Bill C-30 received Royal Assent on 4 September 2026, enacting measures from the federal Spring Economic Update 2026. For Canadian investors who use registered plans, the only material account-rule change identified in this package is a temporary extension of the Home Buyers' Plan repayment grace period. Contribution ceilings for RRSPs, TFSAs and FHSAs, and the tax treatment of non-registered accounts, were not rewritten.
The Department of Finance Canada stated that the legislation implements the Update measures. For qualifying RRSP withdrawals under the Home Buyers' Plan in 2026, 2027 or 2028, the first repayment year now starts in the fifth year after the year of withdrawal. That delay is confirmed for those three calendar years of draws. It is not, on the available text, a permanent change to HBP timing for withdrawals made before 2026 or after 2028.
The Canada Revenue Agency's Home Buyers' Plan pages remain the operational source for who may participate, how much may be withdrawn, and how repayments are reported. CRA describes the HBP as a way to withdraw from an RRSP to buy or build a qualifying home without including the withdrawal in income, provided amounts are repaid on the prescribed schedule. The new law stretches the front end of that schedule for a defined cohort of withdrawals. It does not, on the information reviewed, raise HBP withdrawal limits or create extra RRSP contribution room.
Routine 2026 limit tables are a no-change confirmation rather than new policy:
- RRSP dollar limit for 2026: $33,810
- TFSA dollar limit for 2026: $7,000
- FHSA limits remain $8,000 annually and $40,000 lifetime
- Non-registered accounts: no identified contribution, attribution or capital-gains timing changes
Unused RRSP room continues to carry forward under existing rules. TFSA room still accumulates from eligibility years. FHSA room remains distinct from both the HBP and ordinary RRSP room.
For sophisticated investors, the practical implication is cash-flow timing, not a larger tax shelter. An HBP-eligible participant who draws from an RRSP in 2026, 2027 or 2028 can keep the withdrawn capital in the household for a longer interval before annual repayments begin. That may ease the overlap of a down payment, closing costs and early mortgage payments. It does not increase the amount that can be sheltered going forward. Amounts that are not repaid when due are still generally included in income under the HBP framework CRA already publishes.
The change is also narrower than broader housing-tax commentary sometimes suggests. It does not amend non-registered account rules, does not create new TFSA or FHSA room, and does not alter the 2026 RRSP dollar limit. Households that intend to use both the FHSA and the HBP still need to respect each program's separate conditions. Bill C-30's grace extension does not merge those plans.
What remains unconfirmed in the primary Finance Canada and CRA materials reviewed here includes any provincial mirroring of the HBP timing change, any extra CRA administrative relief beyond the statutory grace period, and any extension of the five-year start to withdrawals outside 2026 through 2028. Those items would require further legislation or published guidance.
Registered-plan calendars can treat the HBP repayment start for 2026-2028 draws as a locked-in federal rule following Royal Assent, and 2026 RRSP, TFSA and FHSA dollar limits as confirmed unchanged. This summary is informational only and is not tax, legal or investment advice.