How to Transfer a TFSA, RRSP or Investment Account

1. How to Transfer Investment Account Assets: The Short Version

The new institution starts it. You do not ask your current bank or broker to send the money. You open an account of the same type at the new institution, then ask the new institution to request a direct transfer from the old one. For a TFSA, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) puts it plainly: ask the receiving institution to do a direct transfer, and the amount moved does not affect your room.

Like moves to like. A TFSA moves to a TFSA, an RRSP to an RRSP, an FHSA to an FHSA, and so on. A few cross-type direct transfers exist in the tax rules, such as an FHSA to an RRSP, or an RRSP to a RRIF, and we cover them in sections 4 and 5. Moving money from a TFSA to an RRSP, or the reverse, is a withdrawal from one and a contribution to the other.

You choose what moves. You can move the whole account (a full transfer) or part of it (a partial transfer). You can move the holdings as they are (in kind) or ask the old institution to sell them and send cash. Each choice changes the cost, the tax result in a non-registered account and how long you are out of the market. Sections 6 and 7 explain both choices.

The old institution charges a fee. Most brokers charge to transfer an account out, and many receiving brokers will cover some or all of it. As of October 22, 2026, eight of the 13 brokers we track charge $150 for a full transfer out. The full fee and rebate table is in section 8.

What not to do. Do not withdraw the money, deposit it in your bank account and then contribute it to the new account. For a TFSA, that uses new contribution room. For an RRSP, it creates taxable income and withholding tax. For a non-registered account, selling to raise cash can create a capital gain. The next three sections show the cost of each mistake in dollars.

Who this guide is for. It covers moving between banks, online brokers and robo-advisors in Canada, for TFSAs, RRSPs, FHSAs, RESPs, RRIFs, locked-in accounts and non-registered accounts. If you are still choosing where to go, start with the best online brokers in Canada, ranked by our published score. New to investing? Read how to invest in Canada or browse our investing for beginners hub.

2. The TFSA Room Trap: Direct Transfer vs Withdrawal

What CRA says about a direct transfer. When one TFSA issuer transfers your money directly to another of your TFSAs, the amount moved has no effect on your contribution room. It is not a withdrawal and not a contribution. You can hold more than one TFSA, but all of them share one combined room limit.

What happens if you do it yourself. If you withdraw from your TFSA and re-deposit the money in a new TFSA, CRA treats the deposit as a new contribution. It uses room. The amount you withdrew is added back to your room only on January 1 of the following year. If you had no unused room, the re-deposit is an excess contribution from the day you make it.

The tax on an excess. An excess TFSA amount is taxed at 1% a month on the highest excess in each month it remains. There is no grace amount, unlike the $2,000 cushion in an RRSP. You must withdraw the excess as soon as possible and file a TFSA Return, with any tax paid by June 30 of the following year.

The trap in numbers. Say you had used all of your TFSA room, then withdrew $30,000 in July 2026 and deposited it in a new TFSA the same month. The whole $30,000 is an excess. The tax is ($30,000 x 1% = $300) a month for July through December, or ($300 x 6 = $1,800). On January 1, 2027, the $30,000 you withdrew is added back to your room and the excess is gone. A direct transfer of the same $30,000 would have cost $0 in tax.

Your room under the 2026 rules. The 2026 TFSA dollar limit is $7,000, and someone who has been 18 or older and resident in Canada every year since 2009, and never contributed, has $109,000 of room in 2026. Room equals this year’s limit plus unused room plus last year’s withdrawals, minus this year’s contributions. Our TFSA contribution room calculator works out your figure, and the TFSA contribution limit by year page lists every year’s limit.

Check an excess you already have. If you have already withdrawn and re-deposited, the calculator below shows the 1% a month tax on the excess. Read our TFSA withdrawal rules for how withdrawals come back as room.

3. How to Transfer a TFSA to Another Bank or Broker

Open the new TFSA first. To open a TFSA you must be a resident of Canada, 18 or older (19 in provinces and territories where that is the age of majority) and have a valid social insurance number. Banks, credit unions, insurance companies and trust companies can issue TFSAs, and every broker in our tables offers one. Open the new account, but do not fund it with a contribution if the goal is to move existing money.

Request the transfer at the new institution. Give the new institution your old account number, the old institution’s name and a recent statement. Tell it whether you want a full or partial transfer, and in kind or in cash. It sends the request to your old institution, which releases the assets directly. You never receive a cheque.

TFSA GICs and savings at a bank. A TFSA at a bank often holds GICs or a savings deposit. A GIC that cannot be redeemed early may have to stay until it matures, so please ask the old bank before you request the transfer, and time the move for the maturity date if needed. While the money sits at the bank, eligible deposits in a TFSA at a CDIC member are insured up to $100,000, separately from your non-registered deposits.

Where to move it. Every one of the 13 brokers we score offers a TFSA. Ranked by our overall score, the top three are Questrade (4.3 / 5), Desjardins Online Brokerage (4.3 / 5) and Interactive Brokers Canada (4.2 / 5), with Wealthsimple fourth (4.2 / 5). Compare all of them on the best TFSA accounts page, and see our Wealthsimple TFSA review for one provider in detail.

Separation, divorce and death. A direct transfer from one partner’s TFSA to the other’s, after a breakdown, does not affect either person’s room when the partners live separate and apart and the transfer follows a court order or a written separation agreement. When a TFSA holder dies, a surviving spouse or common-law partner named as successor holder simply becomes the new holder. A surviving spouse or partner who is not named as successor holder can contribute a payment from the deceased’s TFSA to their own without using room, by December 31 of the year after the death, filing Form RC240 within 30 days of the contribution.

After the move. Check that every holding or dollar arrived, and that the new institution recorded the move as a transfer, not a contribution. A transfer does not change your room, so it should look the same as before. Our full TFSA guide covers the account rules in depth.

4. RRSP Transfer Rules: Why a Withdrawal Costs You

A direct transfer stays inside the system. When your RRSP moves directly from one issuer to another RRSP in your name, nothing is withdrawn. No tax is withheld, nothing is added to your income and your RRSP deduction room is not touched. That is why the receiving institution must request it.

A withdrawal is taxable. If you take the money out instead, the whole amount is added to your income for the year, and the institution withholds tax at source. The withholding is only a prepayment; the final tax depends on your total income when you file.

Quebec adds provincial withholding. For Quebec residents, Revenu Quebec’s rate of 14% is withheld on an RRSP lump-sum payment on top of the federal part. On a $60,000 withdrawal that is ($60,000 x 15% = $9,000) federal plus ($60,000 x 14% = $8,400) provincial.

Putting it back is not simple. A re-deposit is a new contribution and needs RRSP deduction room. Your limit is the lesser of 18% of last year’s earned income and the annual dollar limit ($33,810 for 2026), less any pension adjustment, plus unused room. Contributions more than $2,000 above your limit are taxed at 1% a month, reported on Form T1-OVP within 90 days after the end of the year; you can ask CRA to waive the tax for a reasonable error on Form RC2503.

Spousal RRSPs. A spousal RRSP should also move by direct transfer. A withdrawal can be taxed in the hands of the contributing spouse if they contributed to their partner’s RRSP in the year of the withdrawal or either of the two years before, using Form T2205.

The year you turn 71. December 31 of the year you turn 71 is the last day to contribute to your own RRSP. At that point you withdraw, buy an annuity or transfer to a RRIF. A direct transfer to a RRIF has no tax withheld; RRIF payments are taxed as you receive them.

See the cost of a withdrawal. The calculator below estimates the withholding and the final tax on an RRSP withdrawal in your province. Our RRSP guide and RRSP contribution limit page cover room in detail.

5. FHSA, RESP, RRIF, LIRA and Non-Registered Account Transfers

FHSA. A First Home Savings Account should move by direct transfer to another FHSA, because a withdrawal that is not a qualifying home withdrawal is taxable income. The FHSA also allows a direct transfer to your RRSP or RRIF that does not use any RRSP deduction room, as long as you have no excess FHSA amount; only direct transfers qualify. Going the other way, RRSP-to-FHSA transfers count toward the $40,000 lifetime FHSA limit and are not deductible. Every broker we track offers an FHSA except moomoo and Webull; see the best FHSA accounts and our FHSA guide.

RESP. RESPs can be transferred between plans. After the year of the plan’s 31st anniversary, the only money that can go into an RESP is a transfer from another RESP, which shows the transfer route stays open even when contributions close. The lifetime contribution limit is $50,000 per beneficiary across all RESPs. Before you move a plan, ask both institutions how the grant history, such as the Canada Education Savings Grant, moves with it. Nine of our 13 brokers offer an RESP, led by Questrade (4.3 / 5), Desjardins Online Brokerage (4.3 / 5) and Wealthsimple (4.2 / 5). Our RESP guide covers grants and withdrawals.

RRIF. A RRIF moves by direct transfer to another RRIF. The yearly minimum withdrawal is the RRIF’s value on January 1 times a factor for your age, starting the year after the RRIF is set up, and no tax is withheld on the minimum. Anything above the minimum is withheld at the lump-sum rates of 10%, 20% or 30%. Ask both institutions which one will pay the minimum in the transfer year. The RRIF minimum withdrawal table lists the factors, and the best RRIF accounts page ranks the providers.

LIRA and LIF. Locked-in accounts hold pension money, and federal or provincial pension law decides where they can go. A LIRA can only move to a locked-in plan that will accept it, so ask the receiving institution which locked-in plans it holds before you start. Nine of our 13 brokers offer a LIRA, and the best LIRA accounts page ranks them.

Non-registered accounts. There is no contribution room to protect, but there is tax to think about. If the old institution sells your holdings to send cash, every sale is a disposition, and any capital gain or loss belongs on that year’s return. Moving the holdings in kind means nothing is sold, so there is no sale to report. Check after the move that the book value at the new broker matches your own records of what you paid.

Joint and corporate accounts. These move like non-registered accounts, but every account holder or the corporation’s signing officers will need to sign the transfer request. Not every broker offers them: moomoo has no joint or corporate accounts, and Webull lists neither.

6. In-Kind Transfer vs Cash Transfer

What an in-kind transfer is. An in-kind transfer moves your stocks, ETFs and other holdings to the new institution as they are. Nothing is sold, so you stay invested the whole time, and in a non-registered account there is no disposition. Brokers call these ATON or free-of-payment (FOP) transfers; moomoo, for example, names both for accounts coming in.

What a cash transfer is. In a cash transfer the old institution sells everything and sends the cash. Inside a TFSA, RRSP or FHSA the sale has no tax effect. The costs are commissions on the sale, if the old broker charges them, the bid-ask spread and the time you spend out of the market while the cash travels. National Bank Direct Brokerage, for one, says its $150 transfer fee comes plus commissions if applicable.

When in kind is not possible. Some holdings cannot move as they are. Wealthsimple states that fractional shares cannot be transferred to another institution, so they must be sold first. BMO SmartFolio, a robo-advisor, accepts transfers in cash only. Funds sold by only one institution may not be held at the new broker, and a GIC that cannot be redeemed early may need to mature first. Ask the receiving institution which of your holdings it can accept before you choose.

US-dollar holdings. Before you move US-dollar cash or US-listed shares, check that the receiving account can hold US dollars and what that costs. Questrade’s registered accounts hold US dollars at no extra cost. Wealthsimple’s TFSA, FHSA, RRSP, spousal RRSP, LIRA and RESP can hold them through a USD account that costs $10 plus tax a month on Core and is included on Premium and Generation; its RRIF, spousal RRIF and LIF cannot. Qtrade charges US$15 a quarter per RRSP, RRIF or TFSA for US dollars, free with Investor Plus. moomoo charges its transfer-out fee per currency, so moving both Canadian and US assets out of moomoo in full costs $75 plus $75.

Selling at a loss in a non-registered account. If you sell a holding at a loss to send cash, then buy the same holding at the new broker, the superficial loss rule can deny the loss. It applies when you or an affiliated person, such as your spouse, acquire identical property within 30 calendar days before or after the sale and still hold it 30 days after. An in-kind transfer avoids the question entirely.

Which to pick. In kind usually suits holdings you want to keep, especially in a non-registered account with gains. Cash can suit a registered account full of funds the new broker cannot hold, or a robo-advisor that only accepts cash. You can also mix the two in one request: some holdings in kind, the rest sold.

7. Full vs Partial Transfers

Full transfer. Everything in the account moves and the old account is closed. This is the simplest request, and the easiest way to reach a rebate’s minimum amount.

Partial transfer. You move some holdings or a set dollar amount and leave the rest. A partial TFSA or RRSP transfer is still a direct transfer, so it has no effect on TFSA room and no withholding. Some brokers charge less for it, others the same.

Watch the balance you leave behind. A small leftover account can start costing money. TD Direct Investing charges $25 a quarter when household assets are under $15,000, with several waivers. CIBC Investor’s Edge charges $100 a year when the total balance is $10,000 or less, not counting the FHSA. National Bank charges $100 a year per account root unless one of its waivers applies on May 31, such as $20,000 or more in eligible assets or being 30 or under. Scotia iTRADE charges $100 a year on RRSP and RRIF accounts with under $25,000 and fewer than 12 trades a year. Desjardins charges $100 a year on an RRSP under $15,000.

Partial transfers and rebates. Rebates often depend on the amount moved. Wealthsimple covers fees of up to $150 per account on transfers of $25,000 or more, and RBC and Qtrade on $15,000 or more. A partial transfer below the threshold may leave you paying the fee yourself.

Desjardins partial transfers add up. At $25 per security, a partial transfer of 3 holdings costs ($25 x 3 = $75) and 6 holdings cost ($25 x 6 = $150), the same as a full transfer. If you are moving most of the account, a full transfer may cost the same and close the account cleanly.

8. Transfer-Out Fees and Rebates by Broker

How to read the table. The transfer-out fee is what your current broker charges to send the account. The rebate is what the receiving broker may pay toward that fee. Brokers are listed in order of our overall score, shown as a score out of 5 under our published broker methodology. Where a broker does not publish a figure, the table says so; our editorial standards explain why we never fill a gap with an estimate. Type a broker name in the search box to filter the rows.

Other fees that look like transfer fees. Qtrade charges $100 to close an account within its first year. moomoo charges $50 for each RRSP withdrawal. Webull’s transfer-out fees are charged by CI Investment Services, and Webull adds an administration fee of $0.70 a month per account. RBC’s $150 fee does not apply to a donation of shares.

Rebates come with conditions. Wealthsimple requires the account to stay funded for 90 days. Qtrade asks for documentation and runs its offer for accounts opened from September 1, 2026 to January 5, 2027, funded by February 5, 2027. Keep the old institution’s final statement, which shows the fee charged, in case the receiving broker asks for it.

Sign-up offers can be larger than the rebate. As of October 22, 2026, Wealthsimple’s 1% Match pays 1% of net qualifying transfers of $25,000 or more started within 30 days of registering, up to $20,000, paid in 24 monthly instalments. Offers change often, so read the terms and the hold period before you move. Our advertiser disclosure explains how offers relate to our rankings: they do not change a score.

9. Paperwork, Timelines and What Slows a Transfer

What the new institution needs. Have a recent statement from the old account. It shows the exact account number, the account type, the old institution’s name and address, and your holdings. The new institution uses these details on its transfer request, which you sign. For a partial transfer, list the holdings or the dollar amount to move, and say for each whether it moves in kind or in cash.

Forms. The receiving institution prepares the transfer request and tells you what to sign. For registered accounts, the paperwork records the move as a direct transfer between plans, which is what protects your TFSA room and keeps an RRSP transfer free of withholding. Make sure the account types match on both sides: TFSA to TFSA, RRSP to RRSP, spousal RRSP to spousal RRSP.

How long it takes. Transfer times are not part of the published pricing we checked, so we do not quote a number of days. The time depends on the old institution, the type of account and what is in it. In-kind transfers of common stocks and ETFs are usually the simplest. Mutual funds, locked-in accounts, GICs, US-dollar holdings and accounts at institutions that need paper forms tend to add steps.

What causes delays. Common causes of delay are mismatches. A name spelled differently on the two accounts, a wrong account number, a request for a TFSA to land in a non-registered account, or a holding the new broker cannot accept can each send the request back. Please check every detail against your statement before you sign.

While you wait. Do not place trades in the old account once the request is under way, because a change in holdings can stall the transfer. In a cash transfer you are out of the market until the money lands. Note the request date, and if the transfer has not arrived in the time the new institution told you, ask it to follow up with the old one.

Offer deadlines. If you are moving for a sign-up offer, check the transfer deadline in its terms. Wealthsimple’s 1% Match, for example, counts transfers started within 30 days of registering. Start early enough that a slow transfer does not cost you the offer.

10. Moving an Account to or From a Robo-Advisor

Robo-advisors take transfers too. A robo-advisor is a managed account that builds and rebalances a portfolio for an annual fee. You move money to one the same way: open the account and ask it to request a direct transfer. A robo-advisor invests in its own model portfolios, so ask how it handles holdings that arrive in kind. BMO SmartFolio, for one, accepts transfers in cash only.

Why two are not ranked. We rank a robo-advisor only when both its management fee schedule and its fund costs are published in text we can verify. Justwealth publishes its fee tiers only as an image, and BMO SmartFolio’s 0.4% to 0.7% fee has breakpoints that are not published. Both are listed here because their transfer rules are published.

Moving from a robo to a self-directed account. If you leave a robo-advisor for a self-directed broker, the ETFs it holds trade on an exchange, so a self-directed broker can generally hold them. Ask the receiving broker to confirm before you choose in kind, ask whether it charges commissions to sell them later, and check whether the robo’s transfer-out fee is covered.

Fees after the move. Robo costs are ongoing. On $50,000, the total yearly cost of management fee plus fund costs is 0.37% at Questwealth, 0.65% at Wealthsimple Managed Investing, 0.70% at RBC InvestEase and 0.83% at CI Direct Investing. Compare all four on the best robo-advisors page.

11. Your Money During a Transfer: CIPF, CDIC and Market Exposure

CIPF at both ends. All 13 brokers in our fee table are CIPF members or operate through a dealer on CIPF’s member list. CIPF covers client property that is missing when a member firm becomes insolvent. Coverage is $1,000,000 for all general accounts combined (cash, margin, TFSA and FHSA), a separate $1,000,000 for retirement accounts (RRSP, RRIF and LIF) and a separate $1,000,000 for RESPs where you are the subscriber. It does not cover a fall in market value or crypto assets.

CDIC for bank deposits. If part of your account is a deposit or GIC at a bank, CDIC insures eligible deposits up to $100,000 per category at each member institution, with TFSA, RRSP, RRIF, RESP and FHSA deposits each a separate category. Stocks, bonds, ETFs and mutual funds are not CDIC-insured.

Who regulates the dealers. The Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) oversees all investment dealers in Canada, and CIPF member firms are CIRO members. An account moving between two CIPF members stays within that framework from start to finish. Our Is Wealthsimple safe page shows how the coverage applies at one provider.

Market exposure. An in-kind transfer keeps you invested, so your holdings rise and fall as normal while they move. A cash transfer takes you out of the market until the money arrives and you reinvest it. Neither is risk-free; choose the one that matches whether you want to keep your holdings.

Watch for fraud. A real transfer is always started by the institution you are moving to, after you open an account there yourself. Be wary of anyone who contacts you first and asks you to move an account, or asks you to withdraw money so they can move it for you. Each of our broker reviews states the firm’s CIPF and CIRO membership.

12. How to Transfer Investment Account Assets Without Costly Mistakes

Withdrawing a TFSA to move it. The re-deposit uses new room, and without room it is an excess taxed at 1% a month until January 1 of the next year. Fix: withdraw the excess as soon as possible and file the TFSA Return by June 30 of the following year.

Withdrawing an RRSP to move it. The withdrawal is taxable income with up to 30% withheld outside Quebec, and putting it back needs deduction room. Fix: if the money has already left, ask whether you have room to re-contribute it, and stay within your limit plus the $2,000 cushion.

Mismatched account types. Asking for a TFSA to land in a non-registered account, or an RRSP in a TFSA, turns a transfer into a withdrawal. Fix: open the matching account type at the new institution before you sign anything.

Selling at a loss and buying back. In a non-registered account, a loss can be denied if you or your spouse buy identical property within 30 days before or after the sale and still hold it 30 days later. Fix: move the holding in kind, or wait out the period.

Moving holdings the new broker cannot hold. Fractional shares at Wealthsimple cannot move to another institution, and funds sold by one institution only or a GIC that is not redeemable early may not move as they are either. Fix: ask the receiving broker first and sell only what it cannot hold.

Missing the rebate. Rebates have thresholds and conditions, from $15,000 at RBC and Qtrade to $25,000 at Wealthsimple. Fix: check the threshold before you split a transfer, and keep the statement that shows the fee.

Leaving a small balance behind. A partial transfer can drop the old account under a low-balance threshold and trigger a quarterly or yearly fee. Fix: move everything, or check the old broker’s waivers first.

What You Need and What You Get From a Direct Transfer

How to Transfer an Investment Account, Step by Step

1. Pick the new provider. Compare costs, accounts and transfer rebates, and check that it offers the exact account type you hold.
2. Read your old fee schedule. Find the transfer-out fee, any partial-transfer fee and any closing fee, plus low-balance fees if you leave something behind.
3. Open the matching account. Open a TFSA for your TFSA, an RRSP for your RRSP and so on. Do not fund it with a new contribution if the plan is to move existing money.
4. Submit the transfer request at the new institution. Enter the old account details exactly as they appear on your statement, choose full or partial, and choose in kind or cash.
5. Stop trading in the old account. Leave the holdings alone while the request is processed, so the transfer does not stall.
6. Check what arrives. Match every holding and dollar against your old statement, and confirm the move was recorded as a transfer, not a contribution.
7. Claim the rebate. Keep the final statement showing the transfer-out fee, and send it if the receiving broker asks.

9 Strategies to Move an Account for Less

Illustrative Example: Withdrawal vs Direct Transfer

Meet the Experts Behind WealthScale

Sharad Gondaliya, CPAWriter and tax reviewerCPA Ontario No. 61040184

Sharad is a CPA Ontario member (No. 61040184) and a Certified Public Accountant licensed in Washington and Montana, with more than 15 years in accounting and tax, a Diploma in Banking and Finance and a Certificate in Small Business Finance. He checks WealthScale content against primary sources. WealthScale is independent of his firm, Gondaliya CPA Professional Corporation, and provides general information only, not personal financial, investment, tax or legal advice.

• Chartered Professional Accountant, CPA Ontario
• Certified Public Accountant, Washington (No. 57629) and Montana (No. PAC-CPAP-LIC-033176)
• Writing on tax and registered accounts since 2021
• Reader’s Choice Award 2025 Winner, Best Accountant (Toronto)

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Neha Gupta, CFAFinancial ReviewerCFA charterholder

Neha Gupta is a CFA charterholder based in Winnipeg who has worked in financial markets since December 2005. She has published more than 2,600 investment articles and is Head of Operations and Finance at Whiteland Real Estate. She reviews WealthScale’s investing pages for accuracy.

• CFA charter, CFA Institute (awarded 2023)
• Post Graduate Diploma in Business Administration (Finance), 2008
• In financial markets since December 2005
• More than 2,600 published investment articles

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