Use Your TFSA to Earn $184 Per Month in Tax-Free Income

Want tax-free monthly TFSA income? SmartCentres’ Walmart‑anchored REIT offers steady payouts today and growth from residential and mixed‑use projects.

Amy Legate-Wolfe

Author Bio Amy became interested in investing in 2018 after having her first daughter. After receiving a masters degree in journalism from Western University, she became frustrated that the finance industry remained a confusing place for Canadians like her: new parents, millennials, and other young people who needed to understand their finances. Now, Amy focuses on tech companies and renewable energy for growth opportunities, coupling that with long-term investing strategies and equities. She also provides investors with a daily newsletter, Canada Stock Digest, for daily market updates. Her work can also be found at Canada's National Observer, where she writes on the business side of climate action. Before joining Motley Fool Canada, Amy wrote for major news organizations including HuffPost, CTVNews.ca, and CBC. When she’s not researching investing strategies, Amy’s time is pretty much monopolized by her two wild daughters, but in what little spare time she has she loves to do yoga, go on walks with her dog, and travel with her husband. Social Media Follow Amy on LinkedIn and Canada Stock Digest. Favorite Investment Quote “October: This is one of the particularly dangerous months to speculate in stocks. The others are July, January, September, April, November, May, March, June, December, August and February.” – Mark Twain

Published December 15, 2025 9:00 pm EST

| More on: WMTSRU.UN

Key Points

SmartCentres owns Walmart‑anchored, necessity‑based shopping centres
Earnings showed resilient FFO, strong 98.7% occupancy, and progress on residential and mixed‑use developments for future cash flow.
Conservative debt management supports a well‑covered monthly distribution

A Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) is an ideal way to create monthly income for any investor. Every dollar you earn inside it is yours to keep with no taxes on dividends, no taxes on withdrawals, and no penalties for taking that income whenever you need it. It’s one of the simplest ways Canadians can build financial breathing room. Whether that means covering bills, padding savings, or creating the kind of low-stress cash flow that brings real peace of mind.

the word REIT is an acronym for real estate investment trust — Source: Getty Images

SRU

SmartCentres REIT (TSX:SRU.UN) is one of Canada’s largest retail-focused real estate investment trusts (REIT). It’s built around a massive portfolio of open-air shopping centres anchored primarily by Walmart. That anchor partnership is an underrated advantage. Walmart locations attract consistent foot traffic, making surrounding tenants more stable and attractive.

SmartCentres has also expanded beyond retail, pushing into multi-residential projects and mixed-use developments that add new income streams and long-term growth potential. This combination of essential retail, reliable tenants, and urban development gives SRU.UN a diversified base that holds up even when economic conditions get choppy.

Into earnings

At writing, the REIT’s portfolio spans more than 180 properties across the country. This makes it one of the most geographically diversified retail landlords in Canada. Its focus on necessity-based retail means tenants tend to be recession-resistant. Think grocery stores, pharmacies, and value retailers, which keep occupancy high. For TFSA investors who want predictability, SmartCentres offers a rare blend of size, stability, and a long record of consistent distributions.

Recent earnings reinforced SmartCentres’ steadiness. The REIT maintained strong occupancy levels at 98.7%, supported by the resilience of Walmart-anchored centres and the continued strength of essential retail tenants. Funds from operations (FFO), the key metric for REIT profitability, held firm at an adjusted FFO of $0.56.

This showed that rental income remained stable even while parts of the commercial real estate market faced pressure. SmartCentres continued progressing on its multi-phase development pipeline as well, including residential towers, seniors’ housing, and purpose-built rentals. All this will diversify cash flow even further over the coming years.

More to come

Looking ahead, management also maintained its conservative approach to debt and liquidity, reaffirming that it’s positioned to weather higher interest rates better than many smaller or less diversified REITs. The distribution remained comfortably supported by cash flow, and guidance indicated no signs of stress in the underlying business. In short, the earnings demonstrated that SmartCentres is doing what long-term REITs are meant to do. That’s maintain stability, protect income, and execute on growth without taking on excessive risk.

All this makes SRU.UN an ideal stock to create monthly income in a TFSA. Its distributions are both steady and tax-free, turning your investment into a predictable monthly paycheque. With Walmart anchoring the majority of its properties, SmartCentres enjoys one of the strongest tenant profiles in Canadian retail, giving its income stream a level of dependability that smaller or trend-based REITs can’t match.

The yield of 7.3% at writing is attractive, the payout is well covered, and the company’s long-term development projects offer the potential for rising cash flow and future distribution increases. Even today, $30,000 could bring in MONTHLY INCOME.

COMPANY	RECENT PRICE	NUMBER OF SHARES	DIVIDEND	TOTAL ANNUAL PAYOUT	FREQUENCY	TOTAL INVESTMENT
SRU.UN	$25.11	1,194	$1.85	$2,208.90	Monthly	$29,989.34

Bottom line

For TFSA investors, this combination of stability today, growth tomorrow is exactly what creates lasting, low-maintenance monthly income. You’re not chasing risky yield or hoping for turnarounds. You’re owning essential real estate that keeps paying you every month, rain or shine. And because all of that income stays inside your TFSA without taxes eating into it, SRU.UN becomes one of the most effortless ways to turn a portfolio into a reliable income engine for years to come.