Can you use the FHSA and the Home Buyers Plan together?

Yes. The CRA is direct about it: you can take money out of your RRSPs under the Home Buyers’ Plan and make a qualifying withdrawal from your FHSAs for the same home, provided each withdrawal meets its own conditions at the time it is made.

They are not the same instrument, though, and the difference that matters most is repayment.

The rule, from both sides

On the FHSA page: “You can withdraw amounts from your RRSPs under the Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP) and make a qualifying withdrawal from your FHSAs for the same qualifying home, as long as you meet all of the conditions at the time of each withdrawal” (canada.ca).

The HBP page says the same thing from the other direction, and states the limit: “Currently, the HBP withdrawal limit is $60,000”, followed by “You can withdraw amounts from your RRSP under the HBP and make a qualifying withdrawal from your first home savings account (FHSA) for the same qualifying home, as long as you meet all of the conditions at the time of each withdrawal” (canada.ca).

Two pages, one answer, and it is not conditional on choosing between them.

The difference that lasts fifteen years

An FHSA qualifying withdrawal is finished when it is made. The CRA: “You do not need to repay the qualifying withdrawals that you make from your FHSAs” (canada.ca).

The HBP is a loan to yourself on a schedule. The CRA describes a 15-year repayment period, with temporary relief in force: for a first withdrawal made between January 1, 2026 and December 31, 2028, the repayment period “would start the fifth year following the year in which a first withdrawal was made”, so a 2026 withdrawal has 2031 as its first repayment year (canada.ca).

Worked: what the two together can amount to

On the FHSA side the $40,000 cap sits on what goes in, not on what comes out. The CRA states “The lifetime FHSA limit = $40,000” for contributions and transfers in, with the annual figure at $8,000 plus carryforward (canada.ca). The qualifying withdrawal itself has no dollar cap: the CRA states you “can withdraw all of the property” from your FHSAs tax-free, so the withdrawal can be the full account value including growth (canada.ca).

Source	CRA limit	Repayable?
FHSA qualifying withdrawal	no dollar cap on the withdrawal; contributions and transfers in generally capped at $40,000 lifetime	No
RRSP under the HBP	withdrawal limit of $60,000	Yes, over 15 years

The CRA also publishes a case of two people buying together. Kara and Stephen each open an FHSA, each meets the conditions, and each makes a qualifying withdrawal for the same home, $40,500 and $41,000 respectively, neither of which had to be included in income (canada.ca). Both figures sit above $40,000 for the reason just given: the withdrawals include growth earned inside the accounts, which the lifetime contribution limit does not cap. The accounts are individual; the home can be joint.

What “all of the conditions” actually covers on the FHSA side

The CRA’s list for a qualifying withdrawal includes a written agreement to buy or build a qualifying home with completion “before October 1 of the year following the date of the withdrawal”, not having acquired the home more than 30 days before the withdrawal, Canadian residency through to acquisition, an intention to occupy it as a principal residence within one year, and Form RC725 given to the issuer (canada.ca).

The HBP side has its own form, T1036 (canada.ca). Two withdrawals, two forms, two condition sets tested independently.

The asymmetry if the deal collapses

One is reversible and one is not. The CRA: “Although you can cancel your HBP participation under certain conditions, you cannot cancel a qualifying withdrawal from your FHSA once it has been made. If you re-contribute the amount of your qualifying withdrawal to your FHSAs, it will be counted as a new contribution to your FHSA. This new contribution may create or increase your excess FHSA amount” (canada.ca).

The FHSA withdrawal also starts the account’s end clock, and a pre-existing excess survives it. Both are covered in the FHSA penalty and the 15-year clock. The RRSP limit the HBP draws against is explained in deduction limit vs contribution room.

Two accounts, one purchase, one record

Hudson Bay Finance makes a contribution-room tracker that keeps FHSA and RRSP positions in one dated record, including the RRSP-to-FHSA transfers the CRA counts against FHSA room. FHSA and RRSP tracking are part of the one-time $19.99 unlock.

Common questions

Can I use the FHSA and the Home Buyers Plan for the same home?

Yes. The CRA states you can withdraw amounts from your RRSPs under the HBP and make a qualifying withdrawal from your FHSAs for the same qualifying home, as long as you meet all of the conditions at the time of each withdrawal.

How much can be withdrawn under the Home Buyers Plan?

The CRA states the HBP withdrawal limit is currently $60,000. On the FHSA side there is no dollar cap on a qualifying withdrawal itself; what the CRA caps at $40,000 is lifetime FHSA contributions and transfers in, so a qualifying withdrawal can be the full account value including growth.

Does the HBP have to be repaid?

Yes, the HBP is a withdrawal with a repayment period. The CRA states you do not need to repay qualifying withdrawals made from your FHSAs.

Can I cancel one of them if the purchase falls through?

The CRA states that HBP participation can be cancelled under certain conditions, but that you cannot cancel a qualifying withdrawal from your FHSA once it has been made.

Related situations

• TFSA successor holder vs beneficiary: what each does to the room
• All situational answers, including the other when the money is moving pages