What grants am I entitled to if I contribute to an RESP?

The grants available vary depending on the province where you reside and your income.

Canada Education Savings Grant (CESG)

• Maximum amount: $7,200 for the duration of the plan for each child born after 1997.
• Beneficiary age limit: 17 years.
• Grants are equivalent to 20-40% of annual contributions based on family income, on the first instalment of annual contributions, up to a maximum of $500 per year per beneficiary.
• Unused grants can be carried over at a rate of one per year (up to a total of $1,000 in grants per year).
• You can only claim one year's worth of unused grants at a time. This means that the maximum annual contribution eligible for grants is $5,000. This contribution will earn you the maximum grant of $500 for the current year and $500 of unused grants from a previous year.

Canada Learning Bond (CLB)

• Maximum amount: $2,000.
• Beneficiary age limit: 15 years.
• Grant for children from low-income families born after 2004.
• Payment of $500 in the first year and $100 in subsequent years so long as the family meets the income criteria.

Quebec Education Savings Incentive (QESI)

• Maximum amount (received as a tax credit): $3,600.
• Beneficiary age limit: 18 years.
• The basic amount is equivalent to 10% of the net annual contributions to the plan, up to $250 per child per year.

Other provincial education savings incentives

Certain provinces, including Saskatchewan and British Columbia, provide additional grants.