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Self-Directed RESP

A Savings Plan as Unique as They Are

Each child is one of a kind. Their plan for post-secondary education should be, too.

What is an RESP?

A Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) is a registered investment account that lets you save for your child or grandchild’s post-secondary education and take advantage of government grants to help build savings even faster.

What Else You Need to Know:

You choose what investments to hold in your RESP.

Select from a wide range of investments, including stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), options, fixed-income investments like guaranteed investment certificates (GICs) and bonds, and mutual funds.

Your investment earnings will grow tax-deferred.

While your contributions can be withdrawn tax-free, tax on investment income earned will be deferred until the child withdraws the funds for school.

You can contribute up to $50,000 per child.

Contributions are not tax-deductible, but you can spread them out over time to fit your budget. Plus, you can hold the RESP as a joint account with your spouse or common-law partner.

The funds can be used for college, university, trade school, graduate school, and more.

That includes paying for everything from tuition to books to transportation. Also, your child can also use the funds later if they decide to postpone their post-secondary education.

You may be eligible for grants and incentives to grow your savings more.

You may be able to build your savings even faster with grants provided by the Government of Canada and some provincial governments.

Learn more about what each program provides and their eligibility requirements (opens modal window)

At RBC Direct Investing, there are two account types to select from: an Individual RESP to save for one child or Family RESP to save for more.

An individual plan lets you save for any one beneficiary. A family plan helps you save for multiple beneficiaries who are related to you and gives you the flexibility to allocate the RESP funds among multiple beneficiaries.

With an RESP, you can choose to open either an individual or family plan:

  • Individual RESP:
    Save for one beneficiary, who does not have to be related to you. (Son, daughter, grandchild, brother, sister, friend, niece, nephew, godchild or yourself.)
  • Family RESP:
    Save for multiple beneficiaries and add or change beneficiaries at any time. If a beneficiary does not pursue a post-secondary education, you can transfer the RESP funds to one who does. Beneficiaries must be related to you by blood and/or adoption. (Son, daughter, grandchild, brother or sister only.)

At RBC Direct Investing, You Can Also…

Conveniently Trade with Points

Use your Avion points to pay for trade commissions or turn them into cash contributions.

Access Exclusive Tools

Use powerful tools and the latest research to confidently make investment decisions.

Put Your Savings on Auto-Pilot

Save automatically, on a schedule that works best for you, with a Pre-Authorized Contribution (PAC) plan – and watch your savings grow.

What to Know Before Withdrawing from an RESP

There are a few dos and don'ts to consider when putting RESP funds to use.

Learn More about RESP Withdrawals

It’s Never too Early to Get Started

Complete your application and start investing in their future.

Frequently Asked Questions

A Registered Education Savings Plan is an investment account that can help you save for a child (aka, the beneficiary)’s future while deferring tax on investment earnings until the funds are withdrawn to pay for educational expenses.

An RESP can be set up for any beneficiary, including your children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews or family friends. Each beneficiary must be a Canadian resident and have a Social Insurance Number (SIN), which can be obtained from a Service Canada Centre (www.servicecanada.gc.ca). Beneficiaries can withdraw tax-deferred funds to pay for post-secondary education.

RESPs can be used to pay for a child’s post-secondary education. Because the plans can stay open for up to 35 years, there’s no rush to use the funds in the event your child chooses not to pursue a post-secondary education right away.

Contribute any amount to an RESP, subject to a lifetime contribution limit of $50,000 per beneficiary. You can contribute to an RESP for a maximum of 32 years (the year the plan opened plus 31 years), and the plan can remain open for a maximum of 35 years.

Learn more about RESP Rules and Contribution Limits

If the beneficiary is enrolled in a qualifying post-secondary educational program, you can submit an RESP withdrawal request form to pay for school tuition, residence, books, school supplies and other educational expenses.

RESP withdrawal forms can be found either by selecting Forms and Agreements under My Portfolio when you are logged into your account, or by visiting Download Forms and selecting “Withdrawal Requests” from the drop-down menu.

Once you have completed your form in full, please forward it to RBC Direct Investing either by mail or in person at an Investor Centre or RBC Royal Bank® branch.

RBC Direct Investing Inc.
Royal Bank Plaza
200 Bay Street, North Tower
P.O. Box 75
Toronto, Ontario, M5J 2Z5

Legal Disclaimer
The Avion Rewards program is offered by Royal Bank of Canada and is subject to the Avion Rewards Terms & Conditions. You may only use your Avion points through RBC DI to: (1) pay for trade commissions on your eligible RBC DI accounts; or (2) transfer points for cash contributions to your eligible RBC DI accounts. It is your responsibility to make sure you have sufficient contribution room within your registered plan when redeeming points for cash contributions to your registered accounts and/or when you use your Avion points to pay for trade commissions on a registered account. The Canada Revenue Agency may apply tax penalties for over-contributions. RBC Direct Investing is not responsible for any such penalties. Redemptions are final and cannot be cancelled or reversed once submitted.

There may be commissions, trailing commissions, investment fund management fees and expenses associated with investment fund and exchange-traded fund (ETF) investments. On or after June 1, 2022, any trailing commissions paid to RBC Direct Investing Inc. will be rebated to clients pursuant to applicable regulatory exemptions. Before investing, please review the applicable fees, expenses and charges relating to the fund as disclosed in the prospectus, fund facts or ETF facts. Mutual funds and ETFs are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated. For money market funds there can be no assurances that the fund will be able to maintain its net asset value per security at a constant amount or that the full amount of your investment in the fund will be returned to you.
Legal Disclaimer
Information provided on this page is for your general information and is not intended to provide legal, investment, financial, accounting or tax advice. If you require any such advice, you should retain the services of a competent professional.