Year-End Money Moves Canada 2026: 7 Before Dec 31

Several Canadian tax breaks have a clock that runs out on December 31, so some money moves only count for the year if they happen before then. This guide covers seven of them for the 2026 tax year: TFSA withdrawals, TFSA room, opening an FHSA, the RRSP, tax-loss selling, donations and the RESP grant. One of these deadlines is not December 31 at all.

Your own numbers, like your contribution room, are in CRA My Account on canada.ca.

1. Time your TFSA withdrawal

If you plan to take money out of your TFSA soon, the timing matters. What you take out of a TFSA comes back as room, but not right away. It comes back on January 1 of the next year.

Here is an example. Take out $5,000 on December 30, and that room is back two days later, on January 1. Take it out on January 2, and you wait almost a full year.

Putting the money back

If you want to put the money back, the room from the withdrawal isn't there until January 1, unless you still have other unused room. Putting money in without room counts as an excess amount. The CRA charges a tax of 1% a month on the excess, for every month it stays in the account.

2. Use your 2026 TFSA room

The TFSA limit for 2026 is $7,000. If you don't use it, it isn't lost. Unused room carries forward to later years.

So why does timing matter? Money inside a TFSA grows tax free. Every month it sits outside a TFSA is a month of growth you may pay tax on.

Your room is worked out like this: this year's limit, plus unused room from past years, plus last year's withdrawals, minus what you put in this year.

Your limit is per person

Your room covers all your TFSAs together. Two accounts at two different places share the same room. Check your number in CRA My Account, and count what you've already put in this year. The TFSA, RRSP and FHSA room calculator can help you see the math.

3. Open an FHSA before December 31

A First Home Savings Account, or FHSA, has a real December 31 deadline. FHSA room only starts in the year you open the account. Nothing builds up before then.

Open one by December 31, 2026, and you get $8,000 of room for 2026. Room is the amount you're allowed to put in. You don't have to put any money in yet to get it.

If you don't use that room this year, up to $8,000 of it carries into next year. Add 2027's $8,000, and you could put in as much as $16,000 in 2027. Open the account in January 2027 instead, and the 2026 room never existed. There is also a $40,000 lifetime cap.

No 60-day grace period

The FHSA contribution period runs from January 1 to December 31 of the same year. Unlike an RRSP, money you put in during the first 60 days of 2027 can't be deducted on your 2026 return.

Who can open one

To open an FHSA, you need to:

• live in Canada
• be at least 18, or 19 where that is the legal age in your province
• be 71 or younger on December 31 of the year you open it
• be a first-time home buyer

First-time home buyer means you didn't live, as your main home, in a home that you or your spouse or partner owned, this year or in the previous four calendar years. This includes homes outside Canada.

4. The RRSP can usually wait

The RRSP is the deadline most people can relax about. For most people, it isn't December 31.

Money you put into an RRSP during the first 60 days of 2027 can count for 2026. The CRA posts the exact date on canada.ca, so check there early in the new year. For the 2025 tax year, the window ran from March 4, 2025, to March 2, 2026.

The exception: turning 71

If you turn 71 in 2026, December 31 is your last day to put money into your RRSP.

For everyone else, there's less rush. An RRSP deduction is worth more when your income is higher, so seeing your full year first can help. The take-home pay calculator shows how income and tax add up in your province.

5. Tax-loss selling

This move is for investors with a regular, taxable account.

If an investment is worth less than you paid, selling it locks in a capital loss. That loss can reduce the tax on capital gains. It can't reduce the tax on your paycheque or other income. Losses you can't use this year can go back to gains from the past three years, or forward to future years with no time limit.

The sale has to happen in 2026

A sale is reported in the calendar year you sell. Most Canadian stock trades now settle one business day after you trade, and markets close for the holidays. That's why many investors ask their broker for the last trading day of the year rather than waiting until December 31.

The 30-day rule

The loss doesn't count if you, or someone affiliated with you like a spouse or common-law partner, buy the same investment within 30 days before or after the sale, and still own it 30 days after the sale. The CRA calls this a superficial loss.

6. Donate before December 31

You can claim a tax credit for donations made in the year. A gift on December 31, 2026 counts for 2026. The same gift on January 1, 2027 counts for 2027.

To claim the credit, you need an official donation receipt from a qualified donee. Keep your receipts, because the CRA can ask to see them later.

If you don't claim a donation this year, you can carry it forward and claim it in any of the next five years.

7. Get the RESP grant

This one is for parents. When you put money into your child's Registered Education Savings Plan, or RESP, the government adds the Canada Education Savings Grant.

The grant is 20% of the first $2,500 you put in each year. That's up to $500 per child, every year.

The grant follows the calendar year. Money in by December 31 counts for 2026.

Catching up on missed years

Unused grant room carries forward, so you can catch up. You can get up to $1,000 of grant in a single year, and up to $7,200 over your child's lifetime.

Common questions

Is the RRSP deadline December 31?

For most people, no. Contributions made in the first 60 days of 2027 can count for the 2026 tax year, and the CRA posts the exact date on canada.ca. The exception is if you turn 71 in 2026. Then December 31 is your last day.

When does TFSA room come back after a withdrawal?

On January 1 of the next year. A withdrawal in December 2026 comes back as room on January 1, 2027. A withdrawal in January 2027 doesn't come back until January 1, 2028.

Does FHSA room build up before I open an account?

No. FHSA room only starts in the year you open the account. Opening one by December 31, 2026 gives you $8,000 of room for 2026, even if you don't put money in yet.

Can a capital loss lower the tax on my salary?

No. A capital loss can only reduce tax on capital gains. Unused losses can go back three years or forward to future years, but they can't be deducted from salary or other income.