Lifelong Learning Plan (LLP)

Who and what qualifies

You must be an RRSP annuitant and a resident of Canada, and you cannot participate after the end of the year you turn 71. The student can be you or your spouse or common-law partner, but not a child. The student must be enrolled full-time in a qualifying program at a designated educational institution, or have a written offer to enrol before March of the year after the withdrawal.

Part-time study can qualify if the student meets the CRA’s disability conditions. The institution decides whether someone is full-time, not the number of hours you study. Locked-in RRSPs cannot be used.

Limits and the 90-day rule

The annual limit is $10,000 and the total limit is $20,000 per participation. You can withdraw in the first year and each following year, until the earliest of the start of repayment or January of the fourth calendar year after the first withdrawal. A withdrawal above the annual limit is taxed in that year and does not reduce the $20,000.

You cannot open an RRSP and withdraw immediately. A contribution must generally be in the plan for 90 days before it can be deducted, so a new contribution made shortly before a withdrawal may lose its deduction. You apply with Form RC96 and the issuer reports the withdrawal on a T4RSP slip.

Repayment and an illustrative example

Generally you repay one-tenth of the total each year, and the latest the repayment period starts is the fifth year after your first withdrawal. If the student stops qualifying for two years in a row, repayment usually starts in the second of those years.

Suppose you withdraw $10,000 in 2026 and $10,000 in 2027 for your spouse’s full-time program. If the student keeps qualifying, repayment starts in 2031 at $2,000 a year. The figures are illustrative. You repay by contributing to an RRSP and designating the amount on Schedule 7. The amount is not deductible, and any unpaid portion is included in income.

What to discuss with your accountant

Ask whether the RRSP room used for the LLP competes with other goals such as the Home Buyers’ Plan, and whether tuition and education credits are available for the same program. Keep the Form RC96, the school’s enrolment confirmation and the LLP statement of account that arrives with your notice of assessment, and file a return every year until the balance is zero.