Tax-free savings account
type of Canadian bank account
A tax-free savings account (TFSA, French: Compte d'épargne libre d'impôt, CELI) is an account available in Canada that provides tax advantages for saving and investing. Investment income, including capital gains and dividends, earned in a TFSA is generally not taxed, even when withdrawn. Contributions to a TFSA are not deductible for income tax purposes, unlike contributions to a registered retirement savings plan (RRSP).
Despite the name, a TFSA does not have to be a cash savings account. Like an RRSP, a TFSA may contain cash and/or other eligible investments such as mutual funds, segregated funds, certain stocks, bonds, or guaranteed investment certificates (GICs). Interest collected by cash on hand in a TFSA is tax-free.
History
The first tax-free savings account was introduced by Jim Flaherty, then Canadian federal Minister of Finance, in the 2008 federal budget. It came into effect on January 1, 2009.
This measure was supported by the C. D. Howe Institute, which stated: "This tax policy gem is very good news for Canadians, and Mr. Flaherty and his government deserve credit for a novel program".
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This entry incorporates text from “Tax-free savings account” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.