The Canadian money calendar
Personal finance has a seasonal rhythm, and most of the expensive mistakes are missed deadlines. Here is the whole year on one page.
The short answerThe four dates that matter most: January 1 (new TFSA and FHSA room), the RRSP deadline (60 days into the new year), April 30 (tax filing and payment), and December 31 (RESP grant cut-off, tax-loss selling, charitable gifts).
January
- New TFSA room appears — $7,000 for 2026, plus anything you withdrew last year. This is the day withdrawn room comes back.
- New FHSA room — $8,000, if your account is already open. Room does not accrue until it is.
- Contribute early in the year rather than late if you can: eleven extra months of sheltered growth, every year, compounds into a real difference.
- Review your Investment Policy Statement and rebalance if anything has drifted more than five percentage points.
- Check that automatic contributions still match your income after any raise — this is where lifestyle inflation gets caught.
February
- The RRSP deadline falls 60 days into the year (check the exact date, as it shifts with weekends). Contributions made by then can be deducted against last year’s income.
- T4s and most T5s arrive. Keep them together — missing slips are the most common cause of a reassessment.
- Remember you can contribute now and carry the deduction forward to a higher-income year. The contribution and the deduction are separate decisions.
March
- T3 and T5013 slips arrive, usually late in the month — which is why filing in early March often means refiling.
- If you contributed to an RRSP in February, decide which tax year to claim the deduction against.
- Review your emergency fund against your current expenses. It should have grown with your cost of living.
April
- April 30 — tax filing and payment deadline for most Canadians. Even if you are self-employed and file in June, any balance owing is due April 30.
- Your Notice of Assessment will confirm next year’s RRSP room. Check it against your own records.
- If you owed a large balance, consider adjusting withholding at source or setting money aside monthly instead.
May
- A good month for the annual admin nobody schedules: check beneficiary and successor holder designations on every registered account and insurance policy.
- Confirm your TFSA contributions for the year so far against your own spreadsheet — the CRA figure is stale.
- Pull your free credit report from Equifax and TransUnion and check for accounts you do not recognise.
June
- June 15 — filing deadline for the self-employed and their spouses. Payment was still due April 30.
- Mid-year checkpoint: are you on track for the contributions you planned in January? Half the year is a fair place to correct course.
- If your income has changed materially, revisit whether TFSA or RRSP is the better destination for the rest of the year.
July
- A quiet month. Good for the reading you have been postponing — a will, a power of attorney, or an insurance review.
- If you have children, check your RESP contributions against the $2,500 per child needed to capture the full $500 grant.
- Review your portfolio’s actual allocation against target. Do not act unless it has drifted past your rule.
August
- Check the fees you are actually paying. Look up the MER of every fund you hold and multiply by your balance — the annual dollar figure is more persuasive than the percentage.
- If you hold an FHSA, confirm what it is actually invested in. Many default to a savings deposit paying almost nothing.
September
- Begin planning any year-end tax moves rather than leaving them to December, when everyone else is doing the same thing.
- If you are approaching 71, start the RRIF conversion conversation now — including whether to elect a younger spouse’s age for the minimums.
- Review whether your withholding at source is close to your actual liability for the year.
October
- Estimate your taxable income for the year. It determines whether an RRSP contribution is worth making and how much room you have below the next bracket.
- For retirees: check whether your net income is heading toward $95,323, and whether shifting some spending to a TFSA withdrawal would keep you below it.
November
- Identify candidates for tax-loss selling in taxable accounts, and check the superficial loss rule before repurchasing anything similar.
- If you are planning a large charitable gift, arrange it now — donating appreciated securities in kind avoids the capital gain entirely.
- Confirm the exact last trading date for settlement within the calendar year.
December
- December 31 — RESP contribution deadline for this year’s CESG grant. Miss it and that year’s grant room is gone for good (beyond the limited catch-up).
- December 31 — FHSA contribution deadline. Unlike an RRSP, there is no 60-day grace period.
- Tax-loss selling must settle in the calendar year — under T+1, the practical deadline is a day or two before the 31st.
- If you turn 71 this year, your RRSP must be converted to a RRIF or annuity by December 31. This deadline has no extensions.
- Charitable donations must be made by December 31 to be claimed this year.
- If you plan to withdraw from a TFSA soon, doing it before December 31 restores the room on January 1 rather than a full year later.
Educational purposes only — not financial, investment or tax advice. RiskStock is not a registered dealer, adviser, or tax professional. Nothing in this course is a recommendation to buy or sell any security or product. Tax and benefit figures are for the 2026 tax year, were verified against official sources on 2026-07-27, and change annually — confirm your own numbers with the CRA and a qualified professional before acting.