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Home Buyers’ Plan

How to use up to $60,000 of your RRSP for a first home, and how repayment works.

The short version

  • The Home Buyers' Plan (HBP) lets a first-time buyer take up to $60,000 out of their RRSP, tax-free, to buy or build a home. A couple can take up to $120,000.
  • It's a loan to yourself. You repay it to your RRSP over 15 years; any year you don't, the missed amount is added to your income.
  • For first withdrawals made from 2022 to 2028, repayments start in the fifth year after the withdrawal instead of the second. The 2026 to 2028 part was proposed in the April 2026 Spring Economic Update and is not yet law.
  • Money must be in the RRSP at least 90 days before you withdraw it, or the contribution isn't deductible.
  • You can use the HBP and the FHSA for the same home.

Home Buyers' Plan: Using Your RRSP for a Home

The Home Buyers' Plan is the old reliable of first-home financing: your RRSP becomes a 15-year, interest-free loan for the down payment. It works well. It also has a way of quietly turning into taxable income for people who forget about the repayments, which CRA does not forget.

Who Can Use It

  • You're a first-time buyer: you didn't live in a home you or your spouse owned in the current year (before the withdrawal) or the four previous years. There are exceptions for a breakdown of a marriage or common-law partnership, and for buying for a person with a disability.
  • You have a written agreement to buy or build a qualifying home in Canada, and intend to live in it within a year.
  • You buy or build it before October 1 of the year after the withdrawal.
  • You're a Canadian resident, and your HBP balance from any earlier use is zero by January 1 of the year you withdraw.

How It Works

  1. Fill out form T1036 for each withdrawal and give it to your RRSP issuer. No tax is withheld.
  2. Withdraw up to $60,000 in total. Spouses can each withdraw from their own RRSPs.
  3. Close on the home by October 1 of the following year.
  4. Repay at least 1/15 of the total each year, starting in the second year after the withdrawal (fifth year for first withdrawals made from 2022 to 2028, the last three years as proposed). Your notice of assessment shows the amount due.
  5. Designate repayments on Schedule 7. RRSP contributions made in the year or the first 60 days of the next can count as repayments.

Example

You withdraw $45,000 in 2026. Under the proposed extension, repayments start in 2031: $3,000 a year for 15 years (in 2028 if the extension isn't passed). Skip a payment and $3,000 is added to that year's income, taxed at your marginal rate, and that slice of the RRSP is gone for good.

Free

FHSA, HBP or both?

Tell the assistant your RRSP and FHSA balances, income, province and when you plan to buy. It shows how much you can use from each and what the HBP repayments will look like.

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HBP or FHSA?

Both, if you can. The FHSA is better money: it's never repaid, and qualifying withdrawals are tax-free. The HBP is a loan you must pay back. But the HBP can draw on RRSP savings you already have, and together they let one buyer put up to $100,000 of tax-advantaged money into a first home, or $200,000 for a couple.

The 90-Day Rule

RRSP contributions made less than 90 days before you withdraw them under the HBP can't be deducted. If you're topping up the RRSP to fund the HBP, do it early. Your deduction limit is explained on RRSP contribution limit.

Don't Forget the Other First-Home Breaks

  • The home buyers' amount: $1,400 off federal tax.
  • Provincial land transfer tax rebates for first-time buyers.
  • The GST/HST new housing rebate on new or substantially renovated homes; in Ontario, see OntarioHSTRebates.ca.

Every year of repayments shows up on your return. Return Check flags a missing HBP repayment designation before CRA adds it to your income. The RRSP basics are on RRSP tax deduction.

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Home Buyers' Plan Questions

How much can I withdraw under the Home Buyers' Plan?

Up to $60,000 from your RRSPs. Spouses or common-law partners can each withdraw up to $60,000 from their own RRSPs.

When do I start repaying the Home Buyers' Plan?

Normally in the second year after the withdrawal, over 15 years. For first withdrawals made from January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2025, repayments start in the fifth year after the withdrawal. The April 2026 Spring Economic Update proposed extending this to first withdrawals made up to the end of 2028.

What happens if I miss an HBP repayment?

The amount you should have repaid is added to your income for that year and taxed.

Can I use the Home Buyers' Plan and an FHSA together?

Yes, for the same qualifying home, if you meet the conditions for each.

What is the 90-day rule for the HBP?

RRSP contributions made within 90 days before an HBP withdrawal are not deductible to the extent they are withdrawn.

Sources: CRA, What is the Home Buyers' Plan; form T1036; Guide RC4135; Finance Canada, Spring Economic Update 2026, tax measures. Checked October 2026. The extension of the five-year grace period to 2028 withdrawals is a proposal; we will update this page when it becomes law or changes. Conditions are summarized; the 90-day rule and the exceptions to the first-time buyer test have more detail in CRA's guide.

Last reviewed October 5, 2026 against CRA and Government of Canada sources. How we check our facts.