Home Buyers' Plan Canada 2026: The Complete $60,000 HBP Guide
The Home Buyers' Plan (HBP) lets first-time home buyers in Canada pull up to $60,000 out of an RRSP without paying a cent of tax on the withdrawal. The 2024 jump from $35,000 to $60,000 per person, paired with an extended five-year grace period before repayment starts, makes the program more powerful in 2026 than it has been in over a decade. Here is how it works, where it stacks with the FHSA, and the 90-day rule that quietly trips up thousands of buyers every year.
What is the Home Buyers' Plan?
The Home Buyers' Plan is a federal program that lets a first-time home buyer borrow money from their own RRSP, tax-free, to put toward a down payment on a qualifying home in Canada. You do not get taxed on the withdrawal, you do not lose the contribution room you used to build the RRSP, and you have up to 15 years to pay it back to your own account.
Mechanically, the HBP is closer to a no-interest loan from your future self than it is to a withdrawal. You take money out today, you put the same amount back over time, and the CRA tracks the balance through your Notice of Assessment each year. Miss a repayment and that year's required amount is added to your taxable income.
How much can you withdraw in 2026?
The federal Budget 2024 raised the HBP withdrawal limit from $35,000 to $60,000 per eligible buyer for any withdrawal made on or after April 16, 2024. That ceiling carries into 2026 unchanged, and there is no indication Ottawa plans to lift it further this fiscal year. If you are buying with a spouse or common-law partner who also qualifies as a first-time buyer, each of you can pull $60,000 from your own RRSPs for a combined $120,000 toward the same home.
| Year | HBP limit per person | Couple (both eligible) |
|---|---|---|
| 2019-April 15, 2024 | $35,000 | $70,000 |
| April 16, 2024-2026 | $60,000 | $120,000 |
There is no minimum withdrawal. You can take out $5,000 or the full $60,000 in one shot, or you can split it across multiple withdrawals as long as they all happen in the same calendar year or by January of the year after your first one.
Who qualifies as a first-time home buyer?
The CRA's first-time buyer definition is more generous than people assume. You are considered a first-time buyer if neither you nor your current spouse or common-law partner has owned a home that you occupied as your principal residence in the current year or any of the four previous calendar years.
- You must be a Canadian resident at the time of withdrawal and when you buy or build the qualifying home.
- You must intend to occupy the home as your principal residence within one year of buying or building it.
- You must have a written agreement to buy or build a qualifying home before October 1 of the year after the withdrawal.
- The four-year clock resets. Even if you have owned a home before, you become eligible again four full calendar years after the year you last lived in an owned home.
- Persons with disabilities and people buying a home for a disabled relative are exempt from the first-time buyer rule.
The 90-day RRSP rule (the trap nobody mentions)
This catches buyers who sprint to top up an RRSP after a mortgage pre-approval. The strategy is sound, but the timing matters. A $30,000 contribution that does not survive the 90-day rule effectively costs you the marginal-rate refund on that $30,000 (often $9,000 to $14,000 in lost deduction value), in exchange for the same withdrawal amount you would have received anyway.
How HBP repayment actually works
Once you withdraw under the HBP, you have a grace period before repayment kicks in. The standard rule is that repayments start in the second year following the withdrawal year, over 15 equal annual installments. For withdrawals made between January 1, 2022 and December 31, 2025, the federal government extended the grace period to five years, so repayments on those withdrawals do not begin until the fifth year after withdrawal.
| Withdrawal year | Grace period | First repayment due |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 or earlier | 2 years | Year 2 after withdrawal |
| 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 | 5 years (extended) | Year 5 after withdrawal |
| 2026 | 2 years (reverts) | 2028 unless extended again |
If you withdraw the full $60,000 in 2026, your minimum annual repayment is $4,000 per year for 15 years starting in 2028. You can always repay more than the minimum, or pay back the full balance in a lump sum at any time, but you cannot get ahead of the schedule, you can only stay on or above it.
HOW REPAYMENTS WORK ON YOUR TAX RETURN
- Make an RRSP contribution as you normally would during the calendar year or in the first 60 days of the next year.
- On Schedule 7 of your T1, designate part or all of that contribution as an HBP repayment, up to your minimum required amount.
- The designated portion does not generate a tax deduction, since you already got one on the original contribution years earlier.
- Any contribution above the required repayment can still be deducted normally against income for the year.
- Your remaining HBP balance and next year's required repayment appear on your Notice of Assessment after filing.
What happens if you miss a repayment?
If you fail to designate the required repayment in a given year, the unpaid amount gets added to your taxable income for that year, like any other RRSP withdrawal. At a 35% marginal rate, missing a $4,000 repayment costs you about $1,400 in tax. The remaining HBP balance does not change, so future minimum repayments stay the same.
HBP vs FHSA: which should you use first?
The FHSA (First Home Savings Account) launched in 2023 and is now the better starting point for most first-time buyers. The FHSA gives you the upfront RRSP-style tax deduction and the TFSA-style tax-free withdrawal, with no repayment requirement. The HBP keeps the deduction but locks you into 15 years of repayments. Used together, they are far more powerful than either one alone.
FHSA
- $8,000 annual contribution limit
- $40,000 lifetime contribution cap
- Tax deduction on contribution
- Tax-free growth and withdrawal
- No repayment required
- Best used: first, every year until cap
HBP
- $60,000 one-time withdrawal
- From existing RRSP balance
- Tax-free withdrawal
- Must repay over 15 years
- RRSP room is not restored
- Best used: as a top-up on a large RRSP
Can you stack HBP with FHSA?
The mechanics are clean: the FHSA withdrawal is a true tax-free withdrawal with nothing to pay back, while the HBP withdrawal is a loan from your RRSP that you repay over 15 years. The two programs operate independently and do not interact on your tax return. Most Canadians should max the FHSA first because the rules are simpler and there is no future repayment commitment to worry about.
Where to keep your HBP money in the months before closing
If your closing is six months out and your RRSP money is committed to the HBP, the worst place to leave it is a volatile equity fund. A 15% market drop in the weeks before closing can wipe out tens of thousands of dollars of down payment, and you cannot get the contribution room back. Once you have a firm purchase agreement, shift the HBP portion of your RRSP into something stable.
WHERE TO PARK HBP MONEY PRE-WITHDRAWAL
- Cashable GIC inside the RRSP - locks in 3.5% to 4.5% and stays liquid if your closing date shifts.
- High-interest savings ETF in the RRSP (CASH.TO, CBIL, PSA) - flexible, daily liquidity, around 4% to 4.5%.
- Money-market mutual fund inside the RRSP - bank-direct option for non-brokerage RRSPs.
- Short-term bond ETF (XBB, ZAG) - acceptable, but accept some duration risk if rates move.
- Avoid equities, REIT funds, and long-duration bonds within 12 months of expected withdrawal.
Common HBP mistakes to avoid
- Contributing and withdrawing inside the 90-day window. The CRA disallows the deduction on that contribution. Always season the RRSP money for at least 90 days.
- Forgetting that HBP repayments do not refresh your RRSP room. Once you use $60,000 of room to build the RRSP and then withdraw it under the HBP, you cannot get that room back. Future contributions use new annual room.
- Missing repayments because the CRA does not bill you. The required repayment is reported on your Notice of Assessment, not invoiced. Set a calendar reminder every February.
- Leaving HBP funds in volatile assets close to closing. A market drop a month before closing can wipe out your down payment.
- Withdrawing before you have a signed purchase agreement. You need a written agreement to buy or build a qualifying home by October 1 of the year after withdrawal, or the entire HBP withdrawal becomes taxable income.
Frequently asked questions
How much can I withdraw under the Home Buyers' Plan in 2026?
Up to $60,000 per eligible first-time buyer, raised from $35,000 in April 2024. A spousal couple where both qualify can each withdraw $60,000 from their own RRSP for the same home, stacking to a $120,000 combined down payment. There is no minimum withdrawal amount.
Do I have to pay back the HBP?
Yes. You repay the amount to your own RRSP over 15 equal annual installments, designated on Schedule 7 of your tax return. Standard rules require repayments to start in the second year after withdrawal, but withdrawals made between 2022 and 2025 received a temporary five-year grace period before repayments begin.
Can I use the HBP and the FHSA together?
Yes. The FHSA and the HBP operate independently. A buyer who has filled an FHSA ($40,000 cap) and built up a sufficient RRSP can withdraw $40,000 from the FHSA and $60,000 from the RRSP for a $100,000 tax-free down payment toward the same home. A couple where both have done this can stack to $200,000.
What is the 90-day rule for HBP contributions?
Any contribution you plan to withdraw under the HBP must sit in your RRSP for at least 90 days before the withdrawal. If you contribute and withdraw within 90 days, the CRA disallows the deduction on that contribution, so you lose the refund you were counting on. Always allow at least three months between contribution and withdrawal.
Who counts as a first-time home buyer under the HBP?
Someone who has not owned a home that they (or their current spouse or common-law partner) occupied as a principal residence in the current year or any of the four previous calendar years. The four-year clock resets after you move out, so people who owned a home long ago and later returned to renting can become eligible again.
What happens if I miss an HBP repayment?
The unpaid amount is added to your taxable income for that year and taxed at your marginal rate. The missed payment still counts toward closing out the 15-year schedule, so your future minimum repayments do not increase, but you effectively pay tax twice on that money - once when you miss the repayment, and again decades later when you withdraw it from your RRSP in retirement.