RESP Grant Calculator
Ottawa will match 20% of your RESP contributions — up to $7,200 per child in free money. But the grant expires year by year, and catch-up is capped at one extra year at a time. Enter your plan to see how much CESG you'll actually capture, and how much you're on track to leave behind permanently.
How the grant actually works
The Canada Education Savings Grant pays 20% on the first $2,500 you contribute each year — $500 annually, to a lifetime maximum of $7,200 per child. Grant room starts accumulating the year the child is born and stops at the end of the year they turn 17.
Lower-income families receive more. The Additional CESG adds a further match on the first $500 contributed each year:
| Family net income | Extra on first $500 | Maximum grant per year |
|---|
| Under $57,375 | +20% ($100) | $600 |
| $57,375 – $114,750 | +10% ($50) | $550 |
| Over $114,750 | — | $500 |
There is also the Canada Learning Bond for lower-income families: $500 in the first year of eligibility plus $100 a year to age 15, up to $2,000 — and it requires no contributions at all. If your family income is under the threshold, opening an RESP and depositing nothing still gets you money. This is the most under-claimed benefit in the system.
The catch-up rule is where people lose money
Unused grant room carries forward — but you can only redeem one extra year at a time. Contribute $5,000 in a year and you receive $1,000 of basic grant instead of $500. Contribute $10,000 and you still only receive $1,000; the rest grows tax-sheltered but is not matched.
grant this year = 20% × contribution, capped at $500 + up to $500 of carry-forward
maximum in any single year = $1,000 (basic) + Additional CESG
lifetime cap = $7,200 · grants end after the year the child turns 17
That ceiling has a hard consequence. Starting from zero at $5,000 a year, you need eight years to bank $7,200 — so the last year you can begin and still collect the full grant is the year your child turns 10. After that the maximum falls away fast, and no amount of money contributed later recovers it:
| Age when you start | Grant years left | Most CESG still reachable |
|---|
| 10 or younger | 8 or more | $7,200 — all of it |
| 11 | 7 | $7,000 |
| 12 | 6 | $6,000 |
| 13 | 5 | $5,000 |
| 14 | 4 | $4,000 |
| 15 | 3 | $3,000 |
Those figures assume the basic grant only. Families who qualify for the Additional CESG do slightly better — the extra $50 or $100 a year is not subject to the $1,000 catch-up ceiling, which is enough to put the full $7,200 back within reach at age 11.
The rule that catches teenagers
A child aged 16 or 17 only receives CESG if one of two conditions was met before the end of the year they turned 15:
- at least $2,000 was contributed to the RESP and not withdrawn, or
- at least $100 was contributed in each of any four years.
Fail both and the last two years of grant simply do not exist for you. The practical takeaway is unusually concrete: if you have a child approaching 15 and no RESP, opening one and putting in $2,000 before December 31 of that year preserves two more years of grant eligibility worth up to $2,000. It is one of the few genuinely time-limited moves in Canadian personal finance.
Worked example: starting at age 8 with $2,500 a year
A family with net income between $57,375 and $114,750, contributing $2,500 every year from age 8 through 17, at a 5% return:
| Line | | Amount |
|---|
| Grant years used | ages 8–17 | 10 years |
| Basic CESG | $500 × 10 | $5,000 |
| Additional CESG | 10% of $500 × 10 | $500 |
| Total CESG captured | | $5,500 |
| Grant left on the table | $7,200 − $5,500 | $1,700 |
The fix costs nothing extra in the long run. This family has eight years of unclaimed grant room banked from ages 0–7, and raising the contribution to $3,400 a year captures the entire $7,200 — the same money into the plan, just moved earlier, where it also has more years to compound. Run your own numbers above; the calculator shows the exact annual contribution needed to leave nothing behind.
RESP questions, answered
How much is the CESG worth?
20% on the first $2,500 contributed each year — $500 annually, up to $7,200 lifetime. Families under $57,375 of net income get an extra 20% on the first $500 ($600/yr total); those between $57,375 and $114,750 get an extra 10% ($550/yr).
Can I catch up if I started late?
Partly. Contribute $5,000 in a year to claim $1,000 of basic grant instead of $500 — but only one extra year at a time. Because grants end after the year the child turns 17, starting from scratch after age 10 makes the full $7,200 impossible.
What is the annual deadline?
December 31 — there is no 60-day grace period like the RRSP. A January contribution counts against the new year.
What if my child doesn't go to school?
The grant goes back to the government. Your contributions return to you tax-free. Growth can be withdrawn as an Accumulated Income Payment — taxed at your marginal rate plus a 20% penalty — or rolled into your RRSP, up to $50,000, if you have room. Changing the beneficiary to a sibling often preserves the grant.
Is there a contribution limit?
$50,000 lifetime per beneficiary, with no annual limit; overcontributions are taxed 1% per month. Contributing beyond $2,500 a year (or $5,000 when catching up) earns no extra grant.
Who pays tax when the money comes out?
Your original contributions come out tax-free to anyone. Grants and growth are paid as Educational Assistance Payments, taxable in the student's hands — and most students have little other income and large tuition credits, so the tax is usually near zero. That deferral to a low-income taxpayer is a large part of the RESP's value.
Individual or family plan?
A family plan lets you move money and grant between siblings, which is useful if one child does not pursue post-secondary education. Beneficiaries must be related to the subscriber by blood or adoption. With one child, an individual plan is simpler.
Method and sources
The model runs one year at a time from the child's current age through the end of the year they turn 17. Each year it adds $500 of basic grant entitlement, allows the basic grant claimed to reach $500 plus up to $500 of carried-forward room, adds the Additional CESG on the first $500 contributed at your income tier, and stops once cumulative CESG reaches $7,200. Grant received in a year is credited at year end and grows at your chosen rate thereafter. The age 16–17 eligibility condition is applied. Grant already received is subtracted from the lifetime room before projecting.
Figures are current for 2026 and drawn from Canada.ca — how much can be added to an RESP, CRA — Canada Education Savings Grant, and CRA — RESP contributions. Additional CESG income thresholds are indexed annually; re-check them each January.
Related: RESP decision guide · Canada Child Benefit calculator · TFSA contribution room · FHSA calculator
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