The one rule to remember
A withdrawal is added back to your contribution room on January 1 of the following year, not right away. So money you take out in 2026 can be put back freely from January 1, 2027. If you want to put it back sooner, you need enough unused room this year.
Example 1: re-contributing with spare room (the calculator above)
Your room on January 1, 2026 was $15,000. You deposited $4,000 in January, withdrew $10,000 in March for a car repair, then put the $10,000 back in June. Your 2026 contributions are $4,000 + $10,000 = $14,000. Room left: $15,000 − $14,000 = $1,000. You are fine, because you had enough unused room to cover the re-contribution.
Example 2: the same moves without spare room
Now imagine your room on January 1, 2026 was only $4,000. The same $14,000 of contributions puts you $10,000 over your limit. CRA charges 1% per month on the highest excess in each month, so that is $100 for every month the excess stays in your TFSA. From June to December, that would be 7 months, or $700.
| Example 1 | Example 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Room on Jan 1, 2026 | $15,000 | $4,000 |
| Contributed in 2026 (incl. re-contribution) | $14,000 | $14,000 |
| Withdrawn in 2026 | $10,000 | $10,000 |
| Room left in 2026 | $1,000 | −$10,000 (over) |
| Monthly over-contribution tax | $0 | $100 |
| Withdrawal added back on | Jan 1, 2027 | Jan 1, 2027 |
If you are over-contributed: what to do
- Withdraw the excess as soon as you notice. The 1% tax stops from the month after the excess is gone.
- Or wait for January 1, when new room (the withdrawal added back plus the new annual limit) absorbs the excess. You still owe the tax for the months before.
- File Form RC243 (TFSA return) by June 30 of the following year if you owe the tax. If the excess was an honest mistake and you fixed it quickly, you can ask CRA to cancel or waive the tax.
Two handy tips
- Transfers between TFSAs (for example, from one bank to another) should be done as a direct transfer by the institutions. A withdrawal plus a new deposit counts as a re-contribution.
- Planning a withdrawal near year-end? Taking it out in December rather than January means the room comes back a whole year sooner.
This is an estimate from your own numbers. Your official figure is on the TFSA Room Statement in CRA My Account (note that it shows room as of January 1 and may not include this year’s transactions yet).
FAQ
When can I re-contribute money I withdrew from my TFSA?
From January 1 of the next year. Money withdrawn in 2026 is added back to your room on January 1, 2027. Before then you can only re-contribute if you have enough unused room.
What happens if I put a withdrawal back too early?
If you do not have enough unused room, the re-contribution is an over-contribution. CRA charges 1% per month on the highest excess: a $10,000 excess costs $100 a month.
I had $15,000 of room, put in $4,000, withdrew $10,000 and put it back. Am I over?
No. Your 2026 contributions total $14,000, which is less than your $15,000 of room, so you still have $1,000 left. The $10,000 withdrawal is added back on January 1, 2027.
Sources (checked 5 November 2026): Canada Revenue Agency – “MP, DB, RRSP, DPSP, ALDA, TFSA limits, YMPE and the YAMPE” (TFSA dollar limits 2009–2026; no 2027 figure listed) and “Calculate your TFSA contribution room” (canada.ca); CRA examples of tax payable on excess TFSA amounts; cross-checked with TaxTips.ca TFSA limits table.