A T4RSP, the Statement of RRSP Income, arrives for any year you took money out of an RRSP: a cash withdrawal, a Home Buyers’ Plan or Lifelong Learning Plan withdrawal, annuity payments, a refund of contributions, or the plan’s value when the holder dies. Contributions don’t appear on it (those are on your RRSP receipts). What the slip records is money leaving the plan, and most of it is taxable income in the year it comes out.
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Full name | Statement of RRSP Income |
| Issued by | The financial institution holding your RRSP |
| Reports | Withdrawals, annuity payments, HBP/LLP amounts, refunds, amounts at death |
| Tax treatment | Mostly fully taxable income, with narrow exceptions (Box 20, and HBP/LLP amounts) |
Institutions issue T4RSPs by the last day of February, along with the T4 and most other slips listed in the tax slips table. You get one from each institution you withdrew from, and several withdrawals from the same plan may be combined on one slip.
What led to your T4RSP
| What happened | Where it shows |
|---|---|
| A cash withdrawal | Box 22, with the tax withheld in Box 30 |
| A Home Buyers’ Plan withdrawal | Box 27 |
| A Lifelong Learning Plan withdrawal | Box 25 |
| RRSP annuity payments | Box 16 |
| A refund of premiums paid to you as the surviving spouse or partner of the annuitant | Box 18 |
| A refund of your own undeducted contributions | Box 20 |
| The RRSP was deregistered | Box 22 |
| The annuitant died | Box 34 (fair market value at death) |
T4RSP boxes explained
| Box | Description | Tax treatment |
|---|---|---|
| 12 | Recipient’s SIN | Identification only |
| 14 | RRSP contract number | Identification only |
| 16 | Annuity payments | Fully taxable income |
| 18 | Refund of premiums to the surviving spouse or common-law partner of a deceased annuitant | Generally taxable to the recipient; may be eligible for a rollover |
| 20 | Refund of unused (undeducted) RRSP contributions | Generally not taxable, since it was never deducted |
| 22 | Other income (regular cash withdrawals, commutation payments before maturity) | Fully taxable income |
| 25 | Lifelong Learning Plan (LLP) withdrawal | Not taxable while you repay on schedule |
| 27 | Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP) withdrawal | Not taxable while you repay on schedule |
| 30 | Income tax deducted | A credit against the tax you owe |
| 34 | Fair market value of RRSP property at the time of death | Taxable to the deceased or the estate |
Box 22: the box most people see
Regular withdrawals before you convert to a RRIF land in Box 22, whether you took out part of the plan for expenses, cashed out early, or collapsed the plan entirely. The full amount is added to your income on line 12900.
Boxes 25 and 27: HBP and LLP withdrawals
Withdrawals under the Home Buyers’ Plan (Box 27) or the Lifelong Learning Plan (Box 25) have their own boxes, separate from Box 22, because they aren’t taxed when they come out. They become taxable only if you miss a scheduled repayment, and even then the missed amount is added to your income through your return in that later year; it doesn’t show up as taxable on the T4RSP. The repayment schedule, the grace period and what happens if you miss a year are in HBP repayment rules.
Boxes 18 and 20: refunds
Box 18 is a refund of premiums paid to you because an RRSP annuitant died and you were their spouse or common-law partner. It is taxable to you, but you can roll it into your own RRSP or RRIF within limits and deduct the amount transferred so it isn’t taxed twice. Box 20 is different: it is a refund of contributions you put in but never deducted, so it generally isn’t taxable. A refund doesn’t cancel the separate 1%-per-month tax on excess contributions already owed; the RRSP overcontribution guide covers that tax.
Box 30: tax already withheld
Box 30 is the tax your institution withheld and sent to the CRA, which you claim on line 43700. Withholding is a prepayment at set rates by withdrawal size, not your final tax: the withdrawal is added to your other income and taxed at your marginal rate, so a balance is often owing at filing. The rates themselves, including Quebec’s, are in RRSP withdrawal rules.
How to report a T4RSP
| T4RSP box | Tax return line | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Box 16 + Box 22 | Line 12900 | RRSP income |
| Box 18 | Line 12900 (deduct the amount if rolled over) | Refund of premiums to a surviving spouse or partner |
| Box 20 | Usually not reported as income | Refund of undeducted contributions |
| Box 25 / Box 27 | Schedule 7 | Taxable only if not repaid on schedule |
| Box 30 | Line 43700 | Tax withheld |
- Gather every T4RSP (one per institution, and possibly more than one per plan).
- Add the Box 16 and Box 22 amounts and enter the total on line 12900.
- For HBP (Box 27) or LLP (Box 25) withdrawals, complete Schedule 7.
- Enter the Box 30 withholding on line 43700.
When the RRSP holder dies
On death the RRSP is treated as cashed out, and its value at that date is reported in Box 34 of a slip issued for the deceased. That amount is generally income on the final return, unless the plan goes to a spouse or common-law partner, or in some cases a financially dependent child or grandchild, who can receive it as a refund of premiums (Box 18 on the survivor’s own slip) and transfer it to their own plan. Who can receive it tax-deferred and how the estate is affected is covered in what happens to an RRSP when you die.
How a withdrawal affects your benefits
An RRSP withdrawal raises your net income for the year, which can reduce income-tested benefits such as Old Age Security (through the OAS recovery tax), the GIS, the Canada Child Benefit and the GST/HST credit. When the money comes out (a low-income year, or spread over several years) changes how much of it is taxed at higher rates.
Getting your T4RSP and common mistakes
The slip is mailed by the end of February, and many institutions also post it in online banking; it appears in CRA My Account once the institution files it. If it is missing, contact the institution that holds the RRSP.
| Mistake | Consequence |
|---|---|
| Not reporting a T4RSP | The CRA reassesses, and a penalty can apply |
| Assuming the withholding covers the tax | A balance owing at filing |
| Missing a scheduled HBP or LLP repayment | The missed amount becomes taxable |
| Forgetting the effect on income-tested benefits | Reduced OAS, GIS or CCB |
After you convert to a RRIF, payments come on a T4RIF slip instead, which works differently: minimum payments have no withholding.
Related pages
- Canadian tax slips at a glance
- The T4RIF slip for RRIF payments
- The T4FHSA slip, for FHSA withdrawals and transfers to an RRSP
- RRSP withdrawal rules
- RRSP withdrawal tax calculator