Budget 2022 proposes to create the Tax-Free First Home Savings Account (FHSA), a new registered account to help individuals save for their first home. Contributions to an FHSA would be deductible and income earned in an FHSA would not be subject to tax. Qualifying withdrawals from an FHSA made to purchase a first home would be non-taxable.
Some key design features of the FHSA are described below. The government will release its proposals for other design elements in the near future.
Eligibility
To open an FHSA, an individual must be a resident of Canada, and at least 18 years of age. In addition, the individual must not have lived in a home that they owned either:
· at any time in the year the account is opened, or
· during the preceding four calendar years.
Individuals would be limited to making non-taxable withdrawals in respect of a single property in their lifetime.
Once an individual has made a non-taxable withdrawal to purchase a home, they would be required to close their FHSAs within a year from the first withdrawal and would not be eligible to open another FHSA.
Contributions
The lifetime limit on contributions would be $40,000, subject to an annual contribution limit of $8,000. The full annual contribution limit would be available starting in 2023.
Unused annual contribution room could not be carried forward, meaning an individual contributing less than $8,000 in a given year would still face an annual limit of $8,000 in subsequent years.
An individual would be permitted to hold more than one FHSA, but the total amount that an individual contributes to all of their FHSAs could not exceed their annual and lifetime FHSA contribution limits.
Withdrawals and Transfers
Amounts withdrawn to make a qualifying first home purchase would not be subject to tax. Amounts that are withdrawn for other purposes would be taxable.
To provide flexibility, an individual could transfer funds from an FHSA to a registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) (at any time before the year they turn 71) or registered retirement income fund (RRIF). Transfers to an RRSP or RRIF would not be taxable at the time of transfer, but amounts would be taxed when withdrawn from the RRSP or RRIF in the usual manner. Transfers would not reduce, or be limited by, the individual’s available RRSP room. Withdrawals and transfers would not replenish FHSA contribution limits.
If an individual has not used the funds in their FHSA for a qualifying first home purchase within 15 years of first opening an FHSA, their FHSA would have to be closed. Any unused savings could be transferred into an RRSP or RRIF, or would otherwise have to be withdrawn on a taxable basis.
Individuals would also be allowed to transfer funds from an RRSP to an FHSA on a tax-free basis, subject to the $40,000 lifetime and $8,000 annual contribution limits. These transfers would not restore an individual’s RRSP contribution room.
Home Buyers’ Plan
The home buyers’ plan (HBP) allows individuals to withdraw up to $35,000 from an RRSP to purchase or build a home without having to pay tax on the withdrawal. Amounts withdrawn under the HBP must be repaid to an RRSP over a period not exceeding 15 years, starting the second year following the year in which the withdrawal was made.
The HBP will continue to be available as under existing rules. However, an individual will not be permitted to make both an FHSA withdrawal and an HBP withdrawal in respect of the same qualifying home purchase.
Effective Date
The government would work with financial institutions to have the infrastructure in place for individuals to be able to open an FHSA and start contributing at some point in 2023.
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