The TFSA contribution room number on your CRA Notice of Assessment is a snapshot dated January 1. From January through about March, that snapshot is approximate. From November through year-end, it's almost always wrong by at least one transaction. This guide explains why, and how to track your true room without relying on CRA.

Why CRA's TFSA number lags

Banks, credit unions, and brokerages (the "issuers") are required to file annual reports of every TFSA contribution and withdrawal to CRA on form RC284 by the end of February each year. CRA processes these reports through March and April. Until they're processed, your CRA My Account number is whatever it was at the last update — typically months stale.

Practical consequence: if you contributed $5,000 in November 2025 and withdrew $2,000 in December 2025, those transactions probably won't show up in CRA My Account until late March 2026, and may not flow into the NOA you receive in early May.

The cost of trusting a stale number

TFSA over-contribution penalty is 1% per month on the excess amount, retroactive to the month of the over-contribution. A $5,000 over-contribution sitting for six months before you notice = $300 in penalty tax.

The most common scenario: someone checks CRA My Account in early January, sees "$8,000 of room available," contributes $8,000 — but CRA hadn't yet processed a December reversal that consumed $4,000 of that room. Penalty: $40 per month until withdrawn.

How to track your true TFSA room

Track manually. The math is straightforward and only needs updating when you contribute or withdraw:

1. Start with cumulative limit. If you've been eligible since 2009 and never moved out of Canada, your lifetime cumulative limit through 2026 is $102,000.
2. Subtract every contribution ever made across every TFSA you've held (don't forget that old GIC at TD that you closed in 2014).
3. Add every withdrawal, but only as new room in the calendar year following the withdrawal. Withdraw $5,000 in 2026 → that $5,000 of room comes back January 1, 2027, not immediately.
4. The result is your current room.

Use the TFSA calculator to model contribution scenarios against your actual running balance.

The cumulative TFSA limit, year by year

Cumulative assumes you turned 18 (or became a Canadian resident) in or before 2009 and have been continuously eligible since. Newcomers and Canadians who emigrated for periods will have lower totals. Use your CRA My Account for the personalized cumulative number.

Three patterns that cause over-contributions

1. The "January reset" mistake. January 1 contribution made before CRA has processed prior-year transactions. Wait until March if you're close to the limit.
2. The "transfer counts as contribution" mistake. Moving a TFSA from Bank A to Bank B is a contribution + withdrawal unless you do a direct institution-to-institution transfer with form T2033. Always do the transfer with the form.
3. The "withdrawal room comes back immediately" mistake. Withdrew $5,000 in March, re-contributed in May = over-contribution by $5,000 until January 1 of next year.

If you've already over-contributed

1. Withdraw the excess immediately. Penalty stops the day you withdraw.
2. File form RC243-P for the period you were over.
3. If it was a first-time accidental over-contribution caused by a CRA reporting lag, file form RC4288 (taxpayer relief) requesting penalty waiver. CRA grants these in most first-time cases.

Bottom line

CRA's TFSA contribution room number on your NOA and in CRA My Account is a useful sanity check, not a source of truth. Track your own contributions and withdrawals, and never make a near-the-limit contribution between November and March based on the CRA number alone. If you over-contribute by accident, withdraw fast, file the forms, and request relief — first-time errors caused by CRA's own reporting delay are routinely forgiven.

Related: NOA line-by-line guide, RRSP deduction limit on your NOA.

Sources: CRA — Tax-Free Savings Account, CRA — Form RC243-P (TFSA over-contribution).