# Getting started with TFSA

## What is a Tax-Free Savings Account?

A Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) is a special investment account where your returns are completely tax-free. This makes it one of the most powerful tools for long-term investing.

- **Tax-free growth**: Pay no tax on dividends, interest, or capital gains
- **Annual contribution limit**: R46,000 per tax year (March to February)
- **Long-term benefit**: The earlier you start, the more time your investments have to grow tax-free

Use your TFSA to maximise investment returns by eliminating the tax drag on your portfolio. Most financial advisors recommend maxing out your TFSA before using other investment accounts.

## Before you start

To activate your TFSA, you need:

- A verified Fynbos account (KYC complete)
- Knowledge of any TFSA contributions made elsewhere this tax year

Your TFSA is automatically created when you sign up for Fynbos, but you need to complete the setup process before you can start investing.

## Activating your TFSA

Follow these steps to activate your Tax-Free Savings Account and start investing.

1. Tap **Tax-free investments** on your home screen
2. Review the TFSA overview information
3. Tap **Set up your tax-free investments**
4. Enter any amount you've already contributed to a TFSA elsewhere this tax year
5. Tap **Continue**

If you haven't contributed to another TFSA this year, enter R0 and continue. This information helps Fynbos track your contribution limits.

## Selecting your investment strategy

After entering your external contributions, you'll choose how to invest your TFSA funds.

1. Browse the list of available funds
2. Tap on your preferred fund to select it
3. Review your selection showing the fund name and allocation
4. Tap **Confirm** to save your strategy

Your TFSA is now active and ready to receive contributions. The fund you selected will determine how all future contributions are invested.

> **Tip**: If you have a Protea subscription, you can tap **Custom strategy** to create a multi-fund allocation. This lets you split your contributions across several funds with your own percentages.

## Understanding curated strategies

When you first set up your TFSA, you'll choose from curated strategies. These are single-fund options pre-selected for their strong performance and suitability for tax-free investing.

Each curated fund offers different characteristics:

- **Equity funds**: Higher growth potential, more volatility, best for long-term goals
- **Balanced funds**: Mix of growth and stability, suitable for medium to long-term goals
- **Global funds**: International exposure, diversification beyond South African markets

You can change your strategy at any time. The fund you choose determines how all future contributions are invested.

## Making your first contribution

Once your strategy is set, you're ready to add money to your TFSA.

1. Navigate to your **Cash** account from the home screen
2. Tap **Transfer**
3. Select **Tax-free investments** from the account list
4. Enter the amount you want to invest
5. Review your available Cash balance shown on screen
6. Tap **Review transfer**
7. Confirm the transfer details
8. Tap **Transfer** to complete

Your contribution is now being processed. Funds typically take 2-3 business days to settle and appear in your TFSA holdings.

## What happens after you contribute

When you transfer money into your TFSA, Fynbos automatically:

1. Creates buy orders for your selected fund(s) based on your strategy
2. Submits the orders during the next trade window
3. Settles the purchase over 2-3 business days
4. Updates your holdings once settlement completes

You'll see pending transactions in your account during this process. Once settled, your fund units appear in your holdings and start growing tax-free.

## Tracking your contributions

Your TFSA account shows your contribution status for the current tax year.

- **Current year contributions**: Total amount you've invested this tax year (via Fynbos and elsewhere)
- **Remaining allowance**: How much you can still contribute before reaching the R46,000 limit
- **Tax year period**: The current tax year runs from 1 March to the end of February

Fynbos automatically tracks your contributions and warns you if a transfer would exceed your annual limit.