TFSA room for a couple who arrived in different years
Room is per person, never shared. Someone resident since 2019 has $51,500; a partner resident since 2023 has $27,500. Together that is $79,000 in 2026.
Together you have $79,000 of TFSA room.
You
TFSA
$51,500 room this year
Your room started in 2019, the year you became a tax resident: $51,500 in all through 2026.
Not $109,000: that counts every year since 2009, and years before you were a resident add nothing.
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.
Your partner
TFSA
$27,500 room this year
Their room started in 2023, the year they became a tax resident: $27,500 in all through 2026.
Not $104,000: that counts every year since 2009, and years before they were a resident add nothing.
FHSA
An FHSA has no room until they open one, even with nothing in it. Opening one starts $8,000 a year.
RRSP
Their RRSP limit is on their latest Notice of Assessment, under “RRSP deduction limit”. Type it, or what they earned each year since they 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.
Each spouse’s room starts the year they turned 18 or became a tax resident, whichever came later. A couple who arrived apart has two different staircases, and neither starts in 2009.
You can give your spouse money to put in their own TFSA and the attribution rules generally do not apply to it, but it uses their room, not yours. Room cannot be moved from one person to the other.
Sources
Checked against the CRA’s pages on 2026-10-18. The CRA’s records are the official ones.