TFSA Check
The TFSA is a savings account for Canadians that was introduced in 2009.
As a quick check I wanted to see how much or little my TFSA had changed against what it should be. That meant a double check of how much room I had in the TFSA each year. So this is a quick cacluation the theoretical case: that you are able to invest the maximum amount each year, at the beginning of the year and get 5% return (after fees) on that.
| Year | Maximum | Total invested | Compounded | Total interest gain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | $5,000.00 | $5,000.00 | $5,250.00 | $250.00 |
| 2010 | $5,000.00 | $10,000.00 | $10,762.50 | $762.50 |
| 2011 | $5,000.00 | $15,000.00 | $16,550.63 | $1,550.63 |
| 2012 | $5,000.00 | $20,000.00 | $22,628.16 | $2,628.16 |
| 2013 | $5,500.00 | $25,500.00 | $29,534.56 | $4,034.56 |
| 2014 | $5,500.00 | $31,000.00 | $36,786.29 | $5,786.29 |
| 2015 | $10,000.00 | $41,000.00 | $49,125.61 | $8,125.61 |
| 2016 | $5,500.00 | $46,500.00 | $57,356.89 | $10,856.89 |
| 2017 | $5,500.00 | $52,000.00 | $65,999.73 | $13,988.73 |
| 2018 | $5,500.00 | $57,500.00 | $75,074.72 | $17,574.52 |
Which always raises the question for me of what is a reasonable rate to calculate at these days. It always used to be 10%, but that’s very hard to get these days. Since 2006 the annualized return on the S&P 500 is 5.158% for example. Perhaps 5% represents too conversative a number.
Update: added in 2017 and 2018 numbers.