The RRSP Home Buyers' Plan (HBP) is a federal program that lets each first-time buyer withdraw up to $60,000 from their Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs), tax-free, to buy or build a home. The plan is a loan to yourself: you pay it back into your RRSP over 15 years.
| Most you can withdraw | $60,000 per person |
| Tax on the withdrawal | None, if you follow the rules |
| Repayment | Over 15 years, at least 1/15 a year |
| Repayments start | The second year after the year you withdraw |
| With an FHSA | Allowed on the same home |
Who can use the Home Buyers' Plan
According to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), you qualify as a first-time buyer if you haven't lived in a home that you or your spouse or common-law partner owned during the four-year period that ends 31 days before you withdraw. In practice: not this year, and not in the previous four calendar years.
You also need to be a resident of Canada, have a written agreement to buy or build a home, and intend to live in it as your main home within a year of buying. The home has to be in Canada, and you have to buy it before October 1 of the year after your withdrawal.
If you used the plan before, you can use it again once your previous balance is fully repaid by January 1 of the year you withdraw, and you meet the first-time buyer test again.
How much you can withdraw
You can withdraw up to $60,000 per person, from one or more of your RRSPs. That includes a spousal RRSP where you're the annuitant. Locked-in RRSPs and group plans that don't allow withdrawals can't be used.
A couple who both qualify can withdraw up to $120,000 together. The $60,000 limit applies to withdrawals made after April 16, 2024; before that it was $35,000.
How to withdraw
To withdraw, fill in Form T1036 and give it to the bank or brokerage holding your RRSP. They'll pay out the money.
Use one form for each withdrawal. All your withdrawals generally have to happen in the same calendar year, so plan the timing around your closing date and give yourself a few weeks; your lawyer needs the money before closing.
Paying it back
Home Buyers' Plan repayment starts the second year after the year you withdraw. Withdraw in 2026 and your first repayment is due for 2028, which you can make up to 60 days into 2029. The CRA tells you the minimum each year on your notice of assessment.
The minimum is 1/15 of what you withdrew. On $60,000, that's $4,000 a year, about $333 a month, on top of your mortgage. You can always repay more, or all of it early.
Withdrawals made from 2022 to 2025 got a temporary three-year grace period, so their repayments start in the fifth year after the withdrawal instead of the second. That doesn't apply to withdrawals made in 2026.
Using it with the FHSA
You can use the Home Buyers' Plan and a First Home Savings Account (FHSA) on the same home. The FHSA comes out with nothing to repay; the Home Buyers' Plan has to be paid back.
Together that's up to $100,000 per person, or $200,000 for a couple. Read the FHSA guide →
Here's how far the two together go against the minimum down payment on the typical home in each city:
| City | Detached | Freehold townhouse | Condo apartment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kitchener | One person's FHSA and HBP cover it $47,200 minimum on a $722,000 median | One person's FHSA and HBP cover it $37,800 minimum on a $628,000 median | One person's FHSA and HBP cover it $16,800 minimum on a $336,000 median |
| Waterloo | One person's FHSA and HBP cover it $60,000 minimum on a $849,450 median | One person's FHSA and HBP cover it $41,500 minimum on a $665,000 median | One person's FHSA and HBP cover it $20,000 minimum on a $400,000 median |
| Cambridge | One person's FHSA and HBP cover it $46,500 minimum on a $715,000 median | One person's FHSA and HBP cover it $36,500 minimum on a $615,000 median | One person's FHSA and HBP cover it $18,500 minimum on a $370,000 median |
| Woolwich | One person's FHSA and HBP cover it $63,000 minimum on a $880,000 median | One person's FHSA and HBP cover it $37,100 minimum on a $621,000 median | Too few sales |
| Wilmot | One person's FHSA and HBP cover it $62,000 minimum on a $870,000 median | Too few sales | Too few sales |
| Wellesley | One person's FHSA and HBP cover it $67,500 minimum on a $925,000 median | Too few sales | Too few sales |
| North Dumfries | One person's FHSA and HBP cover it $59,500 minimum on a $845,000 median | Too few sales | Too few sales |
Minimum down payment on the median sold price, against one person's full FHSA and Home Buyers' Plan ($100,000) or a couple's ($200,000). Medians cover the 90 days of sales ending October 26, 2026; fewer than 10 sales and we don't show a figure. How we calculate this.
Is it worth it?
The Home Buyers' Plan gives you a bigger down payment now, which can mean a smaller mortgage and a lower insurance premium. See how each step up in down payment changes the premium in the down payment guide.
The costs are real, though. The money stops growing in your RRSP while it's out, and for 15 years the repayments compete with your mortgage, property tax and everything a new home needs. Whether it's worth it depends on your numbers, not a rule of thumb.