What to gather before opening an RRSP, TFSA or FHSA, and what to check every year so contributions, beneficiaries and fees stay on track.
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Use this checklist twice: once before you open an RRSP, TFSA or FHSA, and once a year, ideally in January, when new TFSA room arrives and you can still make RRSP contributions for the previous tax year.
The opening items make sure you know your room before you put a dollar in, that you choose the right kind of account inside the registered plan (a TFSA can hold a savings deposit, a GIC, mutual funds, ETFs or individual shares, depending on the institution), and that the beneficiary question is settled while it is easy. In Quebec, beneficiary designations in an RRSP, RRIF or TFSA that is not an insurance contract are generally made in a will, so the item points there.
The annual items catch the mistakes we see most often in the pitfalls hub: over-contributing a TFSA by re-depositing a withdrawal in the same year, cashing out an RRSP to move it, missing the RRSP deadline, and paying higher fees than necessary. The retirement items flag the age-71 deadline and the OAS recovery threshold.
Your ticks are saved in this browser only. The list is general information; your own documents and CRA My Account are the authority.
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Limits, Fees and 2026 Account Rules
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Worked Scenarios and Checklists
Step by step: choosing where to open an RRSP, TFSA or FHSA, the documents and SIN you need, savings vs self-directed vs managed accounts, beneficiaries and setting up contributions.
Pitfalls, Protection and Official Sources
How to complain about a bank, dealer or adviser over an RRSP, TFSA or FHSA problem in Canada: internal process, OBSI and other external bodies, CIRO, FCAC, the AMF in Quebec, and the records to keep.
Pitfalls, Protection and Official Sources
The twelve most common registered-account handling mistakes in Canada, what each one costs, how to fix it, and the official bodies to check: CRA, Revenu Québec, FCAC, CIRO, CIPF and CDIC.
