A First Home Savings Account (FHSA) is a registered plan that allows prospective first-time Canadian home buyers to save for the purchase of their first home, tax free.

Mackenzie has been accepting FHSA purchases in nominee accounts since mid-June 2023. Please reach out to your dealership to open a nominee FHSA investing in Mackenzie products.

Mackenzie is scheduled to have Mackenzie-administered FHSA accounts (client name accounts) available from November 2023.

Please complete the Mackenzie First Home Savings Account Application to open a new plan and the Transfer Authorization for Registered & Non-Registered Accounts to transfer an existing FHSA (or RSP) from another provider.

To be eligible, an individual must be:

• A resident of Canada.
• A first-time home buyer.
• Between the ages of 18 (or the age of majority in the province/territory where they live) and 71, with a valid social insurance number (SIN).

For the purposes of opening an FHSA, an individual will be considered a first-time home buyer if they did not, at any time in the current calendar year before the account is opened or at any time in the preceding four calendar years, live in a qualifying home (or what would be a qualifying home located in Canada) as their principal place of residence that either:

• They owned or jointly owned; or
• Their spouse or CLP owned or jointly owned (at the time the account is opened).

For the purposes of the FHSA, a qualifying home is a housing unit located in Canada. This includes existing homes and those being constructed. The following would qualify:

• Single-family homes.
• Semi-detached homes.
• Townhouses.
• Mobile homes.
• Condominium units.
• Apartments in duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes or apartment buildings.
• A share in a co-operative housing corporation that entitles someone to own, and gives them an equity interest in, a housing unit.

Nominee accounts: All Mackenzie funds and series are eligible except for the Mackenzie Northleaf Private Infrastructure Fund and the Mackenzie Northleaf Global Private Equity Fund.

Mackenzie-administered accounts (client name accounts): All Mackenzie mutual funds and series are eligible except for the Mackenzie Northleaf Private Infrastructure Fund, Mackenzie Northleaf Global Private Equity Fund and all US dollar funds.

Mackenzie ETFs require brokerage accounts that can trade and settle ETF units. Mackenzie ETFs are not eligible to be held in Mackenzie-administered accounts (client name accounts).

Please check Mackenzie's prospectus to see if a fund of your choice is a qualified investment in a registered plan.

To open an FHSA, the account holder must be at least 18 years old (or the age of majority in the province/territory where they live) and meet the other eligibility requirements. Parents cannot open an FHSA on behalf of their children even if they are over age 18.

Spousal FHSA plans are not available, and the FHSA cannot be held jointly. Married individuals can open separate FHSA accounts and use both towards their first home purchase. Individuals may also gift funds to their spouse who then contributes to the FHSA. While attribution typically applies on gifts to spouses, there is an exception for FHSAs, which will not attribute any income or capital gains back to the giftor spouse. Also, upon withdrawal, only the account holder is required to report the income and pay tax (if applicable). No portion of any withdrawal is subject to attribution.

Please see the response to Question 3.

No, only Canadian residents are eligible to open an FHSA.

Non-residents can continue to participate in an FHSA but they cannot make a qualifying withdrawal to build or buy a qualifying home as a non-resident.

If the eligibility criteria are met, an FHSA can be opened. To be eligible, an individual must:

• Be a resident of Canada.
• Have a valid social insurance number (SIN).
• Meet other eligibility requirements, as outlined in question 3.

Under the US tax rules, US citizens are generally taxed on their income and gains from other countries. Income and gains earned in Canadian registered accounts are taxed in the US, except for income and gains earned from RRSPs and RRIFs. Please consult your US tax advisor for tax-related questions on the FHSA.

Unlike an RRSP, the FHSA contribution room is fixed for every account holder and is not determined based on the account holder’s income. The annual contribution limit for an FHSA is $8,000 beginning in the year the account is opened, and the lifetime contribution limit is $40,000 for every account holder.

FHSA contribution room of $8,000 per calendar year includes direct contributions and transfers. Transferring from RRSP will reduce the FHSA contribution room without restoring the RRSP contribution room. 

While contributions to FHSA can be deductible on the account holder’s income tax and benefit return, any transfers from an RRSP to an FHSA are not deductible.

The minimum investment requirement is fund and series specific. Please check Fund Facts for information. 

Only account holders can make contributions to their FHSA and claim tax benefits. Parents may consider gifting funds to their children to make contributions to their FHSA. The children, not the parents, will receive the tax deductions. 

Only account holders can make contributions to their FHSA and claim the tax benefits. Individuals may gift funds to their spouse who can then contribute to their FHSA.

For a particular year, it is the least of

• $8,000 (or)
• The amount of your FHSA participation room for the prior year(s) that exceeds all contributions and transfers made to your FHSAs in the prior year(s) (or)
• $0 if your FHSA was opened in the current year (unlike with TFSAs, the contribution room starts to accumulate upon opening the plan).

The maximum carryforward to the current year is equal to any unused FHSA room at the end of the previous year up to a maximum of $8,000. For example, John opened an FHSA in 2023 and contributed $5,000. In 2024, he can contribute up to $11,000, which includes the remaining $3,000 from 2023, plus the 2024 contribution limit of $8,000. 

This applies to someone who did not, at any time in the current calendar year before the withdrawal (except the 30 days immediately before the withdrawal) or at any time in the preceding four calendar years, live in a qualifying home (or what could be a qualifying home if located in Canada) as their principal place of residence that they owned or jointly owned.

A qualifying withdrawal is a withdrawal from FHSA where all the following conditions are met:

• Account holder fills out and submits CRA Form RC725, Request to Make a Qualifying Withdrawal from your FHSA.
• Account holder must be a first-time home buyer. 
• Account holder must have a written agreement to buy or build a qualifying home with the acquisition or construction completion date of the qualifying home before October 1 of the year following the date of the withdrawal.
• Account holder must not have acquired the qualifying home more than 30 days before making the withdrawal.
• Account holder must be a resident of Canada from the time they make the first qualifying withdrawal from one of their FHSAs until the earlier of the acquisition of the qualifying home or the date of their death.
• Account holder must occupy or intend to occupy the qualifying home as their principal place of residence within one year after buying or building it.

If one or more of the conditions are not met at the time of the withdrawal, the withdrawal will be treated as a taxable withdrawal, and the account holder must include it as income on their income tax and benefit return for the year received.

An individual must be a first-time home buyer and meet other conditions outlined in Part A of CRA Form RC725, Request to Make a Qualifying Withdrawal from your FHSA. 

If the account holder meets the criteria for a qualifying withdrawal, the withdrawal will be tax-free. Any other withdrawals that are not qualifying withdrawals may be taxable.

Account holders may consider transferring any remaining amounts in an FHSA to an RRSP on a tax-deferred basis. 

Yes, individuals can make qualified withdrawals from both FHSA and HBP and combine these amounts to put towards their first home purchase.

There is no required period of time for the funds to be in the FHSA before they can be withdrawn. This is different than the HBP, where RRSP contributions must be in the account at least 90 days before they can be withdrawn using the HBP.

The CRA enforces penalties on over-contributions. Excess contributions are subject to a 1% penalty and are assessed monthly. The penalty tax applies as soon as the FHSA contributions exceed the FHSA contribution room. Account holders must withdraw the excess contribution to stop the penalty tax from accumulating. Otherwise, the penalty will continue to apply until new room is generated.

The following two options are available:

• Transfer the money from the FHSA to an RRSP without using any available contribution room or without causing any over-contribution to the RRSP account.
• Withdraw (cash withdrawal or transfer to a TFSA or a non-registered account) the funds from the FHSA. However, the withdrawal will be subject to tax. 

The maximum participation period begins when the account is opened, and the period ends on December 31 of the year in which the earliest of the following occurs:

• The 15^th anniversary of opening the first FHSA.
• The account holder turns 71 years.
• The year following the first qualifying withdrawal from the FHSA.