Can I Use an RESP for Trade School or College in Canada?

RESPs aren’t only for university. Educational Assistance Payments (the grants and investment growth in the plan) can be paid for college, CEGEP, trade and vocational school, and the school terms of an apprenticeship, as long as the institution and the program meet the rules. This page explains those rules, since they decide whether a student can use the plan at all. The account basics are in the complete RESP guide, and every related guide is listed in the RESP hub.

Which schools qualify

EAPs can be paid for study at a post-secondary educational institution, which includes:

• a university, college or other designated educational institution in Canada (community colleges, CEGEPs, polytechnics, and trade, vocational and private career schools that are designated for student aid);
• an institution in Canada certified by Employment and Social Development Canada that offers non-credit courses developing or improving skills in an occupation;
• some universities, colleges and other institutions outside Canada, which have their own minimum lengths explained in using an RESP at a school outside Canada.

Whether a private school is designated can be checked with the school’s financial aid office or the RESP provider, which will need to know the institution before paying an EAP.

Which programs qualify

The program, not just the school, has to meet a minimum length and workload:

Most trade and college programs run far longer than the minimum, so length is rarely the obstacle; a short evening course with only a few hours a month may not meet the workload test. How to time EAPs across a program, and how the student is taxed on them, is covered in our RESP withdrawal guide.

Apprenticeships

An apprenticeship alternates paid work with blocks of classroom training. For RESP purposes:

• The in-school training periods usually qualify when they are delivered by a designated institution (often a community college or polytechnic) and meet the length and hours above. Each block can support its own EAPs.
• The on-the-job periods don’t qualify on their own, because the apprentice isn’t enrolled in a program during them.
• Working in a trade without being registered in an apprenticeship program doesn’t qualify.

Because training blocks can be several months apart, families often spread EAPs across the blocks rather than taking them all at once.

Making the withdrawal

1. Confirm the school and program qualify. The school’s registrar or financial aid office can confirm designation.
2. Get proof of enrolment showing the program, the dates and full-time or part-time status.
3. Send it to the RESP provider with its withdrawal form, saying how much is to be paid as an EAP (grants and growth) and how much as a refund of contributions.
4. The student reports the EAP as income, from the T4A slip the provider issues.

If the program doesn’t qualify

• The student can’t receive EAPs for it, so the grants and growth stay in the plan.
• The subscriber can still take back the contributions tax-free, though withdrawing them while no beneficiary is eligible for an EAP can mean repaying the part of the CESG those contributions attracted.
• The plan can stay open in case the student later enrols in a program that qualifies.

If no qualifying study is ever likely, the options (a sibling, an RRSP rollover of the growth, or closing the plan) are compared in what happens if your child doesn’t go to university.