The beginning of May is the right moment for a registered account review. RRSP contributions for the 2025 tax year closed on March 2, but the 2026 contribution year is fully open. Clients who have not yet made their 2026 TFSA contribution are sitting on $7,000 of annual room on top of whatever cumulative carry-forward they hold. Clients with non-registered accounts holding appreciated securities are now operating under a different capital gains regime than they were on December 31, 2025. Each of these represents a specific planning conversation.
The most consequential change that took effect January 1 is the capital gains inclusion rate. After more than a year of legislative uncertainty, the two-thirds inclusion rate on annual capital gains above $250,000 for individuals, and on all capital gains for corporations and most trusts, is now operative. The WealthNorth 2026 federal budget analysis confirmed the rate is confirmed and legislated. For the vast majority of individual Canadian investors whose annual capital gains remain below $250,000, the 50% inclusion rate is unchanged. The change lands hardest on three specific client profiles: high-net-worth individuals with large non-registered portfolios who regularly realise gains above $250,000 per year, corporations holding investment assets, and trusts.
The Corporate Account Implication Advisors Are Under-Discussing
The most underserved planning conversation in the new regime is the corporate investment account. For a client who holds investments through a professional corporation or holding company, there is no $250,000 threshold. All capital gains are now taxed at the two-thirds inclusion rate at the corporate level. The planning question is not simply whether to realise gains, but whether the corporate structure remains optimal for holding growth-oriented securities versus income-producing ones.
The prescribed rate for Q2 2026 is a separate but related consideration. Income-splitting strategies using prescribed rate loans remain viable where the prescribed rate is low, and advisors should confirm the current prescribed rate with CRA before structuring any new arrangements.
The chart above shows the 2026 registered account contribution room structure across RRSP, TFSA, and FHSA, with the capital gains inclusion rate thresholds for individuals and corporations, providing a visual reference for the complete 2026 planning landscape.
The TFSA cumulative bar reflects the total contribution room available as of January 1, 2026, to Canadians who have been eligible since the account's 2009 introduction and have never contributed. Individual room depends on years of eligibility, prior contributions, and withdrawals. Source: Canada Revenue Agency.
The FHSA Angle That Remains Underused
The FHSA continues to be the most tax-efficient account available to eligible first-time home buyers, combining the deductibility of an RRSP contribution with the tax-free growth and withdrawal of a TFSA. The $8,000 annual limit with a $40,000 lifetime maximum, and the ability to carry forward up to $8,000 of unused annual room, means clients who opened an FHSA in 2023 or 2024 and have not yet maximised it have carry-forward room to deploy now. For a high-income earner in Ontario at a 53% marginal rate, WealthNorth's analysis shows that maximising the $40,000 lifetime FHSA limit generates over $21,000 in immediate tax refunds, before accounting for any investment growth.
The mid-year planning window is the moment to catch these conversations before the year-end rush. Every client between 18 and 71 who holds appreciated securities outside a registered account, every incorporated professional, and every eligible first-time buyer who has not yet opened an FHSA has a specific actionable conversation available right now.