TFSA Contribution Tracking

The one rule that trips everyone up

Your TFSA room is used up by what you put in, not by what your account is worth.

Money you deposit is a contribution — it uses room. Any growth on top of that (interest, dividends, gains) is not a contribution and never touches your room. So it's completely normal for your TFSA balance to sit far above the total you've contributed. That extra is just growth, and growth is tax-free.

Example: you've contributed $30,000 over the years and it's grown to $41,000. You've used $30,000 of room, not $41,000. The $11,000 of growth is yours, tax-free, and costs you no room.

If you remember nothing else, remember this: room follows your deposits, not your balance.

How your total room is worked out

NivoaFlow calculates your available room from four things:

1. Your eligibility year — the year you turned 18 and were a Canadian resident. TFSA room starts accumulating from that year (and no earlier than 2009).
2. Each year's limit — the CRA sets an annual limit (2026 is $7,000). Every year you've been eligible adds its limit to your total room.
3. Your contributions — every dollar you've deposited is subtracted.
4. Your withdrawals — money you take out is added back to your room, but only on January 1 of the following year — not right away.

Set your starting point once. The most accurate number to start from is on your latest CRA Notice of Assessment (or your CRA My Account). Enter that as your starting room in Plan → Tax → TFSA, and NivoaFlow tracks everything from there forward. This is the single most important setup step — without it, we're estimating from your eligibility year.

How NivoaFlow fills in your contributions

You have three ways to get contributions in, and NivoaFlow uses them in this order of trust:

1. Dated entries you add (most specific) — a contribution or withdrawal you log with an exact date. These always win.
2. A yearly figure you enter — a single "I contributed $X in 2025" number for a year.
3. Auto-detected from your accounts (most convenient) — when a transfer into your TFSA is categorised as a TFSA contribution, we count it automatically. A transfer out is treated as a withdrawal.

You don't have to use all three. Most people set their starting room once, let day-to-day contributions get picked up automatically, and only add a manual entry for a contribution made somewhere NivoaFlow isn't connected to.

Withdrawals: the timing that causes penalties

When you withdraw, that room comes back — but not until January 1 of the next year.

Withdraw $5,000 in 2026, and that $5,000 returns to your room on January 1, 2027. If you re-deposit it in 2026, you can over-contribute even though "it was your own money."

Avoiding an over-contribution penalty

Over-contributing costs 1% per month on the excess. The usual causes:

• Re-contributing a withdrawal in the same year (see above).
• Forgetting a TFSA at another institution — make sure every TFSA is accounted for, connected or not.
• A wrong eligibility year or starting room — double-check both against your Notice of Assessment.

NivoaFlow warns you as you approach your limit so you can contribute with confidence.

Quick setup checklist

1. Open Plan → Tax → TFSA.
2. Enter your starting room from your CRA Notice of Assessment.
3. Confirm your eligibility year (the year you turned 18 as a resident).
4. Let contributions auto-fill, or add a dated/yearly entry for anything at an unconnected institution.

That's it — from here, your remaining room updates itself as money moves.

See also RRSP contribution tracking and how bank sync works.

General information, not tax advice. Always confirm your own contribution room with the CRA.