Lifelong Learning Plan 2026: using your RRSP to go back to school
Enter the total withdrawn under the LLP, the year of your first withdrawal and your last year of studies: the calculator works out when repayment starts and the minimum to put back each year.
Minimum repayment per year
$1,500
From 2029 to 2038: no later than the 5th year after the first withdrawal.
| Amount counted | $15,000 |
| Limit per participation | $20,000 |
| Limit per year | $10,000 |
| Period | 10 years |
Prepared by Radif Partners · How we calculate · limits and tax tables read on canada.ca · estimates only, not a notice of assessment
The Lifelong Learning Plan (LLP) lets you withdraw up to $10,000 a calendar year from your RRSPs, and $20,000 in total per participation, to pay for full-time training or education, yours or your spouse's or common-law partner's. These withdrawals are not added to your income and the RRSP issuer does not withhold tax. They are repaid into an RRSP over 10 years, one tenth a year. Repayment starts no later than the 5th year after your first withdrawal, and earlier if the student is not eligible for two years in a row: it then starts in the second of those two years. For a first $20,000 withdrawal in 2026 and studies ending in 2027, repayment runs from 2029 to 2038, $2,000 a year. Any amount not repaid on time is added to your income for the year it was due. The amount withdrawn is not limited to tuition.
The LLP limits
According to the Canada Revenue Agency pages on the Lifelong Learning Plan, you can withdraw up to $10,000 from your RRSPs in a calendar year, and never more than $20,000 for one participation. The amount is not capped at tuition, and as long as you meet the conditions when you withdraw, the money can be used for anything: rent, groceries, lost wages. These withdrawals are not added to your income, and the RRSP issuer does not withhold tax. Anything above $10,000 in a year is added to income for the year of the withdrawal, with tax withheld on the excess; anything above $20,000 in total is added to income for the year you go over the limit.
Your spouse or common-law partner can make their own LLP withdrawals, up to $10,000, in the same year you do. Locked-in RRSPs, usually created from pension money, do not allow LLP withdrawals. Neither do pooled registered pension plans or specified pension plans, although their contributions can be designated as LLP repayments.
The conditions
When you withdraw, you must be a resident of Canada and have an RRSP. The student, you or your spouse, must be enrolled full time in a qualifying educational program at a designated educational institution, or have received an offer to enrol before March of the following year. A student who meets one of the disability conditions can be enrolled part time. If you made an LLP withdrawal in an earlier year, your repayment period must not have started yet. Each withdrawal is requested with Form RC96, and the student you name must stay the same from one year to the next.
You can keep withdrawing until the earlier of two dates: the start of your repayment period, or January of the 4th calendar year after your first withdrawal. After that, you have to wait until the year after your balance is fully repaid to participate again.
When repayment starts
Repayment is spread over 10 years, one tenth a year. It starts no later than the 5th year after the year of your first withdrawal. It starts earlier if the student is not eligible for two years in a row, for example because they finished their program: the period then starts in the second of those two years. The CRA's examples show both rules. A participant who withdrew in 2021 and 2022 for his spouse, who is still in school, must start repaying in 2026, and any new withdrawal that year would be taxable. A participant who finished her program in 2024, the year of her first withdrawal, and did not study in 2025 or 2026, repays from 2026.
| First withdrawal | Last year of studies | Amount | Repayment | Minimum a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2027 | $20,000 | 2029 to 2038 | $2,000 |
| 2026 | 2033 | $20,000 | 2031 to 2040 | $2,000 |
| 2021 | 2030 | $15,000 | 2026 to 2035 | $1,500 |
| 2024 | 2024 | $10,000 | 2026 to 2035 | $1,000 |
The table shows that long studies do not push repayment past the 5th year: a first withdrawal in 2026 followed by eight years of school still starts repayment in 2031. Any amount you do not put back on time is added to your income for the year it was due.
Timing traps
An RRSP contribution made in the 89 days before an LLP withdrawal can lose its deductibility. The CRA's example is an RRSP worth $6,500 that receives $8,000, followed by a $10,000 LLP withdrawal: $4,500 is left in the account, and $3,500 of the contribution can never be deducted. If the student leaves the program before April of the year after the withdrawal and 75% or more of the tuition is refundable, the withdrawal must be cancelled, or it is added to income for the year of the withdrawal. The CRA checks enrolment using the student's Form T2202 and Schedule 11. Finally, you must file a tax return every year, starting with the year of your first withdrawal, until everything is repaid or included in income, with Schedule 7 attached.
What an RRSP withdrawal outside the LLP would cost
Actual tax on the withdrawal
$2,569
| Federal withholding | $1,000 |
| Total tax due | $2,569 |
| Average rate on the withdrawal | 25.7% |
The mini calculator above shows the alternative: an ordinary RRSP withdrawal of the same amount, withholding and tax included. For buying a home, the equivalent plan is the Home Buyers’ Plan, which is repaid over a longer period.