The $109,000 TFSA Benchmark: Here’s How to See Where You Stand

A $109,000 Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) certainly sounds great, and granted, if you were 18 at least in 2009, you’re one of many eligible Canadians who could reach for that goal in 2026.

However, this is not a magic retirement number, but a benchmark. So where do you stand, and can you make today’s number closer to that $109,000 amount?

Getting started

Start with eligibility. If you were 18 or older in 2009 and qualified every year since, your maximum room is $109,000 in 2026. If you turned 18 later, moved to Canada later, or spent time as a non-resident, your number will be lower. No shame there. The TFSA is generous, not psychic.

Next, check what you actually contributed. This is where Canadians can trip over their own shoelaces. The CRA says TFSA information in My Account updates only once per year in the spring, after financial institutions report the previous year’s transactions. So your brokerage records matter, too.

That makes the TFSA less about guessing and more about tracking. Know your room, contributions, and withdrawals. Then decide what kind of investment deserves that valuable tax-free space.

For long-term investors, the best TFSA stocks often share one trait: they can compound without needing constant babysitting. Dividends help, but growth inside a TFSA can be even more powerful because investment income and changes in value do not reduce future contribution room.

Investors looking to use that room for durable growth may want to look at Waste Connections (TSX:WCN).

WCN

Garbage collection will not win a beauty contest, or make dinner guests gasp, unless your dinner guests are unusually into landfill economics. Yet that is part of the appeal. Waste Connections provides solid waste services across 46 U.S. states and six Canadian provinces, with a focus on exclusive and secondary markets.

That business model can work well in a TFSA as demand doesn’t disappear when markets get moody. Homes, restaurants, factories, offices, and municipalities still need waste collected, transferred, recycled, and disposed of. The business is boring in the best possible way, with shares rising 62% in the last five years alone for a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 10%!

The latest results support that case. In the first quarter of 2026, WCN stock reported revenue of US$2.4 billion, up 6.4% year over year. More importantly, the adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) margin reached 32.5%, which came in above expectations and rose from the year before.

That margin is the number to watch. It shows WCN stock is squeezing more profit out of its routes, assets, pricing, and acquisitions. Management also pointed to possible upside from solid waste organic growth, commodity-related impacts, and additional acquisitions.

Foolish takeaway

Now for the catch, because there is always a catch. WCN stock is not cheap. It currently trades at about 42 times earnings with a 0.8% dividend yield. That means WCN stock is better suited for TFSA investors who want a high-quality compounder and can wait for growth to do the heavy lifting.

A full TFSA doesn’t need excitement. It needs strong businesses that can keep growing while tax-free gains build in the background. WCN stock offers that kind of steady, essential-service growth, and any meaningful pullback could give long-term investors a cleaner shot at using that $109,000 benchmark wisely.

The post The $109,000 TFSA Benchmark: Here’s How to See Where You Stand appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada.

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More reading

• 3 Stocks I’d Use to Build a Smart TFSA Portfolio in 2026
• Undervalued Canadian Stocks to Consider Now
• History Says Now is the Time to Buy These 2 Brilliant Stocks
• 2 TSX Stocks I’d Buy Aggressively the Next Time Markets Pull Back
• This Canadian Stock Is Down 18% and Nearly Perfect for Long-Term Investors

Fool contributor Amy Legate-Wolfe has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Waste Connections. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.