Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP)

Who qualifies

You must be a resident of Canada, have a written agreement to buy or build a qualifying home, and intend to live in it as your principal residence within one year. A pre-approved mortgage is not a written agreement. You must also be a first-time buyer: you did not live in a home you or your current spouse or common-law partner owned, as your principal residence, in the current calendar year (apart from the 30 days before the withdrawal) or the previous four calendar years.

Funds must come from an RRSP of which you are the annuitant. Locked-in and group RRSPs generally do not allow withdrawals. You apply by giving Form T1036 to your RRSP issuer for each withdrawal.

Timing rules that catch people out

You can make withdrawals only in the year of your first withdrawal and in January of the next year. The home must generally be bought or built before October 1 of the year after the first withdrawal, or the participation has to be cancelled.

Contributions made to an RRSP in the 89 days before a withdrawal may not be fully deductible if they exceed the plan’s value right after the withdrawal. A last-minute contribution made only to fund the withdrawal can therefore lose its deduction.

Repayment and an illustrative example

For a first withdrawal made between January 1, 2026 and December 31, 2028, the 15-year repayment period starts in the fifth year after the year of withdrawal. Suppose you withdraw $30,000 in 2026. Repayments start in 2031 at $2,000 a year, which is $30,000 divided by 15. The figures are illustrative.

You repay by contributing to an RRSP in the year, or in the first 60 days after it, and designating the amount on Schedule 7. A repayment is not deductible and does not use your RRSP room. If you repay less than required, the shortfall is added to your income, and you must file a return every year until the balance is zero.

Using it with an FHSA

You can use the HBP and a qualifying FHSA withdrawal for the same home if you meet each plan’s conditions at the time of each withdrawal. You cannot repay HBP withdrawals into an FHSA. See the FHSA entry for its limits and the principal residence exemption entry for what happens when you later sell.

What to discuss with your accountant

Ask whether your RRSP room is better used for the HBP or an FHSA, how to plan contributions around the 89-day rule, and how to budget the annual repayment. Bring your RRSP statements, the purchase agreement and the HBP statement on your notice of assessment.