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Payments From an RESP

Note
Note Important

This page does not include the tax measures announced on March 21, 2023. For more information, see Budget Speech 2023-2024 of the ministère des Finances.

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Source deductions of income tax

If you make a payment under a registered education savings plan (RESP), other than an educational assistance payment or a refund of contributions, you must make a source deduction of income tax at the rate applicable to single payments, that is:

  • 15% if the payment is $5,000 or less; or
  • 20% if the payment is more than $5,000.

You must also withhold a special tax of 8%.

You are not required to withhold income tax on the first $50,000 if the following conditions are met:

  • The payment from an RESP is an accumulated income payment that is made to one of the following persons:
    • a subscriber of an RESP;
    • an individual or public authority who, before the accumulated income payment, acquired from a public authority rights as sole subscriber of the plan, under a written agreement;
    • an individual who, before the accumulated income payment, acquired the subscriber's rights under the plan, pursuant to a decree, order or judgment of a competent tribunal, or under a written agreement relating to a partition of property between the individual and a subscriber of the plan in settlement of rights arising out of, or on the breakdown of their marriage, or de facto or civil union;
    • in the absence of such persons, a person who was the spouse of one of the above persons.
  • The first $50,000 was transferred to the registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) of an annuitant who is either the beneficiary of the accumulated income payment or the beneficiary's spouse.
  • You have reasonable grounds to believe that the beneficiary of the accumulated income payment can deduct the amount transferred to the RRSP from his or her income for the year.
Example – Calculation of the source deduction of income tax on a payment from an RESP
You make an accumulated income payment of $70,000 to a subscriber of an RESP, and $50,000 of this amount is transferred to the subscriber's RRSP. You must calculate the source deduction of income tax as follows: 
Source deduction of income tax  = $5,600
Income tax on the single payment ($70,000 − $50,000) × 20% $4,000
Special income tax $20,000 × 8% + $1,600

Transfer of payments

You are not required to withhold income tax on a payment from an RESP if the amount is transferred directly to another plan, such as an RRSP, a registered retirement income fund (RRIF), a deferred profit-sharing plan (DPSP) or a registered pension plan (RPP). If only a portion of the payment is transferred directly to another plan, you must withhold income tax from the portion that is not transferred directly.

Note End of note

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