Can I take money out of my TFSA and put it back the same year?
Only from room you still have. A withdrawal comes back as room on 1 January of the next year, never in the year you take it out. Put it back sooner and the amount above your room is an excess, taxed at 1% a month.
You have $0 of TFSA room.
You
TFSA
$0 room this year
Your room started in 2009, when TFSAs began: $109,000 in all through 2026.
You’ve put in about $109,000, so $0 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.
Say your room was used up this year and you take out $10,000 in March. Putting the $10,000 back in October is a $10,000 excess from October to December: $300 of tax, and a form RC243 to file. On 1 January the $10,000 withdrawal is added back, which absorbs the excess.
Moving money between banks is different: a direct transfer from one TFSA to another moves nothing. Withdraw it yourself and redeposit it, and it counts as a withdrawal and a new contribution.
Losses never give room back. If your TFSA lost value, the room you used when you put the money in stays used.
Sources
Checked against the CRA’s pages on 2026-10-18. The CRA’s records are the official ones.