RESP & CESG Planner
How much free government grant money will your RESP collect — and will you leave any on the table? Models the Canada Education Savings Grant with carry-forward catch-up, the $7,200 lifetime cap, and income-tested top-ups, then projects your balance at age 18.
Where the money comes from
Your RESP balance by your child's age, split into your contributions, CESG grants, and investment growth. The grant layer is money you never paid in.
Grant collected vs. the $7,200 cap
Cumulative CESG against the lifetime maximum. A gap at age 18 is grant money that can no longer be claimed.
Year-by-year projection
Contributions, CESG, and balance for each year until your child turns 18.
| Age | Contribution | CESG | Grant to date | Balance |
|---|
How this is calculated
The basic CESG (20% match)
The Canada Education Savings Grant pays 20% × min(annual contribution, $2,500) — up to $500 per year — into your RESP. The lifetime maximum per child is $7,200, reached with roughly $36,000 of contributions ($2,500/yr for 14.4 years). Contributing about $208.33/month ($2,500/yr) captures the full annual grant. Contributing less than $2,500 leaves basic grant behind; contributing more earns no extra basic grant that year unless you have carry-forward room.
Carry-forward and catch-up
Grant room accrues $500 per year from the year your child is born, whether or not an RESP exists yet. Unused room carries forward. In a catch-up year you can collect grant on up to $5,000 of contributions — one prior year's room plus the current year — for up to $1,000 of basic CESG. You can never claim more than $1,000 of basic grant in a single year, so if you start late you may not recover all the room before age 17. This tool assumes prior years were unfunded, so accrued room is $500 × current age (capped at the $7,200 grant maximum).
Additional CESG (income-tested)
Lower- and middle-income families get an extra grant on the first $500 contributed each year, based on 2025 adjusted family net income: +20% (up to $100/yr) if income is $57,375 or less, and +10% (up to $50/yr) between $57,375 and $114,750. Additional CESG counts toward the same $7,200 cap and does not carry forward — you must contribute each year to receive it.
The 16/17-year-old rule
Contributions stop earning any CESG at the end of the year the child turns 17. Beneficiaries aged 16 or 17 only qualify if either at least $2,000 was contributed before the year they turned 16, or at least $100 was contributed in any four years before then. If you are opening an RESP for a 15-, 16-, or 17-year-old with no history, confirm eligibility — this tool assumes the beneficiary qualifies.
Growth and the contribution limit
The balance grows monthly at your expected return: balance × (1 + r)^(1/12) + monthly, with each year's grant added at year-end. Contributions are capped at the $50,000 lifetime RESP limit per child; grants do not count toward it. Over-contributing triggers a 1%-per-month penalty tax, so the tool stops adding contributions once the cap is reached.
Taxation and withdrawals
Growth compounds tax-free inside the RESP. When your child enrols, withdrawals of grants + growth are Educational Assistance Payments (EAPs), taxed in the student's hands — usually at a very low or zero rate given tuition credits and low income. Your original contributions come out tax-free as a Post-Secondary Education (PSE) withdrawal.
If your child does not attend post-secondary
Your contributions return to you tax-free. Unused CESG is repaid to the government. The growth becomes an Accumulated Income Payment (AIP), taxed at your marginal rate plus a 20% penalty — but you can roll up to $50,000 into your RRSP or spousal RRSP if you have room and the plan is at least 10 years old.
What this doesn't model
The Canada Learning Bond, provincial grants (Québec QESI 10%, BC BCTESG $1,200), a specific education-cost target and drawdown schedule, family-plan sharing across siblings, or a return glide-path as school nears. Rules and dollar figures confirmed as of July 2026. For registered-account contribution room see the RRSP vs TFSA tool, and for long-run growth math the compound interest calculator.