Why is my TFSA room on my CRA account wrong in January?
Because it doesn’t know what you did last year yet. Banks report the year’s TFSA transactions by the end of February, and CRA updates the account in the spring. On 1 January it can show $27,500 when $13,500 of it is already used.
You have $14,000 of TFSA room.
You
TFSA
$14,000 room this year
Your room started in 2023, the year you turned 18: $27,500 in all through 2026.
You’ve put in about $13,500, so $14,000 is left.
FHSA
An FHSA has no room until you open one, even with nothing in it. Opening one starts $8,000 a year.
RRSP
Your RRSP limit is on your latest Notice of Assessment, under “RRSP deduction limit”. Type it, or what you earned each year since you arrived, to see what’s left.
CRA’s account shows TFSA room as of 1 January and adds last year’s transactions only in the spring, so from January to about April it can show more room than you have.
Contribution Room estimates your contribution room from the rules the Canada Revenue Agency publishes and what you enter. It is not tax, legal or financial advice. Your CRA account and Notice of Assessment are the official record: check them before you contribute, and ask a tax professional about residency or anything unusual. Contribution Room is not affiliated with the CRA.
US citizens and green-card holders: a TFSA is generally not tax-free in the US; ask a cross-border tax professional first.
CRA’s own example is Moira: she turned 18 in 2023, put $13,500 in during 2024, and on 1 January 2025 her account still showed $20,500. Trusting it, she put in $11,000 in February and was $4,000 over.
CRA tells people to use their own records for this reason. Keep a list of what you put in and take out at every bank, and add last year’s withdrawals back on 1 January.
Sources
Checked against the CRA’s pages on 2026-10-18. The CRA’s records are the official ones.