Investments eligible for registered accounts (RRSP, RRIF, TFSA, RESP, RDSP, FHSA)

There has been discussion around making some changes to qualified investments recently. Qualified investments are investments that are eligible to be held in registered accounts such as RRSPs, TFSAs, RESPs, RRIFs, RDSPs, and FHSAs. Some groups have called for certain types of alternative investments to be added to the qualified list. But what is currently on this list? In this post we’ll briefly outline what qualified investments can legally be held in these accounts. The Canada Revenue Agency provides technical interpretations regarding qualified investments called Income Tax Folios. Guidance about what qualified investments eligible for registered plans is highlighted below.

Money and Deposits:

Money is a qualified investment whether denominated in Canadian or foreign currency. Rare coins and other forms of money held for collectible value are not a qualified investment. Cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoins, are not considered to be money issued by a government of a country and are not qualified investments.

Listed Securities:

Except for certain derivatives, any security that is listed on a designated stock exchange is a qualified investment. This includes:

Shares of corporations
Put and call options
Warrants
Debt obligations
Mutual funds
Exchange-traded funds
Real estate investment trusts
Royalty trusts
Limited partnerships

When it comes to derivatives, futures contracts and other derivative instruments where the holder's risk of loss may exceed the holder's cost are not qualified investments.

Foreign exchange trading:

Foreign currency is generally a qualified investment, but there may be certain instances where it is not. More about foreign exchange trading can be found here under section 1.46 of the federal Income Tax Folio.

Annuity contracts:

Annuities are not securities and are not regulated by NSSC. They are regulated by the provincial insurance regulator. Several types of annuity contracts are qualified investments, although some are eligible only for certain registered plans. For info on which are not eligible view section 1.48 of the federal Income Tax Folio here.

Gold and silver:

Subject to certain conditions, investments in gold and silver bullion coins, bars and certificates are qualified investments. These conditions can be found under sections 1.52-1.54 of the federal Income Tax Folio here.


Registered accounts found to be holding non-qualified investment can be subject to fines and penalties.

The information presented in this post was gathered from the CRA website. For more information on any of the qualified investments listed here and potential fines and penalties for holding non-qualified investments, visit their website.