Buyer · FHSA
It is the simplest step of the FHSA, and the one where bad timing can ruin everything. Here is the withdrawal step by step, whatever your institution.
An FHSA withdrawal is tax-free under three conditions: being a first-time buyer at the time of the withdrawal, holding a written agreement to buy or build a qualifying home in Canada before October 1 of the year following the withdrawal, and intending to occupy that home as your principal residence within a year of the purchase. The request is made with federal form RC725 given to the institution, which pays the funds with no withholding. You can withdraw the whole account, growth included, in one or several payments, and up to 30 days after moving in. The account must then be closed by December 31 of the year following the first qualifying withdrawal; any remaining balance transfers to the RRSP tax-free. A withdrawal that does not meet these conditions is fully taxable, with withholding at source.
The withdrawal is tax-free only if all three conditions are met at the same time. First-time buyer at the time of the withdrawal: you did not live in a home that you, or your spouse, owned during the calendar year of the withdrawal (before the withdrawal) or the four previous calendar years. A written agreement to buy or build a qualifying home in Canada, entered into before October 1 of the year following the withdrawal: the accepted offer to purchase does the job. The intention to occupy the home as your principal residence within a year of the purchase or construction. Nothing requires the withdrawal to fund the down payment itself: it can cover the notary, renovations or simply rebuild your cash.
Nothing on the tax rules, which are federal and identical everywhere. What changes is the path. In a Desjardins caisse or a bank branch, the request generally goes through the advisor or the online platform, which has you sign the RC725 and sets the payment delay. With an online broker (Disnat at Desjardins, National Bank Direct Brokerage, Wealthsimple, Questrade), investments must first be sold and settled before the money can leave: allow a few extra business days, and do not make this withdrawal the day before the notary. In every case, ask your institution the real delay between the request and the deposit in your account, and line it up with the signing date.
Withdraw after the offer is accepted and before the signing at the notary: that is the natural window. The withdrawal remains possible up to 30 days after moving in, which leaves a margin if the funds arrive late. Beware of volatile investments: an FHSA invested in equities can be worth less on the day of the withdrawal than the month before; less than two years from the purchase, caution is the rule.
Once a first qualifying withdrawal is made, the account must be closed by December 31 of the following year. Any remaining balance transfers directly into your RRSP or RRIF, tax-free and without using your RRSP room. Do not let it sit: an account not closed on time loses its status.
Withdrawing without a purchase agreement, withdrawing for a home you will not occupy, or no longer being a first-time buyer at the time of the withdrawal: in those cases, the amount is added to your income for the year and the institution withholds tax at source. If you end up not buying, the right exit is not a withdrawal but the transfer to the RRSP, tax-free, before the mandatory closing of the account (15 years after opening or the end of the year you turn 71). Limits and room are covered in FHSA maximum 2026 and the full guide in CELIAPP in English: the FHSA.
Yes. Several qualifying withdrawals are possible as long as the three conditions are met, until the mandatory closing of the account the year following the first qualifying withdrawal.
Yes, up to 30 days after moving into the home, provided you were still a first-time buyer at the time of the withdrawal.
No, never. That is the structural difference with the HBP, which is repaid over 15 years. Both combine for the same purchase.
Also available in French: version française de ce guide.
Published September 1, 2026 by the Loaa & Manseur team, the number 1 team at RE/MAX Platine in 2024 and 2025, 6th RE/MAX team in Quebec, 15th in Canada and in the global top 50 according to the official RE/MAX ranking. Tell us about your project.
Quebec runs on civil law, so several French terms have no direct English equivalent: hypothèque is a hypothec and not a mortgage, vices cachés are latent defects, and the taxe de bienvenue is legally transfer duties. The full list is in our Quebec real estate glossary. See also this term explained.
Équipe no 1 de RE/MAX Platine en 2024 et en 2025, 6e au Québec, 15e au Canada et dans le top 50 mondial au classement officiel RE/MAX. Réponse en moins de 24 heures, sept jours sur sept.