TFSA Calculator Canada
Project your tax-free savings growth, and check how much TFSA contribution room you have left for 2026 — using the official CRA annual limits.
Your TFSA Plan
Assumes monthly compounding at the nominal annual rate ÷ 12, with contributions at the end of each month.
Understanding the TFSA in Canada
What is a TFSA?
A Tax-Free Savings Account is a registered account offered by Canadian banks, brokerages and other financial institutions. Despite the name, it is not just a savings account — inside a TFSA you can hold cash, GICs, bonds, mutual funds, ETFs and stocks. The key feature is the tax treatment: while an ordinary non-registered account taxes you on every dollar of interest, dividends and capital gains, a TFSA shelters all of it. You contribute with after-tax dollars, and from that point on the CRA leaves your money alone.
How tax-free growth works
Growth inside a TFSA compounds without a tax drag. In a taxable account, a 7% return might really be 7% minus the tax you owe on the gains each year; inside a TFSA, the full 7% keeps working for you. Over 20 or 30 years that difference is enormous — which is why the Growth tab above shows your tax-free growth separately. It is money you keep in full, and when you eventually withdraw it, the withdrawal is tax-free as well.
Contribution room, year by year
You cannot contribute unlimited amounts — each year the government sets a TFSA contribution limit, and your unused room carries forward forever. The limits have changed over time: $5,000 per year from 2009 to 2012, $5,500 in 2013–2014, $10,000 in 2015, back to $5,500 for 2016–2018, $6,000 for 2019–2022, $6,500 in 2023, and $7,000 for 2024 through 2026. Someone who has been 18+ and a Canadian resident since 2009 has a maximum lifetime room of $109,000. If you turned 18 later, you only get room from the year you turned 18 onward — the Contribution Room tab does this math for you.
The over-contribution penalty
Going over your limit is one of the most expensive mistakes in Canadian personal finance. The CRA charges a penalty tax of 1% per month on the excess for every month it remains in the account — that works out to 12% a year, far more than any investment return. If the calculator flags an over-contribution, withdraw the excess as soon as possible and double-check your numbers, because the meter keeps running until the excess is out.
An estimate, not your official number
This calculator estimates your room from the official annual limits and the contribution total you enter — it cannot see withdrawals you made in past years, non-resident periods, or reporting delays from your bank. For your exact official figure, log in to CRA My Account or check your Notice of Assessment. Nothing on this page is financial advice; it is an educational starting point. When in doubt, contribute a little less than the estimate, and talk to a qualified professional before making big moves.