The Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP) lets a first-time buyer take up to C$60,000 from their RRSPs tax-free toward a home, and pay it back to the RRSP over 15 years. For first withdrawals made from 2022 to 2028, repayments start in the fifth year after the withdrawal: take the money in 2026 and your first repayment is due for 2031. It’s a loan to yourself, not a grant.
The Home Buyers’ Plan glossary entry has the short version. This guide covers how to use it well.
The plan in numbers
Per person, in Canadian dollars
Source: Canada Revenue Agency, Home Buyers' Plan pages (January and February 2026)
On that schedule, someone who withdraws C$60,000 in 2026 repays C$4,000 a year for 2031 through 2045. That’s simple division of the balance over the 15 years; paying more early lowers the later amounts.
Who qualifies
You need all of these at the time of the withdrawal:
- You’re a first-time buyer. You didn’t live in a home owned by you or your current spouse or common-law partner earlier in the year of the withdrawal (not counting the 30 days just before it) or in the four years before.
- You have a written agreement to buy or build a home. A pre-approved mortgage isn’t an agreement.
- You’re a resident of Canada, and you stay one until you buy.
- You intend to live in the home as your main residence within a year of buying or building it.
- You buy or build it before October 1 of the year after your first withdrawal.
Two exceptions are worth knowing. After a separation, you can use the plan even if you owned a home in the past four years, as long as you started living apart in that window and meet a few extra conditions. And separate rules let you withdraw to buy or build a home for a person with a disability; the CRA’s definitions page sets out who counts.
How the withdrawal works
You fill in Form T1036 for each withdrawal and give it to your RRSP provider. You can make several withdrawals, but only in the calendar year of the first one and the January after. Anything beyond C$60,000 in total is taxed as income.
The 89-day rule. If you put money into an RRSP and then withdraw it under the plan within 89 days, you may lose the deduction for that contribution. Put new money in at least 90 days before you plan to take it out. For 2026, the RRSP dollar limit is C$33,810, and your own room is on your notice of assessment.
How repayment works
- The minimum each year is your remaining balance divided by the years left. The CRA prints it on your notice of assessment.
- You repay by contributing to your RRSP during the year or in the first 60 days of the next.
- You have to designate it. Report the repayment on Schedule 7 (line 24600) of your return. A contribution you don’t designate is treated as a regular RRSP contribution, not a repayment.
- A shortfall becomes income. Anything below the minimum is added to your income on line 12900 and taxed.
- You can repay faster. Extra repayments lower the minimum in later years.
- You can use the plan again once your balance is zero on January 1 of the year you want to withdraw, if you qualify as a first-time buyer again.
The HBP and the FHSA together
You can use both for the same home. The order matters:
| FHSA | Home Buyers’ Plan | |
|---|---|---|
| Source | New contributions, deductible | RRSP savings you already have |
| Limit | C$40,000 of contributions | C$60,000 withdrawal |
| Pay it back | Never | Over 15 years |
Draw on the FHSA first, because that money never has to go back. The HBP then fills the gap from the RRSP. Our FHSA guide covers that account’s rules.
The real cost
The HBP has no tax on the way out, but it isn’t free:
- The money stops growing for retirement. RRSP savings you withdraw are out of the market until you repay them, and repayments are spread over 15 years.
- Repayments compete with a new mortgage. C$4,000 a year on top of a first mortgage is real money. If you miss it, you pay tax instead.
- Repayments use cash that could have earned a new deduction. A repayment is designated, not deducted, so it doesn’t reduce your tax that year.
For many buyers it’s still worth it: a bigger down payment can mean a smaller mortgage or no mortgage insurance. The question is the size of the withdrawal, not whether to use it at all.
Common mistakes
- Contributing right before withdrawing. The 89-day rule can cost you the deduction.
- Missing the October 1 deadline. Buy or build before October 1 of the year after your first withdrawal, or ask the CRA about the limited extensions.
- Forgetting to designate repayments. Money goes into the RRSP, but the plan balance doesn’t fall, and the shortfall is added to your income.
- Counting only your own past ownership. Your current spouse’s or partner’s home ownership can disqualify you.
- Using the HBP before the FHSA. You end up repaying money you could have taken tax-free for good.
- Withdrawing the maximum by default. Take what the purchase needs. Every dollar out is a dollar that has to go back.
Questions to ask
- How much of our down payment should come from the FHSA, the HBP and cash?
- Can we afford the HBP repayments starting in 2031 alongside the mortgage?
- If we both qualify, how should we split the withdrawals between us?
- Should I contribute to my RRSP now, at least 90 days before the withdrawal, to get a deduction first?
- What does withdrawing do to my retirement projection, and how fast should I repay?
For any advisor, also ask: “Do you or your firm earn anything from the RRSP or the products in it?” A fee-only planner answers no.
When a fee-only planner is worth it
If you’re single, already have an FHSA and need a modest top-up from your RRSP, the CRA forms are enough. A planner earns the fee when the numbers interact: a couple combining two FHSAs and two HBP withdrawals, a buyer weighing a larger down payment against keeping retirement savings invested, a separation that brings the marriage-breakdown exception into play, or a newcomer working out first-time status.
In Canada, advice-only planners who publish prices charge a median C$1,900 for a one-time plan (middle half C$950 to C$3,000), C$250 an hour, or C$2,300 a year for ongoing planning. The samples are small, 46 firms for plans, 15 for hourly rates and 21 for ongoing planning, so get two quotes. A down payment question usually fits in a few hours of hourly advice or a one-time plan. See what fee-only advisors charge in Canada and what an hourly planner costs.
Where to look
Browse fee-only planners by province in the public graph: Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia. You can also start from advisors for early-career professionals or newcomers, the flat-fee planning specialty, or the list of fee-only advisors in Ontario.
Related reading: RRSP vs TFSA, how TFSA contribution room works and planning for your first home.