Home › Guides › Options: Canada

Which Canadian brokers allow cash-secured puts in a TFSA?

Some Canadian brokers now allow cash-secured puts in a TFSA, and some still don't. The tax rules aren't what stops you. Your broker's own list of allowed trades is, so that list is the thing to read.

Options guide · 8-minute read · Updated 2026-10-28

The short answer

It depends on the broker, and it changes. For years, most Canadian brokers said no to selling puts in a TFSA. As of October 2026, some brokers allow it, as long as the full cash sits in the account. Others still allow only covered calls and bought options.

So the honest answer to "which brokers?" is: open your broker's options help page today and read its list of allowed strategies for a TFSA. If "cash-secured put" or "short put" is on it, you can start the wheel strategy from the put side. If it isn't, you can't, no matter how much cash you hold.

My hub on selling options in Canada covers the other accounts and the tax side.

Why old posts say they're banned

Search this question and you'll find forum answers and blog posts saying cash-secured puts are banned in a TFSA. Two things went wrong there.

First, people mixed up two gates. The tax rules decide what a TFSA may hold. Your broker decides which trades it will accept. A broker saying no is a business choice, not a law.

Second, the posts are old. Brokers have changed their TFSA options rules over the years. A two-year-old answer is often a wrong answer now.

What three brokers' own pages said (October 2026)

We read each broker's help pages in October 2026. Here is what they said about registered accounts like a TFSA:

That's a snapshot, not a promise. Brokers change these lists.

What to check on your broker's page

Every broker words this differently. Here is what to look for, and what each answer means for you.

If a strategy isn't named, assume it isn't allowed. Don't test it with a live order.

Our broker pages explain the approval flow at Questrade, Interactive Brokers and Wealthsimple. Each one changes its rules, so check each broker's current help page before you trade.

How much cash one put needs (an illustration, not a trade idea)

In a TFSA, "cash-secured" means all of it. There's no margin to lean on.

Say your TFSA holds $10,000. A made-up stock, XYZ, trades at $60. You sell one 30-day $55 put for $1.20, and collect $120. The broker locks $5,500 of your cash. You can't sell a second put on XYZ: two would need $11,000.

Read the last row twice. A TFSA loss can't be claimed against any gain. And the contribution room you lost doesn't come back. If XYZ later recovers, you got lucky. If it doesn't, that room is gone for good.

If your broker says no

You still have three ways to run the trade.

1. Buy the 100 shares and sell covered calls. Almost every broker allows a Covered call in a TFSA. You skip the put step, and the rest of the wheel works the same.
2. Sell the put in a regular account. You give up the shelter, and premiums become taxable. In return you get the put. See taxes on selling options in Canada.
3. Move the TFSA. A transfer to a broker that allows puts is possible. Ask the new broker to do a direct transfer. Don't withdraw and re-contribute, or you can blow through your contribution room.

Before you sell your first TFSA put

• Size it like buying the shares today. The risk is the $5,500, not the $120. Our cash-secured put guide shows every outcome.
• Know the morning after. Read my put was assigned in my TFSA before it happens.
• Know the fees. A flat assignment fee can eat a small premium. See options fees in Canada for sellers.
• Don't over-trade. The CRA can tax a TFSA that's carrying on a business. My page on whether selling options in a TFSA is a business explains the signs.

Questions