RESP — Registered Education Savings Plan
Invest in their dreams, secure their tomorrow.
An RESP is one of the most powerful ways to save for a child's post-secondary education — because the government helps you do it. Through the Canada Education Savings Grant, Ottawa adds 20% on your contributions (up to $500 a year, $7,200 lifetime per child), and lower-income families can qualify for additional grants.
I'll help you set up the right plan, choose suitable investments, and create a contribution schedule that captures the maximum grant money your family is entitled to.
What this coverage gives you
Free government grants
The 20% Canada Education Savings Grant adds up to $7,200 per child over the life of the plan.
Tax-deferred growth
Investments grow tax-sheltered inside the RESP until your child withdraws for school.
Flexible investing
Choose investments suited to your timeline — and adjust as the start of school approaches.
Additional grants
Lower-income families may qualify for the Canada Learning Bond and extra CESG.
Who it's for
- Parents of children under 17
- Grandparents helping with education
- New parents starting early
- Families wanting to maximize grants
- Newcomers planning for kids' futures
RESP questions
How much should I contribute to get the full grant?
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Contributing $2,500 per child each year captures the maximum $500 annual grant. If you started late, you can catch up on one prior year's grant at a time. I'll map out a schedule for you.
What if my child doesn't go to school?
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You have options — including transferring the plan to a sibling, or moving accumulated growth into your RRSP if you have room. Grants are returned to the government, but your contributions remain yours.
Can grandparents open an RESP?
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Yes. Anyone can open an RESP for a child as long as they have the child's Social Insurance Number. It's a popular way for grandparents to give a lasting gift.
How much can the government add to an RESP?
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The Canada Education Savings Grant matches 20% of the first $2,500 you contribute each year, which is $500 a year, up to $7,200 per child over the plan's life. Lower-income families may also get extra grant money and the Canada Learning Bond of up to $2,000, which needs no contribution at all.
Is there a limit on how much I can put in an RESP?
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Yes, $50,000 per child over their lifetime, across all RESPs for that child. There is no annual limit, but only the first $2,500 a year attracts the basic grant, so spreading contributions usually beats one big deposit.
What can RESP money be used for?
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Full or part-time post-secondary study, including university, college, CEGEP, trade schools and apprenticeships, and many programs outside Canada. Payments from grants and growth are taxed in the student's hands, usually at little or no tax.
Should I choose an individual or family RESP?
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A family plan can cover several children related to you and lets you share growth between siblings, which helps if one doesn't study. An individual plan suits one child or contributors who aren't related, like a family friend.
How long can an RESP stay open?
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Up to 35 years after it is opened. That gives plenty of time for a child who takes a gap year, works first or goes back to school later.
Government figures, contribution limits and eligibility rules on this page were last reviewed in October 2026. These are indexed and change periodically — always confirm current figures with Canada.ca or the CRA before acting.
Four separate pots of government money, and most families miss at least one
An RESP is not really a savings account. It is a container that several government programs pay into — and each has its own rules, thresholds and deadlines.
1. Basic Canada Education Savings Grant (CESG)
The federal government matches 20% of the first $2,500 you contribute per child each year — $500 annually, to a lifetime maximum of $7,200 per child. It is available to essentially every family regardless of income.
A guaranteed 20% return is extraordinary. No investment reliably offers it, and this is the single strongest argument for using an RESP rather than saving for education in a TFSA.
Unused grant room carries forward, so you can catch up — contributing $5,000 in a year can attract up to $1,000 of grant. But the annual catch-up is capped, which is why starting late rarely recovers the full $7,200.
2. Additional CESG (income-tested)
Lower and middle-income families receive extra matching on the first $500 contributed each year:
| Adjusted family net income | Extra match on first $500 | Extra per year |
|---|---|---|
| $58,523 or less | +20% | $100 |
| $58,523 – $117,045 | +10% | $50 |
| Above $117,045 | Basic 20% only | — |
Basic and additional CESG together still cannot exceed $7,200 per child.
3. Canada Learning Bond (CLB)
For eligible lower-income families, the government pays up to $2,000 into the plan with no contribution required at all. Simply opening the account and filing tax returns can result in money being deposited.
This is the most under-claimed benefit in the whole system, precisely because it requires no saving — families who assume they cannot afford an RESP never open one, and forgo money that was never contingent on them contributing.
4. BC Training and Education Savings Grant — British Columbia only
BC residents can claim a one-time $1,200 provincial grant per child. No matching contribution is required — you need an open RESP with a participating provider, BC residency, and the application must be made between the child’s 6th birthday and the day before their 9th. Miss that three-year window and the money is gone permanently. Not every RESP provider supports it, so confirm before assuming.
Ontario and Alberta have no provincial RESP grant. Alberta’s programme closed in 2015. If you live in ON or AB, the federal grants above are what is available — which makes capturing the full $500 CESG each year that much more important.
Sources: Employment and Social Development Canada, Education savings; Government of British Columbia, BCTESG. Thresholds are indexed and change annually — confirm current figures before acting.
The withdrawal mistake that costs families thousands
Plenty is written about contributing to an RESP. Almost nothing about taking money out — which is where avoidable losses actually happen.
An RESP holds two different kinds of money, taxed completely differently:
| Your contributions (PSE) | Grants + growth (EAP) | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxed to | Nobody — tax-free | The student |
| Why | You already paid tax on it | Never been taxed |
| Withdrawal limit | None | Capped in the first 13 weeks of enrolment |
| If unused | Returns to you tax-free | Grants repaid to government; growth taxed + 20% penalty |
The counterintuitive part
Many parents instinctively withdraw their own contributions first, because that money is tax-free and feels safest.
That instinct is expensive. If the student does not complete their education, or money is left in the plan at the end, unused grants must be returned to the government and remaining growth faces regular income tax plus an additional 20% penalty.
So the general principle is the reverse: draw the grant-and-growth money down while there is a student to attribute it to, taxed at their low rate, and keep your contributions as the flexible remainder — because contributions can always come back to you tax-free, whatever happens.
EAP withdrawals are capped during the first 13 consecutive weeks of enrolment. If the first tuition instalment is large, withdraw contributions (no limit) to cover the shortfall early, then switch to EAP once the 13 weeks are complete. Knowing this in advance avoids a scramble in September.
If your child doesn’t go
- Wait. RESPs can generally stay open for decades. Plenty of adamant eighteen-year-olds enrol at twenty-two.
- Transfer to a sibling. Straightforward in a family plan; often possible from an individual plan subject to conditions.
- Move growth to your RRSP. Accumulated income can be transferred up to a limit if you have room and the plan meets the conditions — avoiding the 20% penalty.
- Collapse it. Last resort: grants returned, contributions back tax-free, growth taxed as income plus 20%.
Qualifying programmes are broader than most parents assume — college diplomas, many trades and apprenticeships, and certain programmes abroad all count. Check before concluding the RESP cannot be used.
Individual, family or group — and where to open it
The plan type and the provider matter more than most parents realise, and one of the three options causes the majority of complaints in this market.
| Type | Who it covers | Flexibility | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual | One beneficiary, related or not | High — you choose investments and timing | Transferring to a sibling has conditions |
| Family | Two or more beneficiaries, all related by blood or adoption | Highest — move money between children freely | Beneficiaries must be related to the subscriber |
| Group / scholarship | Pooled with other children of similar age | Lowest — fixed contribution schedule | Enrolment fees, rigid rules, penalties for missed payments |
Why family plans usually win for more than one child
A family plan lets you direct money to whichever child actually needs it. If one takes an expensive four-year degree and another does a two-year college programme, you allocate accordingly without transfers or paperwork. Grant money follows specific rules per child — the $7,200 CESG maximum is per beneficiary, not per plan — but contributions and growth are pooled.
The requirement is that all beneficiaries are related to the subscriber by blood or adoption. A grandparent can open a family plan for grandchildren; a family friend cannot.
These pool your money with other children born around the same year and impose a fixed contribution schedule. They are heavily marketed to new parents, often in hospitals and at baby shows.
The problems are consistent: substantial enrolment fees deducted from early contributions, penalties or forfeiture if you miss payments or withdraw early, and rigid rules about what counts as qualifying education. Families who leave partway through frequently recover less than they contributed.
They are not fraudulent, and the grants are real. But an individual or family plan at a bank or through an advisor gives you the same government money with none of the rigidity. If someone is pressing you to sign at a hospital or a public event, that alone is worth pausing on.
The subscriber question
The subscriber owns the plan and controls it. This matters more than it sounds.
If grandparents want to contribute, they can either open their own plan or contribute to yours. Contributing to yours is usually simpler — one plan, one set of grant tracking, no risk of exceeding the $50,000 lifetime limit across multiple plans, which is a genuine hazard when several relatives each open one for the same child.
Name a successor subscriber in your will. Without one, the plan may have to be collapsed on your death — grants returned, growth taxed plus 20%. It is one clause and it protects the whole account.
What to hold, and when to de-risk
An RESP has a known deadline, which makes the investment decision unusually clear. With fifteen years to go, a growth allocation makes sense. In the final years of high school it should not still be heavily in equities — a market drop in the year tuition is due is precisely the wrong risk at the wrong moment.
Set the de-risking schedule in advance rather than deciding in a falling market. Most families should be shifting through the last three to five years.
Funding education when family contributes from abroad
Education is frequently the first savings goal families set here, and often more than one generation wants to help. The RESP rules reward that — if it is structured properly.
Grandparents can contribute, with one caution
Relatives can contribute to a child’s RESP, and grandparents often want to. There are two routes and they are not equivalent.
Contributing to your existing plan is almost always simpler. One plan, one set of grant tracking, and no risk of breaching the $50,000 lifetime limit per child.
Opening a separate plan gives the grandparent control, but creates real hazard: the $50,000 lifetime contribution limit and the $7,200 grant maximum are per child, across every plan anywhere. Two well-meaning sets of grandparents each opening a plan can produce an over-contribution nobody notices, penalised at 1% per month on the excess.
If more than one person is contributing, someone has to hold the running total. That is worth agreeing explicitly rather than assuming.
The subscriber needs a Canadian social insurance number, and the beneficiary needs one too. A grandparent living abroad can send money for you to contribute, but generally cannot open and own the plan themselves.
Money gifted from abroad for this purpose is not taxable income in Canada — but if the amounts are significant, keep documentation showing it was a gift. That is worth doing at the time rather than reconstructing it later.
If your child may study abroad
A reasonable question for families with ties elsewhere. RESP funds can be used at many institutions outside Canada, typically where the programme meets a minimum duration and the institution is recognised — but eligibility is programme-specific and must be checked rather than assumed.
Confirm before committing. Discovering a chosen programme does not qualify after the money is in the plan is an avoidable problem, and the withdrawal consequences are real: grants repaid, growth taxed plus a 20% penalty.
The order that captures the most
- $2,500 per child per year secures the full $500 basic grant — a guaranteed 20% return that no investment matches.
- Check the additional grant if family income is below the thresholds; it adds up to $100 a year on the first $500.
- Check the Canada Learning Bond — up to $2,000 with no contribution required at all. Newcomer families in their first years here frequently qualify and almost never claim it.
- In British Columbia, claim the $1,200 provincial grant between the child’s sixth and ninth birthdays. No contribution needed, and the window is absolute.
- Beyond the grant maximum, a TFSA is usually the better home — more flexible, and no restriction on what the money is eventually used for.
How much government money can you actually collect?
RESP grants are the closest thing to free money in Canadian personal finance, and most families leave some of it behind. Put your numbers in. Everything stays in your browser.
Which registered account should get your next dollar?
Canada has five major registered accounts and very few people can fill them all. They do genuinely different jobs — so the order matters more than the choice.
| Account | 2026 limit | Deductible? | Tax-free out? | Government money? | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FHSA | $8,000/yr, $40,000 life | Yes | Yes (first home) | No | A first home |
| RESP | $50,000 lifetime per child | No | Taxed to student | Yes — up to $7,200+ | Children’s education |
| RDSP | $200,000 lifetime | No | Partly taxed | Yes — up to $90,000 | Disability, long horizon |
| RRSP | 18% of income, max $33,810 | Yes | No — taxed later | No | Retirement, higher earners |
| TFSA | $7,000/yr ($109,000 cumulative) | No | Yes, always | No | Flexibility, everything else |
A defensible order when you cannot do everything
- Employer pension match. If your employer matches contributions and you are not capturing it in full, you are declining part of your pay. A 50% match is an instant 50% return — it beats everything below.
- RDSP, if eligible. Grants matched at up to 300%, plus bonds paid with no contribution at all. Nothing else in Canadian personal finance comes close, and it is the most under-used account of the five.
- RESP to the grant cap. $2,500 per child per year captures the full $500. A guaranteed 20%.
- FHSA, if you might buy a first home. The only account that is deductible going in and tax-free coming out. Open it early — room only starts accruing once the account exists.
- RRSP, if your tax rate today exceeds your expected rate in retirement.
- TFSA for flexibility, for lower earners, and for everything after.
Treat that as a default rather than gospel. Someone carrying credit card debt at 20% should clear it before any of this — no investment reliably returns 20% guaranteed.
Opening a TFSA and leaving the money in cash is not investing — it is a savings account with a tax wrapper you are not using. The shelter only becomes valuable when there is growth to shelter. What you hold inside the account matters as much as which account you chose.
What parents ask about RESPs
The grant makes this the easiest registered account to justify, which is why the questions are mostly about the edges.
What if my child doesn’t go to university?
The plan does not evaporate. RESPs can stay open for decades, and plenty of adamant eighteen-year-olds enrol at twenty-two. Qualifying programmes are also far broader than parents assume — college diplomas, many trades and apprenticeships, and certain programmes abroad all count.
If they genuinely never attend, you can transfer to a sibling, move accumulated income to your RRSP if you have room, or collapse the plan. Only the last is costly: grants go back, your contributions return tax-free, and growth is taxed plus 20%.
Shouldn’t I just use a TFSA instead?
A TFSA is more flexible and the money is unambiguously yours. But it does not come with a 20% government match, and that match is the entire argument.
Contributing $2,500 a year to an RESP attracts $500 you would not otherwise receive. No investment reliably returns a guaranteed 20%. Use the RESP to the grant maximum first, then a TFSA for anything beyond it.
I can’t afford $2,500 a year per child.
Most families cannot, and partial contributions still attract grant — $50 a month captures $120 a year. Unused grant room also carries forward, so a better year later can catch up, within an annual cap.
And if your income is lower, check the Canada Learning Bond: up to $2,000 paid into the plan with no contribution required at all. It is the most under-claimed benefit in the system, precisely because families who think they cannot afford an RESP never open one.
Is it too late to start?
Grant eligibility ends after the year the child turns 17, and the annual catch-up is capped — so starting at fifteen will not recover the full $7,200. But it can still collect meaningful grant, and the account remains useful.
If you are in British Columbia and your child is between six and nine, there is a separate $1,200 provincial grant with a hard deadline. That one is worth acting on this week.
- What to hold inside your accounts — asset location across TFSA, RRSP and non-registered
- Beneficiaries on registered accounts — designations override your will
- The cost of waiting — what starting ten years earlier is worth
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