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By Allan Norman, MSc, CFP, CIM on May 12, 2025
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

By Allan Norman, MSc, CFP, CIM on May 12, 2025
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

A Certified Financial Planner explains how RESP withdrawals and taxation can work for each of your children, regardless of their educational path.

Q. I have a registered education savings plan (RESP) for my three children, the youngest of whom is starting university this fall. We have made some withdrawals for the older two kids but the plan is still well-funded. Our middle child has decided to pursue a co-op university program, which is essentially self-funded. When we contributed funds to the plan, part of the funds were put aside under his name and the government added grants to that. To be fair to him (and to avoid taxes), I assume there is a minimum amount that I should withdraw as an educational assistance payment (EAP) for him. What are my next steps? –Paul

A. Congrats on thinking ahead, Paul. And you’re correct: There is likely a minimum educational assistance payment (EAP) withdrawal you’ll want to make, which will benefit you both. That amount depends on how fully funded your RESP is.

As a reminder, the EAP is made up of the government grant (up to a maximum of $7,200) and the accumulated earnings on both your contributions and the grant itself. The grant can be shared among all the children in a family plan but only up to $7,200 per child—if they have already received that maximum, you cannot share another child’s grant with them. If the grant is not used, it must be returned to the Government of Canada.

This is why you should make sure you withdraw the entirety of........

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