It helps you
Save for your children’s education after high school: university, college, CEGEP, apprenticeships and trade school, in Canada or abroad. Your savings grow tax-sheltered while inside the plan.
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Free tool · 2026
RESP Calculator
See how much the government can add to your child’s education, how to make the most of the grants every year and how much the savings can grow until your child starts school.
Your child’s RESP year by year
Projection based on your inputs. Hover over the chart to see each year.
| Age | Balance at start of year | Your contributions this year | CESG this year | Other help this year | Interest this year | Total RESP |
|---|
Illustrative projection; not financial advice. Assumes a constant return, contributions at the end of each period, grants deposited at the end of each year, your 2026 family income for every year and that the Canada Learning Bond has not been requested yet. QESI received is estimated as half of the CESG received. Check your amounts on your RESP statement.
Official sources: Canada: RESP benefit amounts · CRA: CESG · CRA: RC4092 RESP guide · Revenu Québec: QESI · Government of BC: BCTESG · FP Canada / IQPF: 2026 Projection Guidelines
Quick guide
RESP essentials
The Registered Education Savings Plan is the best way to save for your children’s education, because the government adds money alongside you. Here is what you need to know.
CESG: the government adds 20%
For every dollar you contribute, the government adds 20% on the first $2,500 a year: up to $500 a year and $7,200 per child, until the year they turn 17. If you skip a year, the room carries forward and you can catch up: up to $1,000 of CESG in a year, contributing $5,000.
Additional CESG and Canada Learning Bond
With a family income up to $58,523, the CESG adds an extra 20% on the first $500 ($100 more a year); up to $117,045, an extra 10% ($50). The Canada Learning Bond gives up to $2,000 to low-income families, with no contribution needed: just open the RESP and request it.
Provincial grants
In Quebec, the QESI adds 10% of your contributions, up to $250 a year (plus up to $50 based on income), to a maximum of $3,600. In British Columbia, the BCTESG gives $1,200 once if you apply when your child is 6 to 8.
Contribution limit
There is no annual limit, but there is a $50,000 lifetime limit per child across all RESPs. To get the full CESG, contributing $2,500 a year (about $208 a month) is enough: more grows tax-sheltered but earns no extra grant.
Key ages
The CESG is paid until the year your child turns 17, and at 16 and 17 only if you contributed at least $2,000 before the end of the year they turned 15. The Canada Learning Bond accumulates until 15. You can contribute for up to 31 years after opening the plan, and it must be closed by its 35th year.
When studies begin
Your contributions come out tax-free. Grants and growth are paid as Educational Assistance Payments (EAP) and taxed in your child’s name; as a student, they usually pay little or no tax.
If your child does not study
You can switch beneficiaries between siblings, wait a few years or transfer the growth to your RRSP (up to $50,000, if you have room). Unused grants go back to the government, but your contributions are always yours.
Official sources: Canada: RESP benefit amounts · CRA: CESG · CRA: RC4092 RESP guide · Revenu Québec: QESI · Government of BC: BCTESG
How do you make the most of your child’s RESP?
How much to contribute, when to catch up on grants and how to combine it with your TFSA are decisions that make a big difference. Book a free consultation and let’s design your child’s education plan together.
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