Tax-Free Savings Accounts, or TFSAs, have now been around for over eight years. One can easily lose track of the available contribution room, as the maximum that can be contributed has changed over the years.
Contribution room is cumulative. Once you are 18 or older in a year, you can contribute the maximum for that year, and if you do not, you can carry forward the excess room and contribute that amount in any later year.
All investment income earned in a TFSA, such as interest and dividends, as well as capital gains, is tax-free. This makes TFSAs more and more useful as the years go by.
Of course, you can withdraw any amount from the TFSA at any time, tax-free. Doing so re-creates that amount of contribution room, but only on the next January 1, not immediately.
So the limit for each year is:
2009 - $5,000
2010 - $5,000
2011 - $5,000
2012 - $5,000
2013 - $5,500
2014 - $5,500
2015 - $10,000
2016 - $5,500
2017 - $5,500
The total of the above amounts is $52,000.
Since TFSA eligibility starts at age 18 and TFSAs started in 2009, the cumulative TFSA contribution limit during 2017 is, based on your birthdate:
Born before 1992 (2009-2017) $52,000
1992 (2010-2017) $47,000
1993 (2011-2017) $42,000
1994 (2012-2017) $37,000
1995 (2013-2017) $32,000
1996 (2014-2017) $26,500
1997 (2015-2017) $21,000
1998 (2016-2017) $11,000
1999 (2017-2017) $5,500
2000 or later (age 17 and under) $0.00
