withdrawal.
What form do I need for an HBP withdrawal?
Form T1036, one for each withdrawal. You fill out Area 1 and your RRSP issuer completes Area 2.
Can I use the HBP more than once?
Yes, if you meet the first-time buyer test again and your HBP balance is zero on January 1 of the year you withdraw.
Try this next
Sources, checked October 2026
- CRA: How to participate in the Home Buyers’ Plan canada.ca
- CRA: Avoid common Home Buyers’ Plan mistakes canada.ca
- CRA: How to make withdrawals under the Home Buyers’ Plan canada.ca
- CRA: What is the Home Buyers’ Plan canada.ca
- CRA: How to repay amounts withdrawn under the Home Buyers’ Plan canada.ca
- CRA: How to cancel a participation in the Home Buyers’ Plan canada.ca
- CRA: Ten tips if you opened a First Home Savings Account canada.ca
- CRA: FHSA withdrawals and transfers canada.ca
- CRA: Closing your FHSA canada.ca
General information for Canadians, not financial, tax or legal advice. Rules and menus change, so confirm details with your bank, lender or the Government of Canada. See our methodology.