【求助】提前取用RESP的利弊？

[JoeL]

小孩的RESP明年到期，但今年秋天就要去上大学了。这RESP究竟该今年开始取用还是等到明年再取？各有何利弊？请有经验的和懂行的大侠指点。
多谢！

[edward1066]

请告知你的EMAIL地址，我把我写的如何取RESP的策略文章发给你。
我的邮箱：edward1066@gmail.com

[bigcake]

What happens when a beneficiary is ready for post-secondary school?

The beneficiary will receive educational assistance payments (EAPs), which include accumulated earnings and grant money received from the plan. The EAPs are spread out over the years the full-time student is enrolled in a qualifying institution. Please note that the investment earnings portion (growth) is taxed at the student's income level. There may not be any taxes to pay however, if the student is in the lowest tax bracket at that time.

[bigcake]

Can I withdraw money contributed to a RESP for non-educational purposes?

You, as a subscriber, can withdraw your money at any time, however, there may be an impact on the grant you have received. If contributions are withdrawn from a RESP that contains the CESG, and no beneficiary is enrolled in a qualifying educational program and eligible to receive an EAP, you may have to return all of the CESG.

[bigcake]

Can original contributions be paid back to the subscriber tax-free?

Yes. The contributions may be withdrawn by the subscriber tax-free at any time during the lifetime of the RESP. However, if they are withdrawn before the beneficiary is registered in an eligible institution, the CESG will have to be repaid to the government and the CESG grant is suspended for two years. Ideally, contributions should not be withdrawn from the RESP before the maximum CESG has been received from the government and then paid out to the beneficiary. The original contribution amount belongs to the subscriber and can be retained or assigned to the beneficiary.

[bigcake]

Are there restrictions on the type of school my child can attend?

Yes. To receive payments from the plan, the beneficiary must be enrolled in an eligible institution.

What is considered an eligible institution?

Full-time attendance in a designated university, community college, cégep, Canadian technical college or university outside Canada.

[bigcake]

Do I have to indicate which institution the money is intended for?

No. To draw on the RESP, however, the beneficiary must show proof of attendance at an eligible institution.

[bigcake]

What happens if the beneficiary doesn't go to school?

There are three options:

1.You may change the beneficiary. In a Family Plan, the beneficiary must be under 21 years of age and is related to the subscriber by blood or adoption.
2.If you are a Canadian resident and you have room, you can contribute up to $50,000 to your or your spouse's RRSP (only if the RESP has been open for at least 10 years and the beneficiary is at least 21 years of age and is not pursuing higher education).
3.You can redeem the original contributions in the plan tax-free, paying back the CESG. Any accumulated earnings are subject to a 20% penalty and tax is payable at your highest marginal tax rate, or you can donate the investment earnings to an educational institution of your choice.

[zhang_lucy]

you would need to check the policy for withdraw RESP. In your case you can withdraw RESP if your kid already has proof of entrance university. But if you are RESP is in term, not mature yet, you may have to pay some penity for withdraw RESP. So you would need to schedule your RESP plan earlier if you would like to withdraw so that you don't have to pay penity for earlier withdrawn.

[JoeL]

多谢楼上几位!