An RESP is an excellent choice for saving for a child’s education. Parents, grandparents or other relatives can also open an RESP for a child.
Tax-deferred earnings and government grants (if your child is eligible) are two great things about an RESP. The CESG matches 20% of the first $2,500 each year (e.g. up to $500 per year, to a maximum of $7,200) contributed for an eligible child under 18. The lifetime contribution limit is $50,000.
There’s no set annual limit, so when and how much you contribute is up to you, and you can start saving for your child’s education at any time as long as they have a Social Insurance Number and are a Canadian resident.
Similar to RRSPs, your RESP can hold a variety of investment products – mutual funds, stocks, bonds, etc. While you can’t deduct the contributions made to an RESP from your taxable income, the investment earnings on RESP contributions are tax-deferred.
When investment earnings and grants are withdrawn to pay for the child’s education, they are counted as the child’s income – not yours – and therefore little or no tax may be owing. Most students typically have a marginal tax rate that is very low.
Individual Plan
This allows for a single beneficiary and there are no relationship requirements. All family members (including aunts and uncles) and even friends can contribute to this type of plan.
You can also start an individual plan for yourself to save for adult education courses on a tax-sheltered basis in future years.
Family Plan
This allows for one or more children as beneficiaries as long as they are related to you by blood or adoption. It allows parents, grandparents or siblings of children to contribute to the RESP.
Money in a family plan can be used to assist one or more beneficiaries. If one beneficiary doesn’t pursue higher education, or if education costs vary between your beneficiaries, you can allocate funds to other qualifying beneficiaries.
You might also be interested in