Down Payment Savings Calculator

What the Down Payment Savings Calculator does

This calculator projects the month you will actually be ready to buy — using the full amount you need, not just the down payment. Closing costs are cash, due on top of your down payment, and forgetting to save for them is one of the most common reasons a buyer who "has enough" down payment still cannot close.

It also untangles two registered savings tools most Canadians are still learning: the First Home Savings Account and the Home Buyers' Plan. Each has its own contribution rules, its own tax treatment, and its own room that doubles if you are buying with a partner — a combined figure that regularly surprises people the first time they see it added up.

• The full amount needed — minimum down payment plus estimated closing costs
• Your projected ready date, in months, based on your current savings rate
• Your combined FHSA and HBP room, doubled if you are buying with a partner
• The tax refund your FHSA contributions generate, and how much sooner reinvesting it gets you there
• A levers table showing exactly what would move your ready date sooner

The key variables that move the answer — and how each account actually works

Four things decide your timeline, and two of them are registered accounts most people have not used before.

• Monthly savings — the single biggest lever in this calculator. It also decides how much of your saving flows through an FHSA versus outside one, since the FHSA has an $8,000 annual contribution cap that is easy to hit if you are saving aggressively.
• FHSA (First Home Savings Account) — contributions are tax-deductible, like an RRSP, and qualifying withdrawals for a first home are completely tax-free, unlike an RRSP. It is generally the best place to save for a first home before any other registered account, for exactly that combination.
• HBP (Home Buyers' Plan) — lets you withdraw from an existing RRSP tax-free for a home purchase, but it is a loan to yourself: the amount withdrawn must be repaid to your RRSP over 15 years, or the unpaid portion is added to your taxable income each year it is missed.
• Buying with a partner — doubles both the combined FHSA lifetime room and the combined HBP limit, since each person has their own separate room under both programs. This is usually the single largest number on this page.

How this is actually calculated

The required amount starts with the tiered minimum down payment for your target price, then adds an estimate of land transfer tax, legal fees and title insurance for your province. That combined figure — not the down payment alone — is what your savings are actually being measured against.

Your savings balance is projected forward month by month, compounding at your expected return and adding your monthly contribution each period. If you choose to reinvest your FHSA tax refund, the calculator tracks how much of your monthly saving falls within the FHSA's annual contribution cap, applies your marginal tax rate to that amount once a year, and adds the refund back into your savings balance — materially shortening the timeline in most cases.

The month your projected balance first reaches the full amount needed is your projected ready date. The levers table reruns this same projection with one change at a time — more monthly savings, an additional gift, a lower target price, or the reinvested refund — so you can see in months exactly what each change is worth.

• Required amount = minimum down payment (tiered) + land transfer tax + legal fees + title insurance
• Monthly growth: balance = balance × (1 + return ÷ 12) + monthly savings
• FHSA refund (if reinvested) = annual FHSA contributions × marginal tax rate, added back once a year
• Ready date = first month projected savings ≥ required amount

What you get, and how these numbers matter when you actually apply

Every figure here is meant to be checked against your bank and brokerage statements as you go, and against what a lender will actually ask to see when you apply.

• Total needed to close — the number to save toward, not just the down payment, since closing costs cannot be financed and are due in cash.
• Ready date — a concrete month to plan around, useful for setting a realistic house-hunting timeline and for deciding when to start shopping seriously.
• FHSA + HBP room — lenders and your notice of assessment will confirm your actual contribution room; this is a planning estimate to work from in the meantime.
• Levers — the fastest way to see whether a small change in your saving plan is worth making, in months, rather than guessing.

Using your results well

Open an FHSA before a regular high-interest savings account if you have not already — the tax deduction and tax-free withdrawal combination is difficult to beat for money earmarked for a first home. If you plan to use the Home Buyers' Plan alongside it, time any new RRSP contribution with the 90-day hold rule in mind, since a withdrawal taken too soon after contributing will not qualify.

What this calculator deliberately does not do is give tax advice. FHSA and HBP rules are set by the CRA, have changed recently, and depend on your specific eligibility as a first-time buyer — confirm the details that apply to you with an accountant before making contribution or withdrawal decisions based on this page.

• Open an FHSA early — the clock on your contribution room only starts once the account exists
• Respect the 90-day RRSP hold rule if you plan to use the Home Buyers' Plan
• Reinvest your FHSA tax refund if you can — it is free acceleration on your timeline
• Recheck this calculator whenever your target price or savings rate changes materially
• Confirm your exact FHSA, HBP and eligibility rules with an accountant — this is not tax advice

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