The Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) limit for 2026 is now confirmed, and unfortunately, we didn’t get an increase. It’s still stuck at $7,000. That said, this shouldn’t discourage you at all.
The TFSA remains one of the best investing tools available to Canadians, and it’s an account I personally try to max out as early as possible every year to maximize long-term compounding.
Despite the name, a TFSA isn’t meant to be a plain savings account. You can hold a wide range of investments inside it. If you want growth, you can focus on capital appreciation. If income is your goal, you can use it to generate tax-free cash flow, which is especially powerful for retirees.
Yet while the flexibility is a major benefit, it also comes with rules. Certain activities inside a TFSA can attract unwanted scrutiny from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). Here are three TFSA red flags Canadian investors should be aware of in 2026.
Day Trading
Day trading refers to frequently buying and selling securities, often within the same day or over very short timeframes, with the goal of profiting from short-term price movements. Examples include rapid trading in individual stocks, options strategies with frequent turnover, or constantly rotating positions based on short-term market moves.
What the CRA cares about isn’t the number of trades alone, but whether your TFSA activity looks like you’re running a business. There is no hard rule written into the Income Tax Act that says “X trades equals day trading.” Instead, the CRA looks at each case individually. Factors may include trading frequency, holding periods, use of leverage or options, and your level of market knowledge.
If the CRA determines that you are effectively operating a business inside your TFSA, the consequences are serious. Any gains can be fully taxable, and in some cases, penalties may apply. If you ever find yourself wondering whether your TFSA activity might be crossing the line, that’s usually a sign to slow down and consider getting professional tax advice.
Foreign Withholding Tax
The TFSA’s tax-free status comes with one important asterisk, and it has to do with U.S. dividends. If you own U.S. stocks or U.S.-listed exchange-traded funds (ETFs), 15% of any dividends paid are withheld at source.
For example, if a U.S. stock pays a 1% dividend and you hold it in your TFSA, you’ll only receive about 0.85% after withholding tax. This happens automatically and doesn’t show up as a line item you can recover later. Unlike a Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP), the TFSA does not benefit from the Canada–U.S. tax treaty exemption on dividends.
If you’re holding high-yield U.S. dividend stocks or income ETFs in your TFSA and assuming the income is fully tax-free, it’s worth checking your brokerage statements. Over long periods, that lost 15% can create meaningful performance drag, especially for income-focused investors.
Highly Speculative Investments
The TFSA’s tax-free structure is a double-edged sword. On one hand, if you make a great investment and it multiplies in value, all of those gains are yours to keep tax-free. On the other hand, losses inside a TFSA are permanent.
In a non-registered account, realizing a capital loss at least gives you something in return. You can use that loss to offset capital gains elsewhere. In a TFSA, there is no such silver lining. If a highly speculative investment collapses, the contribution room tied to that loss is gone forever.
This is why using a TFSA for “moonshot” trades or extremely risky bets is usually a bad idea. While the upside can look appealing, the downside is unforgiving. For most investors, the TFSA is better suited to long-term, durable investments where the odds of permanent capital loss are much lower.
