The RRSP Home Buyers' Plan for a Multiplex Down Payment in BC (2026)

If you have money sitting in an RRSP, you may be able to move a big chunk of it into your down payment on a brand-new multiplex home without paying tax on the withdrawal. That is what the Home Buyers' Plan does. It is one of the few ways in Canada to pull retirement savings out early and not get taxed on the way out, as long as you follow the rules and pay the money back over time.

This guide walks a first-time buyer through how the plan works when the home you are buying is a single unit in a new duplex, triplex, or fourplex in Greater Vancouver. We keep it plain, we cite every number to the Canada Revenue Agency, and we flag the parts that catch pre-sale buyers off guard.

A quick note: this is general information, not financial or tax advice. Everyone's RRSP, income, and timing are different. Confirm your own situation with a mortgage advisor or accountant before you withdraw a dollar.

What the Home Buyers' Plan actually is

The Home Buyers' Plan, or HBP, lets you take money out of your RRSP to buy or build your first home and not pay income tax on that withdrawal. Normally, pulling money out of an RRSP gets taxed as income in the year you take it out. The HBP is the exception. The catch is that it is a loan from yourself. You have to put the money back into your RRSP over the following years, or the government treats the unpaid part as taxable income.

Think of it as borrowing from your future retirement to buy a home now, with no interest charged. That trade can make sense for a family that has savings locked in an RRSP but is short on the cash they need at the door.

How much you can take out

You can withdraw up to $60,000 from your RRSPs under the plan, according to the Canada Revenue Agency. Your RRSP provider will not hold back any tax on a withdrawal of $60,000 or less. Anything above that limit does get taxed, so the $60,000 ceiling is a hard line worth respecting.

Here is the part that matters most for a family buying together. The limit is per person, not per home. Two spouses or common-law partners who each have an RRSP and each qualify as first-time buyers can each take out $60,000. Together that is $120,000 toward one down payment, per the CRA's participation rules. For a couple pooling resources to buy a new multiplex unit, that is real money.

Who counts as a first-time buyer

You do not have to have literally never owned a home. The CRA's test looks at the recent past. You are treated as a first-time buyer if, during the current calendar year (except the 30 days right before your withdrawal) and the four calendar years before that, you did not live in a home as your main residence that you or your spouse or common-law partner owned. That is the exact wording on the CRA participation page.

Read that carefully, because it trips people up. If your partner owned and lived in a home two years ago, you both fail the test right now, even if the home was only in their name. The four-year clock has to be clear for both of you. And each person has to pass on their own to use their own RRSP money. One partner qualifying does not carry the other one across the line.

The 90-day rule (why timing your contributions matters)

People often call this the 90-day rule, and it is easy to get wrong. It is really about your tax deduction, not about whether you can withdraw. Here is the plain version, based on the CRA withdrawal rules: money you put into your RRSP has to sit there for at least 90 days before you pull it out under the HBP, or that fresh contribution may not be deductible on your taxes.

So you cannot dump $30,000 into an RRSP in March, claim the tax deduction, and pull it right back out in April for your down payment. The government sees through that. If you want both the deduction and the tax-free HBP withdrawal, the money needs to have been in the account for a full 90 days first. For a buyer topping up an RRSP specifically to fund a down payment, plan the deposit at least three months ahead.

How this fits a brand-new multiplex pre-sale

Most new multiplex homes in Vancouver and Burnaby are sold pre-sale, which means you sign and put down a deposit long before the building is finished. That changes when you want the HBP money in hand. You do not need it at signing. You need it at completion, when you actually take ownership and the rest of the purchase price is due.

So the usual move is to leave the money invested in your RRSP while the home is being built, then withdraw it under the HBP as completion approaches. That keeps your savings working for you longer and lines the cash up for when you truly need it.

Two conditions from the CRA matter for pre-sale timing:

• The October 1 deadline. You must buy or build the qualifying home before October 1 of the year after the year you make your first HBP withdrawal. A home under construction is treated as built on the date it becomes livable.
• The one-year move-in rule. You must intend to live in the home as your main residence no later than one year after you buy or build it. A single strata unit you plan to move into fits this cleanly.

In plain terms: do not withdraw too early. If your completion date keeps slipping, as new construction dates sometimes do, pulling the money out in the wrong year can put you on the wrong side of that October 1 deadline. Match your withdrawal to your realistic completion window, not to the original brochure date.

One more note the CRA calls out directly: a pre-approved mortgage does not count as an agreement to buy. You need a real signed purchase agreement for the home to satisfy the plan's conditions.

Paying it back

The HBP is a loan from your own retirement, so you pay it back into your RRSP. You have up to 15 years to repay the full amount, and the minimum you owe each year is the total you withdrew divided by 15, per the CRA repayment rules. Take out $60,000 and your minimum repayment is $4,000 a year.

You get a grace period before repayments start. For a withdrawal made in 2026, your repayment period begins the second year after the year of your first withdrawal. There was a temporary relief measure from Budget 2024 that pushed the start out by three extra years, but that applied to first withdrawals made between January 1, 2022 and December 31, 2025. If you are withdrawing now, plan around the standard start, and confirm the exact first repayment year on your own HBP statement from the CRA.

Each year the CRA sends you a statement showing your balance and your minimum for that year. When you file your taxes, you tell them how much of your RRSP contribution you want to count as an HBP repayment.

What happens if you miss a repayment

You do not get a penalty or a fine. What happens instead: if you pay back less than your minimum in a given year, the shortfall gets added to your income for that year and you pay tax on it, reported on line 12900 of your tax return, per the CRA. You also lose that RRSP room permanently, since it was never really put back.

So a missed year is not a disaster, but it is a small tax bill and a dent in your retirement savings. If money is tight one year, paying at least the minimum is usually the smarter call.

Stacking the HBP with the FHSA

You do not have to choose between the Home Buyers' Plan and the First Home Savings Account. The CRA confirms you can withdraw from your RRSP under the HBP and make a qualifying withdrawal from your FHSA for the same home, as long as you meet the conditions of each at the time of each withdrawal. See the CRA's saving-for-your-first-home guide.

The two work well together. The FHSA gives you a tax deduction going in and a tax-free withdrawal going out, with no repayment. The HBP is a bigger pool if you already have an RRSP built up, but you have to pay it back. A buyer who has been saving in both can pull from both toward the same multiplex purchase. For how the FHSA works on its own, we wrote a separate guide to using an FHSA to buy a multiplex in BC.

In our view, if you can, use the FHSA first, because there is nothing to repay. Then reach for the HBP to close whatever gap is left. But that is a personal-finance call, and it depends on how much you have in each account and how comfortable you are carrying the repayment.

A quick example for a couple buying together

Say two partners are buying a new three-bedroom fourplex unit on Vancouver's East Side, and both pass the first-time-buyer test. Each has been paying into an RRSP for years. Between them they take out $60,000 each, for $120,000 toward the down payment, with no tax on the withdrawal. They leave the money invested until three months before completion, withdraw it, and close on the home.

Starting in the second year after the withdrawal, each of them repays $4,000 a year back into their own RRSP for 15 years. If one of them has a lean year and can only put back $2,000, the other $2,000 gets added to their income and taxed that year. Not the end of the world, but worth avoiding when they can.

What this comes down to

• $60,000 per person, tax-free. A couple who both qualify can move up to $120,000 into one down payment (CRA).
• Each of you has to qualify on your own. If either partner owned and lived in a home in the past four years, you both fall short of the first-time-buyer test.
• Let contributions sit 90 days. Fresh RRSP money withdrawn too soon may lose its tax deduction.
• For a pre-sale, withdraw near completion. Watch the October 1 deadline and match your timing to your real completion date, not the brochure date.
• You pay it back over 15 years. Miss a year and the shortfall becomes taxable income; it is not a fine, but it costs you.
• You can stack it with the FHSA. Both accounts can fund the same home.

Frequently asked questions

How much can I take from my RRSP for a home?

Up to $60,000 per person under the Home Buyers' Plan, with no tax withheld on that withdrawal, according to the CRA. Anything above $60,000 gets taxed as regular income, so the limit is a firm ceiling for each individual RRSP holder.

Do my partner and I each get the limit?

Yes. The $60,000 limit is per person, not per home. If you and your spouse or common-law partner each have an RRSP and each qualify as first-time buyers, you can each withdraw $60,000, for $120,000 total toward one purchase (CRA).

What's the 90-day rule?

Money you contribute to your RRSP should sit in the account for at least 90 days before you withdraw it under the HBP. If you pull it out sooner, that fresh contribution may not be deductible on your taxes (CRA). So plan any top-up at least three months ahead of your withdrawal.

Can I use the HBP and FHSA together?

Yes. The CRA confirms you can withdraw from your RRSP under the HBP and make a qualifying withdrawal from your FHSA for the same home, as long as you meet each program's conditions at the time of each withdrawal (CRA). Many first-time buyers use both.

When do I start repaying?

For a withdrawal made in 2026, your repayment period begins the second year after the year of your first withdrawal, per the CRA. Your annual HBP statement shows your exact first repayment year and the minimum you owe.

Who counts as a first-time home buyer?

You qualify if, during the current year (except the 30 days before your withdrawal) and the four calendar years before it, you did not live in a home you or your spouse or common-law partner owned as your main residence (CRA). You do not need to have literally never owned.

Do I get taxed on the withdrawal?

No, as long as you stay within the $60,000 limit and follow the rules. The HBP is the one time you can take money out of an RRSP without it being taxed as income that year. You repay it into your RRSP over 15 years instead (CRA).

Can I use the HBP for a pre-sale multiplex that isn't built yet?

Yes. You typically leave the money in your RRSP while the home is built and withdraw it near completion, when the purchase price is due. Just watch the October 1 deadline: you must buy or build the home before October 1 of the year after your first withdrawal (CRA).

What if my completion date keeps getting pushed back?

New-construction dates slip, so do not withdraw too early. If you pull the money out and the home is not ready before the October 1 deadline of the following year, you can fall out of compliance. Match your withdrawal to your realistic completion window, and talk to your advisor if dates move.

What happens if I miss a repayment?

There is no fine. If you repay less than your minimum in a year, the shortfall is added to your income and taxed, reported on line 12900 of your return (CRA). You also lose that RRSP room for good, so paying at least the minimum is usually smarter.

Can I repay the HBP faster than 15 years?

Yes. You can repay the full amount into your RRSP at any time, and paying extra in a given year reduces your balance. Your repayment window still stays at 15 years, but you can clear it early if you have the room and the cash (CRA).

Does the home have to be my main residence?

Yes. You must intend to live in the home as your main residence no later than one year after you buy or build it (CRA). A single strata unit in a new multiplex that you move into fits this. A pure rental purchase does not qualify.

Can I use the HBP again if I used it years ago?

Possibly. You have to have repaid your previous HBP balance in full by January 1 of the year of the new withdrawal, and you have to pass the first-time-buyer test again (CRA). Check your HBP statement to confirm your old balance is clear.

Should I use the FHSA or the HBP first?

In our view, use the FHSA first when you can, because there is nothing to repay, then use the HBP to cover the gap. But it depends on how much you have in each account and how comfortable you are with the 15-year repayment. This is a personal-finance decision worth talking through with an advisor.

Ready to put this toward a home?

The Home Buyers' Plan is a tool, not a strategy on its own. The real question is which brand-new multiplex home fits your family and your budget, and how to time your money so it is ready when you complete. That is where we can help. Browse the multiplex homes we have for sale across Vancouver and Burnaby, or get in touch and we will help you line up the right home with the right timing for your down payment.