Best FHSA Accounts in Canada for 2026

Best FHSA Account Canada 2026: Ranking at a Glance

This table lists the 11 self-directed brokers that offer a First Home Savings Account, in score order. Scores are out of 5 and rounded to one decimal; ties follow the unrounded score, then the name. The FHSA fee column shows whether a yearly account fee can apply to an FHSA on its own.

To see what these prices cost for the way you plan to invest your FHSA, the calculator below works out the yearly cost at every broker from your trades, adding up commissions, options fees and account fees.

Master Comparison Table: 11 FHSA Brokers

Search and sort the table to compare FHSA brokers. Yearly costs come from our two scoring profiles for a $20,000 account: buy-and-hold (one Canadian trade a month) and active (two Canadian and one US trade a month). Each cost is commissions plus any account fee that applies at that balance.

Yearly costs use each broker’s standard published commission on a $2,000 order of 40 shares, plus any account fee that applies at $20,000.

The 11 Self-Directed FHSA Brokers Ranked

Each card explains the score, what an FHSA costs there, and the FHSA details first-time buyers ask about: account fees on a small FHSA, US-dollar support, and whether the same broker offers the RRSP an unused FHSA can move into. Sub-scores are out of 5.

Managed FHSA Options: Robo-Advisors

Of the four robo-advisors we rank (those that publish both their management fee and fund costs), two list the FHSA among their accounts: Wealthsimple Managed Investing and RBC InvestEase. Robo scores weigh fees 45%, account types 15%, portfolio choice 15%, minimum 10% and access to advice 15%.

Yearly cost is the management fee plus the highest published fund cost, before sales tax, at the Core tier for Wealthsimple.

Wealthsimple Managed Investing (4.2 / 5). Its FHSA can be a managed portfolio or an Automated Investing account, which charges 0.25% a year and caps the fee at $250 per account per year. It starts from $1 and gives access to advisors. See our Wealthsimple Managed Investing review and Wealthsimple FHSA review.

RBC InvestEase (3.4 / 5). It offers six ETF portfolios, from short-term bonds to aggressive growth, each in Core and Responsible versions, with Portfolio Advisors by phone or email. It invests once the balance reaches $100. Because it also offers an RRSP, an unused FHSA can move to an RRSP at the same provider.

Not confirmed or not ranked. Questwealth Portfolios shows the FHSA in its site menu, but its account-types page did not list it, so we do not include it. CI Direct Investing did not mention the FHSA. Justwealth offers an FHSA with no minimum and a minimum fee of $2.50 a month, but publishes its fee tiers only as an image, so it is not ranked. See the full best robo-advisors ranking for every account type.

FHSA Savings Accounts and GIC Options

An FHSA can hold savings deposits and GICs, and the interest is tax-free if you use it for a qualifying home purchase. These lists include only FHSA rates we verified on October 22, 2026, sorted by rate.

Fewer FHSA rates than TFSA rates. Oaken, Manulife and Peoples Trust publish registered GIC rates for TFSAs and RRSPs but did not list the FHSA, so they are not shown here. EQ Bank repeats its GIC rates for FHSAs, but its three GIC rate pages disagree, so we leave them out until it confirms one set. Wealthsimple offers a savings FHSA, but its pages give conflicting rates.

Match the term to your purchase date. A non-redeemable GIC cannot be cashed before it matures. If you plan to buy in two years, a 5-year GIC paying 4.50% is no use to you; a 2-year term paying 4.25% at Saven, or 3.95% at Hubert, matures in time. This example is hypothetical: $8,000 in a 2-year GIC at 4.25%, with interest compounded once a year and paid at maturity, grows to $8,694.45 ($8,000 x 1.0425 x 1.0425), or $694.45 of interest. Confirm how and when a provider pays interest before you buy.

Insurance. FHSA deposits at a CDIC member are insured up to $100,000 as their own category, separate from your TFSA, RRSP and other deposits. Saven deposits are covered by DICO, and Hubert and Outlook deposits by the Deposit Guarantee Corporation of Manitoba. Our EQ Bank review covers the CDIC-insured option in more detail. Compare everyday rates on our high-interest savings accounts page and all terms on our GIC rates page.

1. How We Ranked the Best FHSA Accounts

One score across every list. Each broker keeps the overall score it carries on our best online brokers ranking and on every list in our compare online brokers section. This page keeps the 11 brokers that offer an FHSA. The score is a weighted average of six factors marked out of 5 from each broker’s published pricing and account pages.

How cost is measured. The cost score is 5 minus the average yearly cost of the two profiles in the master comparison table, divided by $80. Each profile counts commissions and account fees only.

Ties and independence. Ties are ordered by the unrounded score, which places Questrade (4.325) above Desjardins (4.275), and Interactive Brokers (4.232) above Wealthsimple (4.225) and National Bank Direct Brokerage (4.175). No provider can pay for a position. The rubric is on our broker rating methodology page, our accuracy rules are in our editorial standards, and the site’s income is explained on how WealthScale makes money.

2. Self-Directed vs Managed vs Savings FHSA

An FHSA has a deadline built in: a home purchase, or the end of the participation period. That makes the choice of what to hold more important than in a TFSA or RRSP.

What is the best FHSA investment for your timeline?

Buying within about three years. The deduction is the main benefit, and losing part of the down payment to a market drop would hurt more than missing some growth. FHSA savings at 2.85% (Saven) or a GIC that matures before your closing date keeps the full balance available.

Buying in five years or more, or unsure. Up to 15 years can pass between opening an FHSA and the end of its participation period, and an unused FHSA can move to an RRSP. A longer horizon leaves room for a self-directed or managed portfolio of ETFs, with the risk that its value can fall.

Splitting the difference. You can hold more than one FHSA, and the room is shared across them. You could keep a savings FHSA for the down payment you expect to use soon and invest a second FHSA for the longer term. Our GIC vs high-interest savings comparison helps with the cash side, and our FHSA vs TFSA for a down payment page compares the two accounts for the same goal.

3. FHSA Costs for Four Saver Profiles

FHSA balances start small, so account fees can matter more than commissions. This table prices four hypothetical savers at each broker’s published rates on October 22, 2026.

Every trade is a $2,000 order of 40 shares. Each cost is commissions plus any account fee that applies at that balance.

Assumptions. The saver is over 30, has been a client for more than a year, and holds only an FHSA at the firm, with no banking package. At National Bank the $100 fee drops to $0 for a saver who is 30 or younger on May 31, which takes its first two columns to $0.00. At TD, the FHSA-only waiver removes the $25-a-quarter fee.

What changes the answer. At RBC, the same trades in a GoSmart FHSA would cost $0.00, because GoSmart includes 50 free trades a year. At TD, the same trades in TD Easy Trade would cost $0.00 within its 100 free trades a year. A CIBC saver aged 18 to 24 with Smart Start chequing would also pay $0.00. These options can change the order for a particular saver, which is why the cost calculator near the top of the page lets you enter your own pattern.

The lump-sum saver. Someone who deposits $8,000 once a year and buys twice pays at most $19.98 a year in commissions at any broker on the list ($9.99 x 2). For that saver, account fees and the investment itself matter far more than commissions.

4. FHSA Fees: Which Providers Exempt the FHSA

Why fees bite harder in an FHSA. An FHSA can hold at most $8,000 of contributions in its first year, so a $100 account fee takes 1.25% of the balance ($100 / $8,000). Several brokers that charge small-account fees on other accounts exempt the FHSA, and that exemption is worth checking before you open.

No account fee on an FHSA. Seven brokers list no account fee that applies to an FHSA at any balance: Interactive Brokers, Questrade, Wealthsimple, Disnat, RBC, Scotia iTRADE and CIBC. BMO lists $0 on registered accounts under $25,000, and TD charges nothing as long as the FHSA is your only TD account.

Transfer fees. If you later move the FHSA, most brokers charge $150. Wealthsimple charges $0. Questrade rebates up to $150 per account, RBC up to $200 on $15,000 or more, Wealthsimple up to $150 per account on $25,000 or more, and Qtrade up to $150 per client on $15,000 or more under its current offer. Among robo-advisors, RBC InvestEase charges $150 plus tax to transfer to a non-RBC account.

Fund fees still apply. No broker fee covers the management expense ratio inside an ETF or mutual fund. That cost comes out of the fund itself, at any broker.

5. USD FHSA and US Stocks in an FHSA

Few FHSAs hold US dollars. Wealthsimple lets you add a USD account to an FHSA ($10 a month plus tax on Core; included from $100,000 of assets). Questrade says US dollars can be held in its registered accounts at no extra cost. National Bank Direct Brokerage, Qtrade and TD Easy Trade offer US dollars in other registered accounts but not in the FHSA. Disnat does not list a US-dollar FHSA, and Interactive Brokers, BMO, CIBC and Scotia iTRADE do not say.

US dividends lose 15%. The FHSA is not a retirement arrangement under the Canada-US tax treaty, so the US withholds 15% of dividends when your broker has a Form W-8BEN on file (30% without it), and the tax cannot be recovered inside the FHSA. This example is hypothetical: $400 of US dividends in a year loses $60 ($400 x 15%).

US commissions in an FHSA. If you buy US-listed shares in an FHSA, Questrade, Desjardins, Wealthsimple, National Bank, Qtrade and BMO charge $0 a trade, Interactive Brokers charges USD 0.005 a share with a US$1 minimum, CIBC $6.95, RBC $9.95, and Scotia iTRADE and TD $9.99. This example is hypothetical: 12 US purchases a year cost $0 at a $0-commission broker and $119.88 at $9.99 a trade (12 x $9.99).

If the FHSA becomes an RRSP. If you never buy and transfer the FHSA to an RRSP, directly held US-listed shares are then in an account the treaty exempts. Our best RRSP accounts page shows which RRSPs hold US dollars at no extra cost, and our best brokers for dividend investing page compares the brokers that reinvest dividends for you.

6. FHSA Rules Recap for 2026: Room, Carry-Forward and Deadlines

Room starts only when you open. No FHSA room builds up before you open your first FHSA, and the carry-forward in the opening year is $0. This example is hypothetical: if you open an FHSA in 2026 and contribute nothing, you have $16,000 of room in 2027 ($8,000 + $8,000 carried forward). If you wait and open in 2027, you have only $8,000 that year.

The opening-year trap. Because carry-forward is $0 in the opening year, depositing $16,000 in that year creates an $8,000 excess ($16,000 – $8,000). The tax is $80 a month ($8,000 x 1%). If the deposit is made in June and left in place, from June to December that is $560 ($80 x 7). New room on January 1 ends the excess, or you can remove it earlier with a designated withdrawal or transfer on Form RC727.

The calendar-year deadline. Unlike an RRSP, FHSA contributions made in the first 60 days of a year cannot be deducted for the previous year. Please plan your 2026 contribution for December 31, 2026 or earlier.

The calculator below shows your FHSA participation room by year, your lifetime room left and the date your FHSA must close.

Our FHSA guide covers every rule in detail, our FHSA eligibility page walks through the first-time buyer test, and our overview of investment accounts in Canada compares the FHSA with every other registered account.

7. What an FHSA Deduction Is Worth in 2026

A deduction like an RRSP, a withdrawal like a TFSA. FHSA contributions are deducted from your income, and a qualifying withdrawal for a first home is not taxed. The account you choose does not change the deduction; your income and province do. This table shows the 2026 tax saved by an $8,000 FHSA deduction.

Calculated with 2026 federal and provincial or territorial brackets and basic personal amount credits, the Ontario surtax and Ontario Health Premium, the Ontario and B.C. tax reductions, and the 16.5% Quebec abatement. Other credits are not included.

Reading the table. At $75,000 in Ontario the deduction saves $2,522.00: $1,640.00 of federal tax ($8,000 x 20.5%), $732.00 of Ontario tax ($8,000 x 9.15%) and $150.00 of Ontario Health Premium ($750 – $600). Five years of $8,000 contributions at that income would save $12,610.00 ($2,522.00 x 5), if income stays the same.

Timing the deduction. You do not have to deduct a contribution in the year you make it. A student or new graduate on a low income can contribute now, let the money grow in the FHSA, and claim the deduction in a later year when income, and the tax saved, are higher. The deduction can be claimed even after the FHSA is closed. Transfers from an RRSP into an FHSA are not deductible.

8. Qualifying Withdrawals, the Home Buyers’ Plan and Couples

What makes a withdrawal qualifying. You must be a first-time home buyer at the time of the withdrawal (no owned home you lived in during the current year, ignoring the 30 days before the withdrawal, or the previous four calendar years). You need a written agreement to buy or build a qualifying home with completion before October 1 of the year after the withdrawal. The home must not have been bought more than 30 days before the withdrawal, you must intend to live in it within one year, and you must be resident in Canada. You request it on Form RC725.

After the first qualifying withdrawal. The participation period ends on December 31 of the year after your first qualifying withdrawal. Anything left must be withdrawn or transferred to an RRSP or RRIF by then.

Adding the Home Buyers’ Plan. You can make a qualifying FHSA withdrawal and a Home Buyers’ Plan withdrawal of up to $60,000 from RRSPs for the same home, if you meet the conditions of each at the time. HBP money must be repaid over up to 15 years; for first withdrawals made from 2022 to 2028, repayment starts in the fifth year after the withdrawal. FHSA money is never repaid.

Couples. Each spouse or partner who qualifies can open their own FHSA, with their own $8,000 a year and $40,000 lifetime limit, and their own HBP limit. The first-time buyer test also looks at your current spouse or partner: if you live in a home your spouse owns, you do not qualify to open an FHSA. This example is hypothetical: a couple who each fill an FHSA ($40,000 each) and each use the full HBP ($60,000 each) could put $200,000 toward one home before growth ($80,000 + $120,000), provided both have that much in RRSPs.

The calculator below adds up FHSA and Home Buyers’ Plan money for one buyer or a couple.

For more on combining the two, see FHSA vs RRSP Home Buyers’ Plan and our Home Buyers’ Plan guide.

9. If You Do Not Buy: Moving an FHSA to an RRSP

The RRSP route. If you do not buy a home, you can transfer your FHSA directly to an RRSP or RRIF. The transfer is tax-deferred and does not use any RRSP deduction room, as long as you have no excess FHSA amount. Only a direct transfer qualifies; a withdrawal followed by an RRSP contribution does not.

The taxable route. You can also take a taxable withdrawal, which is added to your income. Anything still in an FHSA after the participation period ends loses its FHSA status, and its fair market value is added to your income for that year.

A worked comparison. This example is hypothetical. You contributed $40,000 over five years, deducted all of it, and the FHSA has grown to $46,000. You decide not to buy. A direct transfer moves $46,000 into your RRSP, uses none of your RRSP room, and keeps the deductions you already claimed. Taking it as a withdrawal instead would add $46,000 to your income in one year.

Pick a provider that can take the transfer. All 11 brokers on this list also offer an RRSP, and both ranked robo-advisors with an FHSA (Wealthsimple Managed Investing and RBC InvestEase) offer RRSPs too, so the transfer can stay at the same provider. If your FHSA is at a provider without the RRSP you want, a direct transfer to an RRSP elsewhere also qualifies.

10. Where to Open FHSA Accounts: How to Choose

Work through these steps in order to choose where to open an FHSA.

1. Confirm you qualify. Check residency, age and the first-time buyer test, including your spouse’s or partner’s home ownership.
2. Set your timeline. If you expect to buy within a few years, start with FHSA savings or GICs; for a longer horizon, consider a self-directed or managed portfolio.
3. Check fees at a small balance. Use the table in section 4 to avoid a $100 fee on an $8,000 account.
4. Price your deposits. Enter your purchases a year in the cost calculator near the top of this page.
5. Confirm the RRSP option. Make sure the provider also offers an RRSP, in case you do not buy.
6. Open early and contribute by December 31. Opening starts your room; there is no 60-day grace period.

First account? Our best brokers for beginners ranking and how to invest in Canada guide cover the basics, and our best TFSA accounts page ranks the same brokers for a TFSA. Our Wealthsimple vs Questrade comparison sets Questrade, ranked first here, beside Wealthsimple, ranked fourth.

11. How to Move an FHSA to Another Provider

Ask for a direct transfer. Open the new FHSA, then ask the new provider to transfer the account from the old one. Please do not withdraw and redeposit: a withdrawal that is not a qualifying withdrawal for a home is taxable, and putting the money back uses new FHSA room.

Costs. Section 4 lists each broker’s exit fee and which receiving brokers cover it. Two extra costs apply to FHSAs moved early or in part: Qtrade charges $100 if you close an account within its first year, and Disnat charges $25 per security on a partial transfer.

In kind or cash. Moving holdings in kind avoids selling and buying again. Wealthsimple’s fractional shares cannot be transferred to another institution, so they are sold first. A non-redeemable GIC must normally mature before it can be moved as cash.

Timing around a purchase. If your closing date is close, a transfer in progress can delay a withdrawal. It is usually simpler to make the qualifying withdrawal from the provider you have. Our transfer guide explains the forms and what to check afterwards.

What You Need and What You Get

8 FHSA Strategies for First-Time Buyers

Illustrative Example: A Couple Saving With Two FHSAs

Meet the Experts Behind WealthScale

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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.

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