RESP · Contribution and grant limits
The RESP lifetime limit is $50,000 per child.
There is no annual contribution cap, only the lifetime one, and it belongs to the child rather than to the plan. Everything anyone has contributed for that child counts toward the same $50,000.
What is the $50,000 limit, and what is the grant?
They are two separate rules. You can contribute up to $50,000 per beneficiary over the life of the account, and those contributions cannot be deducted from your income. The Canada Education Savings Grant matches the first $2,500 of contributions in a year at 20%, or the first $5,000 with a year of carry-forward room. Both are published on canada.ca.
Does the grant count against the $50,000?
No. Money paid into the plan under the Canada Education Savings Act, or under a designated provincial program, is left out when the CRA works out whether the lifetime limit has been passed. Only contributions count toward it. The grant carries its own ceiling of $7,200 for the child.
What happens if the $50,000 is passed?
An excess arises at the end of a month when everything contributed by every subscriber, across every RESP for that child, adds up to more than the lifetime limit. Each subscriber then pays a 1% monthly tax on their own share of the excess that is not withdrawn by the end of the month.
Does withdrawing an over-contribution give the room back?
Taking the money out stops the monthly tax running on that amount. It does not give the room back. When the CRA works out whether the lifetime limit has been passed, withdrawn amounts still count as contributions for that child, so the $50,000 does not refill.
Why is this easy to get wrong?
Several people (parents, grandparents, other family) can each put money in for the same child, sometimes into plans at different institutions, and the limit and the grant are both tracked against the child rather than the contributor. A single household's own math can miss what someone else already contributed on that child's behalf.
How do I get my exact number?
Enter your contribution history for the beneficiary, and the app returns the grant you have earned and the room left to the lifetime limit. TFSA tracking is free; RRSP, FHSA, and RESP unlock together, once, for $19.99.
The engine is hash-verified, formula-certified, audit-grade: the certification record spells out exactly what is tested, and where the claim stops.
Other contribution limits
30 days to change your mind. One email, full refund.
Written by Mo Kechout Content verified