If your employer put money into a pooled registered pension plan for you, that amount gets reported on your return even though you neither add it to your income nor deduct it. Line 20810 is where it goes.
A pooled registered pension plan (PRPP) is a retirement savings option for individuals, including self-employed individuals who do not have access to a workplace pension plan or where a workplace pension plan does not exist.
What goes on this line
Enter on line 20810 the total of all amounts shown in the designated "employer contribution amount" box of your PRPP receipts. If you have more than one receipt for the year, they are added together.
Why it is reported if it is not deducted
This is the part that surprises people. Do not report this amount as income, and do not deduct it on your income tax and benefit return. The CRA uses the figure to calculate your registered retirement savings plan/PRPP deduction limit and to determine the excess-contribution tax, if any applies.
So the line is neither a deduction nor income. It is information the CRA needs in order to work out how much room you have left, which is why leaving it off matters even though it does not change this year's tax on its own.
Your own PRPP contributions are a different matter — those are deducted, and they belong with your RRSP deduction on line 20800.
What your PRPP receipt must show
The one field this line depends on is the amount in the designated employer contribution amount box. The CRA's page names only that box, and does not set out any other field a PRPP receipt has to carry.
Receipts often show your own contributions and your employer's on the same piece of paper. Only the employer contribution amount belongs on line 20810.
If you have any questions about your employer's contributions to your PRPP, contact your employer — they are the ones who made the contribution and reported it.
What to keep
Keep every PRPP receipt you receive for the year, including receipts that show only employer contributions. Together they are what the total on line 20810 is built from.
Dossier tags a PRPP receipt as it comes in and files it under the tax year, so the full set is in one place when you file.
Official CRA sources
- Line 20810 – Pooled registered pension plan (PRPP) employer contributions
- Line 20800 – RRSP deduction
Source: Canada Revenue Agency (canada.ca). Not tax advice.