How does your TFSA compare?

Per CRA Tax-Free Savings Account Statistics for the 2023 tax year (released April 2025): average TFSA balance is $7,894 at 18–24, $16,760 at 30–34, $20,670 at 40–44, $30,190 at 50–54, $45,109 at 60–64, and $66,061 at 75+. These are averages of fair market value across all individual TFSA holders in each age band — the median is lower because a smaller cohort of long-term maxers pulls the average up.

The average TFSA balance for Canadians aged 30–34 is $16,760 (CRA 2023 tax year). For context: someone who turned 18 in 2014 has roughly $83,500 of cumulative contribution room available by 2026 — so the average 30-year-old has used only about 20% of their available TFSA room. Maxing your TFSA at 30, even by small monthly contributions, is the single biggest registered-account lever available before income peaks later.

Canadians aged 40–44 have an average TFSA balance of $20,670 (CRA 2023). Someone who turned 18 in 2004 had no TFSA available until 2009 (age 23), so their full cumulative room as of 2026 is the maximum $109,000. The average 40-year-old has used roughly 19% of available TFSA room — the gap is the headline opportunity in the 2026 CRA data.

The average TFSA balance for Canadians aged 50–54 is $30,190 (CRA 2023 tax year). Anyone in this band has had the full TFSA room ladder available since 2009, giving them up to $109,000 in cumulative room by 2026. The average 50-year-old has used roughly 28% of their available TFSA — those who have maxed every year since 2009 are statistically rare but disproportionately wealthy.

Canadians aged 60–64 have an average TFSA balance of $45,109 (CRA 2023). This is the band where TFSAs become the dominant tax-free retirement income vehicle — withdrawals don't count as income, don't affect OAS clawback, and don't trigger GIS reduction. For income-planning purposes, TFSAs are often more valuable in retirement than RRSPs/RRIFs precisely because of these treatment rules.

The TFSA dollar limit for 2026 is $7,000 — unchanged from 2025 and 2024 (CRA confirmed). Cumulative contribution room for anyone who has been eligible since TFSAs launched in 2009 (i.e., aged 18+ in 2009, so born in 1991 or earlier) is $109,000 as of January 1, 2026. Unused room carries forward indefinitely; withdrawals are added back to your room in the following calendar year.

Two reasons. First, the CRA "average" includes every Canadian with even a $100 TFSA account — many holders open one but never seriously fund it. Second, TFSAs only launched in 2009, so the oldest Canadians have at most 17 years of contribution history. The averages skew toward people who use TFSAs as small savings buckets rather than long-term tax-free investment vehicles. Maxing every year since 2009 with index returns would put a 35-year-old's TFSA at roughly $175,000+ today — over 9× the published average for that age band.

Both shelter investment growth from tax. The key differences: TFSA contributions are made with after-tax dollars but withdrawals are completely tax-free; RRSP contributions are pre-tax (giving an immediate deduction) but withdrawals are taxed as income. TFSA withdrawals do not affect OAS clawback or GIS; RRSP/RRIF withdrawals do. Cumulative TFSA room as of 2026 is $109,000; RRSP room is 18% of earned income, lifetime-uncapped. For most Canadians, the rough rule is: max TFSA first if you expect a higher marginal tax rate in retirement; max RRSP first if you expect a lower one.