Average unused TFSA room rises 12% year-over-year

Canadians held a total of $276.7 billion in their tax-free savings accounts in 2017, with the average TFSA holder holding $19,633, according to statistics released by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) Friday.

The figures reflect the total fair market value (FMV) of all TFSAs at the end of the 2017 contribution year, the most recent year for which the CRA has statistics.

Total assets held in TFSAs was up 18.8% from 2016, when the total FMV of all TFSAs was $232.9 billion. The average FMV of assets held in TFSAs per individual TFSA holder was up 13.6% from the previous year, when the average FMV of assets held in TFSAs per individual holder was $17,286.

The average unused TFSA contribution room in 2017 was $30,947, up 11.9% from 2016 when the average unused room was $27,653.

According to the CRA, there were 19.5 million TFSAs in 2017, held by 14.1 million TFSA holders, for an average of 1.38 accounts per holder. That was up from 18.3 million TFSAs in 2016, held by 13.5 million TFSA holders, for an average of 1.36 accounts per holder.

In 2017, 1.43 million of all TFSA holders had maximized contributions, up 2.6% from the previous year.

Last week, the federal government announced that the TFSA contribution limit for 2020 is $6,000, the same dollar amount set for 2019. With the announcement, the total contribution room available for someone in 2020 who has never contributed and has been eligible for the TFSA since its introduction in 2009 is $69,500.

Rudy Mezzetta

Rudy is a senior reporter for Advisor.ca and its sister publication, Investment Executive. He has been reporting on tax, estate planning, industry news and more since 2005. Reach him at rudy@newcom.ca.