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Many Canadian families leave thousands of dollars of free RESP grant money on the table — not because they didn’t save, but because they didn’t know the grant room was still there. If your child has an RESP, or even if they don’t yet, you may still be able to claim the full $7,200 Canada Education Savings Grant (CESG). Here is how it works, and how to catch up.
How the CESG works
The federal government adds 20% to your RESP contributions, up to $500 of grant per year per child. That $500 comes from $2,500 of contributions in a year. The lifetime cap is $7,200 of grant per child.
Grant room accrues from birth (or 1998) even if no RESP was ever opened. Room built up at $400 a year for 1998–2006 and $500 a year from 2007. Unused room does not disappear — it carries forward, year after year.
The catch-up rule
Because unused room carries forward, a family can collect up to $1,000 of grant in a single year by contributing $5,000 that year: $500 for the current year’s room, plus $500 for one year of unused room. You can only use one year of carried-forward room per year, so a big backlog takes a few years to clear — but it can be cleared.
The deadline that matters
CESG eligibility ends December 31 of the year the child turns 17. And there is a catch for late starters — the 16/17 rule: to receive the grant at ages 16 and 17, at least $2,000 must have been contributed to the RESP before the end of the year the child turns 15, or at least $100 must have been contributed in any four earlier years. Open the RESP and get money in well before 15, even a small amount, to keep the door open.
There is also a $50,000 lifetime contribution limit per child across all RESPs, so a large catch-up plan needs to fit under that ceiling too.
The playbook
- Start with a January lump sum if possible — the grant is paid on contributions, and an early contribution gives the money a full year to grow.
- Prioritize the older child when money is tight, because their deadline is fixed. A younger sibling has more years to catch up.
- Never split evenly by default if one child is closer to 17 — put the money where the deadline is nearest.
- Contribute $5,000 a year per child while catch-up room lasts, to collect the full $1,000 a year of grant.
A worked example
A child with $3,000 of unclaimed grant room needs $5,000 a year for three years to collect $1,000 of grant a year — $3,000 in total. Three years of $5,000 contributions, and the full backlog is gone, as long as the child is still under the age-17 deadline.
Run your child’s numbers: RESP CESG Catch-Up Calculator — enter each child’s age and grant room and see the catch-up plan year by year.
General information only — not financial advice.