# Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP)

> An RESP is a Canadian account for saving toward a child's education after high school, where savings grow tax-deferred and the federal government adds a grant to contributions.

Canonical page: https://find.wellspent.co/glossary/resp/
Also called: RESP, Canada Education Savings Grant, CESG

The Canada Education Savings Grant (CESG) adds 20% on the first C$2,500 contributed each year, so up to C$500 a year, or C$1,000 in a year when you catch up on unused grant room. The lifetime grant is C$7,200 per child, paid on contributions up to the end of the year the child turns 17. Lower- and middle-income families can get an additional grant on the first C$500.

There's no annual contribution limit, but the lifetime limit is C$50,000 per child, and grants don't count toward it. Your contributions can come back to you without tax; the growth and the grants are taxed as the student's income when paid out for school.

Ages 16 and 17 have a catch: grants are paid in those years only if at least C$2,000 went in before the end of the year the child turned 15, or at least C$100 a year in any four earlier years.

## Sources

- [Canada Revenue Agency, Canada Education Savings Grant (page modified October 29, 2026)](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/topics/registered-education-savings-plans-resps/canada-education-savings-programs-cesp/canada-education-savings-grant-cesg.html)
- [Canada Revenue Agency, RC4092 Registered Education Savings Plans (RESPs)](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/forms-publications/publications/rc4092/registered-education-savings-plans-resps.html)

## Related terms

- [Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA)](https://find.wellspent.co/glossary/tfsa.md)
- [Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP)](https://find.wellspent.co/glossary/rrsp.md)
- [First Home Savings Account (FHSA)](https://find.wellspent.co/glossary/fhsa.md)