The Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) is often confused with the Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) due to the similar goals of these plans. One of the main differences between these plans is how they are treated when it comes to paying taxes.

 

When your money is in an RDSP, you do not pay tax on it.

Unlike the RRSP, RDSP contributions do not count as a deduction off your income taxes. This is a good thing because it means that all the money you put in to your RDSP is considered after-tax dollars. Those personal contributions will never be taxed when you take money out.

Your RDSP will however include up to four types of contributions. These are your personal contributions, the government contributions (grants and bonds), investment income, and proceeds from a rolled over amount. The money in your RDSP that is made up of the grant and bond amounts, investment income, and any proceeds from a rolled over amount are taxable, but only if you withdraw a certain amount.

 

When you begin to take money out of your RDSP, you may pay tax on part of it.

Withdrawals may be subject to tax if the withdrawal amount is more than the total of two non-refundable tax credits: the basic personal amount (BPA) and the disability amount (DA).

The federal maximum amount for 2022 is $14,398 for the BPA plus $8,870 for the DA. This means that if the taxable portion of your withdrawals in 2022 are equal to or below $23,268 there will be no tax withheld at the source.

If there is tax that is going to be withheld, the RDSP issuer (your financial institution) will automatically make a withholding for tax before issuing the payment. This is not the same as paying the tax. Instead, the financial institution will report both the gross taxable amount and the withholdings to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and to the beneficiary through a tax form.

 

Note also that if the holder is not the beneficiary, they may not receive the tax form.

One way to avoid this is for the holder to have authorized access to the account of the beneficiary at the CRA. If the taxable amount withheld was too high, the beneficiary will receive the over-taxed amount back after filing that year’s income tax return. If the holder wishes to get an idea of what the taxable portion would be before making a withdrawal, they could try contacting Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), the government branch that oversees the RDSP and provides the grants and bonds. You can reach them via phone at 1-866-204-0357 or 1-866-754-2674, email at rdsp-reei@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca, TTY at 1-800-926-9105, and you can request a call back here: https://srv144.services.gc.ca/cgi-bin/emailform/index.aspx?GoCTemplateCulture=en-CA&section=cdsp

When you call, make sure you have:

  • your RDSP account number,
  • full name for the holder and beneficiary,
  • birthday of the holder and beneficiary,
  • and Social Insurance Number of the holder and beneficiary.

Providing this information will allow ESDC to look into the account and provide specific information regarding your RDSP. Alternatively, our financial institution would also likely be able to provide you with this information.

 

Click here for more information on taxation of withdrawals.

If you have any questions or require assistance, please call our RDSP and Disability Planning Helpline at 1-844-311-7526 or email info@rdsp.com