Home Buyers' Plan - using up to $60,000 from your RRSP for a first Alberta home

Short answer: If you have RRSP savings and you’re eyeing a first home in Calgary, Edmonton, Red Deer or elsewhere in Alberta, Canada’s Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP) may let you withdraw up to $60,000 from your own RRSP toward a qualifying home. According to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), there is no tax withheld on an eligible HBP withdrawal of $60,000 or less, and you repay the amount to an RRSP, PRPP or SPP over 15 years. For a first withdrawal between January 1, 2026 and December 31, 2028, repayments start in the fifth year after the withdrawal (so a 2026 withdrawal means a first repayment year of 2031).

What the Home Buyers’ Plan is

The CRA describes the HBP as a program that lets you withdraw from your registered retirement savings plans (RRSPs) to buy or build a qualifying home for yourself or for a specified disabled person (CRA, The Home Buyers’ Plan). In plain terms:

• The current per-person limit is $60,000 in each participation period. Couples who each qualify can each withdraw up to that amount from their own RRSPs (CRA, How to participate).
• No tax is withheld on eligible withdrawals of $60,000 or less. Your RRSP issuer processes the withdrawal after you give them Form T1036.
• You repay over 15 years by contributing to your RRSP, PRPP or SPP and designating the contribution as an HBP repayment on Schedule 7. Designated repayments are not deductible (CRA, How to repay).
• It is a loan from your future self, not free cash. Money that stays out of your RRSP isn’t growing tax-sheltered until you put it back.

Who can use the HBP

According to the CRA, you generally must (CRA):

• be a resident of Canada when you withdraw, and stay a resident until you buy or build the home;
• have a written agreement to buy or build a qualifying home in Canada (a pre-approval alone does not count);
• intend that you (or the specified disabled person) occupy the home as a principal residence within one year;
• be considered a first-time home buyer, unless an exception applies; and
• if you have used the HBP before, have an HBP balance of zero on January 1 of the year of the new withdrawal.

You are a first-time home buyer for the HBP if, in the current calendar year before the withdrawal (other than the 30 days right before it) and in the previous four calendar years, you did not live in a home as your principal residence that you or your current spouse or common-law partner owned or jointly owned.

The first-time buyer test does not apply when the withdrawal is for a specified disabled person, or when you are living separate and apart from your spouse or common-law partner and certain other conditions are met (CRA). Those disability and separation rules have extra detail, so confirm them with a tax professional before you rely on an exception.

Timing rules that trip people up

• Buy or build by October 1 of the next year. The home (or a replacement property) must be acquired or built before October 1 of the year after your first HBP withdrawal. In some cases the CRA allows an extra year if you have another written agreement, or if you have made construction payments at least equal to your HBP withdrawals by that October 1 date (CRA).
• Don’t acquire the home more than 30 days before the withdrawal. The CRA’s usual rule is that you must not have acquired the home more than 30 days before making the HBP withdrawal (with a limited exception when you buy out a spouse’s share after a separation).
• Recent RRSP contributions may lose their deduction. If you contributed to an RRSP in the 89 days before an HBP withdrawal from that same RRSP, you may not be able to deduct all or part of those contributions. In short, for the contributions to stay fully deductible, the fair market value of that RRSP after the withdrawal must be at least equal to the contributions you made in those 89 days (CRA, How to make withdrawals).
• Withdrawals window. You can make more than one HBP withdrawal, but only in the same calendar year as your first withdrawal and in January of the following year, unless the CRA expressly allows otherwise.

Locked-in and some group RRSPs often don’t allow HBP withdrawals. Ask your issuer before you plan around that account.

Key HBP numbers (CRA)

Sources: CRA, The Home Buyers’ Plan; CRA, How to participate; CRA, How to repay; CRA, How to make withdrawals.

How repayment works

You have up to 15 years to repay the amount you withdrew. You repay by contributing to your own RRSP, PRPP or SPP in the repayment year or in the first 60 days of the following year, then designating the amount as an HBP repayment on Schedule 7 (CRA).

For a first HBP withdrawal between January 1, 2026 and December 31, 2028, temporary repayment relief defers the start of the 15-year period to the fifth year after the withdrawal. Example from the CRA: a first withdrawal in 2026 means your first repayment year is 2031. You can repay earlier if you want; early repayments reduce what you owe for the first required year, but they don’t shorten the overall period.

Each year the CRA sends an HBP statement of account with your notice of assessment (or Form T1028) showing your balance and the minimum you must repay next year. If you repay less than the minimum, or nothing, the shortfall is included as RRSP income on line 12900. You still have to keep making repayments for the remaining years. If you repay more than the minimum, later years’ minimums are reduced.

Repayments do not use up your RRSP deduction room, and you can’t claim a deduction for amounts you designate as HBP repayments. You also can’t designate contributions made to a spouse’s RRSP, or most direct transfers into your RRSP from another registered plan, as HBP repayments.

Using the HBP with an FHSA

The CRA confirms you can withdraw under the HBP and make a qualifying withdrawal from a First Home Savings Account (FHSA) for the same qualifying home, as long as you meet the conditions for each at the time of each withdrawal (CRA; CRA, FHSA withdrawals).

They serve different roles. An FHSA contribution is generally deductible and a qualifying FHSA withdrawal for a first home is tax-free with no repayment. An HBP withdrawal comes from money already in your RRSP and must be paid back over 15 years. Which to use first, and whether to move RRSP funds into an FHSA, depends on your income, tax bracket and timeline. That is a question for a tax professional.

For the FHSA’s own room, December 31 deadline and withdrawal rules, see our companion guide: FHSA deadline - what Alberta first-time buyers should know.

The Alberta angle

• No land transfer tax. Alberta doesn’t charge a provincial land transfer tax. Buyers pay Land Titles registration fees set by the Government of Alberta fee schedule instead, so more of an HBP withdrawal can go to your down payment and closing costs. See closing costs in Alberta.
• Same federal rules province-wide. Whether you’re buying a condo in Calgary, a starter home in Edmonton or Red Deer, or a place in a smaller Alberta community, the HBP rules are federal and the same.
• Know your mortgage numbers early. HBP funds usually count toward your down payment. Lenders will want statements showing the RRSP withdrawal. Get a pre-approval and check today’s posted rates in Alberta before you shop, then read our first-time home buyer guide.

Checklist before you withdraw

1. Confirm you meet the first-time buyer test (or a CRA exception) and that your HBP balance is zero if you have used the plan before.
2. Have a written purchase or construction agreement, not just a pre-approval.
3. Check that the RRSP you plan to use allows HBP withdrawals, and review any contributions made in the previous 89 days.
4. Fill out Form T1036 for each withdrawal and give it to your RRSP issuer.
5. Plan the closing date so you buy or build before October 1 of the following year.
6. Talk to a tax professional about repayments, the FHSA pairing and your RRSP deduction.
7. When you’re ready to buy, get pre-approved so the rest of your financing lines up.

Next steps

• Start your pre-approval online (secure Pineapple application, opens in a new tab)
• Book a 30-minute phone call
• Book a 1-hour appointment
• Call or text 403-438-0761, or email johnantle@gopineapple.com