The Home Buyers Plan (HBP) is one of the most powerful tools available to Canadians purchasing their first home. Thanks to changes introduced in Budget 2024, you can now withdraw up to $60,000 from your Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) — completely tax-free at the time of withdrawal — to help fund the purchase or construction of a qualifying home. If you and your spouse or common-law partner are buying together, that figure doubles to $120,000 combined. Understanding exactly how the home buyers plan Canada rules work in 2025 can mean the difference between a smooth purchase and an unexpected tax bill.
The Home Buyers Plan is a Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) program that allows first-time home buyers to withdraw funds from their RRSP to buy or build a qualifying home without paying withholding tax on the amount at the time of withdrawal. The key word here is "at the time" — the withdrawn amount is not forgiven. It must be repaid to your RRSP over a 15-year period, or the outstanding balance gets added to your taxable income each year it goes unrepaid.
Before Budget 2024, the HBP withdrawal limit was $35,000 per person. Effective April 16, 2024, that limit increased to $60,000, making the program significantly more useful in today's housing market. This is the figure that applies for all withdrawals made in 2025 and beyond.
The $60,000 cap applies per individual, not per household. That means each spouse or common-law partner in a qualifying purchase can withdraw up to $60,000 from their own RRSP — giving couples a combined maximum of $120,000. This is a meaningful amount of capital that can go toward a down payment, closing costs, or legal fees.
Before you submit a withdrawal request, there are four conditions your RRSP funds must meet:
You are permitted to make multiple withdrawals in the same calendar year, provided the total across all withdrawals does not exceed your $60,000 limit.
The CRA's definition of a first-time buyer for the HBP follows the same four-year look-back rule used for the Tax-Free First Home Savings Account (FHSA). You qualify as a first-time buyer if neither you nor your spouse or common-law partner has owned and lived in a qualifying home at any point during the current calendar year or in any of the four preceding calendar years.
For example, if you last owned and occupied a home in 2020, you would again qualify as a first-time buyer in 2025 — four full calendar years having passed.
There is one important exception to the first-time buyer requirement. Individuals with a disability, or those helping a related person with a disability purchase a more accessible or functional home, do not need to meet the first-time buyer test. This exception ensures the HBP remains available to Canadians who need to adapt their living situation for medical or accessibility reasons.
The process is straightforward. Complete Form T1036 — Home Buyers Plan (HBP) Request to Withdraw Funds from an RRSP and submit it directly to your financial institution. The institution will then release the funds to you without applying any withholding tax. This is the key advantage of the HBP: your full $60,000 lands in your bank account, rather than the 25–30% the institution would normally withhold on an RRSP withdrawal.
You do not report the withdrawal as income on your tax return in the year it is made. Instead, the amount appears on your Notice of Assessment under your HBP balance, and repayment tracking begins on the CRA's end.
If you plan to withdraw in stages — for example, $30,000 in March and another $30,000 in October of the same year — you simply file a separate Form T1036 for each withdrawal. Both forms go to your financial institution, and the CRA tracks the cumulative total against your $60,000 ceiling.
HBP repayments begin in the second calendar year after the year of your first withdrawal. If you make your first withdrawal any time in 2025, your first mandatory repayment year is 2027.
Each year you must repay at least one-fifteenth (1/15th) of the total amount you withdrew. On a $60,000 withdrawal, that works out to a minimum of $4,000 per year. On a $45,000 withdrawal, the minimum is $3,000 per year.
A few points worth understanding about repayments:
Missing a repayment is not a penalty situation, but it does have a tax cost. If you fail to make the required minimum repayment in any given year, the shortfall — the amount you should have repaid but did not — is added to your income for that year and taxed at your marginal rate.
If your minimum annual repayment is $4,000 and you repay nothing, $4,000 is included in your income. At a 33% marginal rate, that is $1,320 in additional federal tax alone, plus provincial tax on top. Repeat this for 15 years without ever repaying, and the entire $60,000 would be included in your income across the repayment window — exactly as if you had simply withdrawn the RRSP funds as cash in the first place.
The CRA tracks your HBP balance automatically. Your annual minimum repayment amount appears each year on your Notice of Assessment, so there is no excuse for being caught off guard.
One of the most significant planning opportunities available to first-time buyers in 2025 is using both the HBP and the First Home Savings Account (FHSA) for the same purchase. The CRA permits this, and the numbers are compelling.
The FHSA is generally the better first choice because there is no repayment obligation. Use the FHSA to its maximum, then layer in the HBP on top. For buyers in markets like Calgary, where even entry-level homes routinely require substantial down payments, this combination can make home ownership achievable years sooner.
At Swift Accounting Calgary, we regularly help clients structure their HBP and FHSA withdrawals to minimise tax exposure and ensure all CRA documentation is completed correctly before closing day. Getting the forms wrong — or missing the 90-day seasoning window — can delay a purchase or result in an unexpected tax liability.
The Home Buyers Plan is an excellent program, but the rules around qualifying, withdrawing, and repaying require careful attention. A missed deadline or incorrectly designated contribution can cost you real money. Whether you are planning your first withdrawal or already mid-repayment and wondering about your options, the team at Swift Accounting Calgary is here to help you get it right.
Contact Swift Accounting today to speak with a Calgary accountant who understands the HBP inside and out — and can make sure your home purchase stays on the right side of the CRA.
Yes. The CRA's first-time buyer definition uses a four-year look-back window. If you last owned and lived in a qualifying home in 2020 or earlier, you meet the first-time buyer test in 2025 and can participate in the HBP again — even if you have used it before.
No. HBP repayments restore your RRSP room but do not generate a tax deduction. You must designate the repayment on Schedule 7 of your return. If you make an undesignated RRSP contribution in the same year, the CRA will not automatically apply it against your HBP balance — you must specify it.
If you die while carrying an HBP balance, the full outstanding amount is included in your income in the year of death unless your spouse or common-law partner elects to take over the repayment obligation. If you become a non-resident of Canada, you have two years to repay the full outstanding balance; any remaining balance is included in your income in the year you became a non-resident.
No. Each individual must independently meet the first-time buyer criteria (or the disability exception) to make their own HBP withdrawal. If one spouse qualifies but the other does not, only the qualifying spouse can withdraw — up to their own $60,000 limit. The non-qualifying spouse cannot participate in the HBP for that purchase.
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