Ages 16–18

The accounts that open at 18

Three registered accounts become available around the age of majority. Opening the right one first, and leaving one alone, is worth real money later.

About 25 minutes Read it themselves Earns The Day One Badge

The Quest

For the kid

At the age of majority, accounts open that were not available before. They are wrappers, not investments — they change how the money inside is taxed.

	Money goes in	Money comes out	For
TFSA	After tax	Tax free	Anything at all
FHSA	Deductible from income	Tax free, if it qualifies	A first home
RRSP	Deductible from income	Taxed as income	Retirement

TFSA — Tax-Free Savings Account

2026 annual limit: $7,000. Unused room carries forward.
Your cumulative room depends on the year you became eligible. Turning 18 in 2026 means that year's amount only, not the cumulative figure people quote.
The withdrawal rule that catches people: money you take out restores that room, but not until January 1 of the next year. Withdraw in March, re-contribute in July, and you have over-contributed and owe a monthly penalty tax.

FHSA — First Home Savings Account

Deductible going in like an RRSP, tax free coming out like a TFSA.

$8,000 a year, $40,000 lifetime.
Carry-forward is capped at $8,000, so the most that can go in during one year is $16,000.
Room starts when the account is opened, not at 18 — eligible years without one bank nothing.
Opening it also starts a clock. The account stops being an FHSA on December 31 of the year of the 15th anniversary. Open one at 18 and the window closes at 33.

Opening one early is a trade-off: the room starts accruing, and so does the clock.

RRSP — Registered Retirement Savings Plan

Room is 18% of earned income, to a maximum of $33,810 for 2026.
It is created by filing a return (Level 2).
Room carries forward indefinitely.
Why it is usually not first at eighteen: the deduction is worth your tax rate, and a student's is low. The same room is worth more against a higher income later.

Your mission

Build a one-page "day I turn 18" checklist — what you open, in what order, and what you leave alone, with a reason beside each.

The Parent Playbook

For you — read before you start

Your job is to stop two mistakes, both from enthusiasm.

What to say

"You can open an RRSP, and the question is whether to use it now — that room does not expire. The first year is about the habit and the paperwork, not the amount. Twenty-five dollars a month you never miss does more than a thousand dollars once and then nothing for three years."

The age question to check rather than assume

The age of majority is 18 in some provinces and 19 in others, and it gates when an account can be opened. Contribution room and the age you can sign a contract are different questions — check both against CRA and the institution, not against memory or this page.

Mistake to avoid

Do not let the first TFSA sit in cash by accident. A savings position is a legitimate choice; choosing it without noticing leaves the tax-free growth nothing to grow.

Do not over-contribute by re-depositing a withdrawal in the same year. The most common TFSA error. Write the rule on the checklist.

Do not make the eighteenth birthday about which stock to buy. Level 6 handles investing.

Do It Together

The 25-minute activity

Account-opening day plan 20 minutes · a sheet of paper, and CRA's own pages open

List all three and what each is for. Have them explain each back in a sentence.
Decide the order and write the reason beside each.
Look up the current limits on CRA's own site and write each number with its year beside it.
Check your province's age of majority and which accounts it gates.
Write the first contribution as an amount and a date — small, automatic, monthly.
Write the "not yet" list with reasons — the more valuable half of the page.

Done? Tick the level. Next: paying for school.

Done with level 04?

Fills in one leaf on the Makers map and earns The Day One Badge. Kept in this browser only — nothing about your child is sent anywhere.

Financial education, not advice. It describes how Canadian accounts and programs work and recommends no product, provider or investment. Dollar figures are statutory.