Every time you put money into a registered retirement savings plan (RRSP), the institution holding the plan gives you a receipt for it. That paper is what supports the RRSP deduction you claim, so it is worth knowing what it has to show and which period it belongs to.
Unlike a T4 or a T5, an RRSP contribution receipt is not a numbered-box slip. Each issuer lays it out in its own way, and the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) describes what it has to contain rather than where each figure sits.
What it reports
An RRSP contribution receipt shows:
- the tax year the receipt has been issued for
- the contribution period it covers
- the amount of contributions made, in dollars and cents, for that period
- the contributor's first and last name and their social insurance number (SIN)
- if the contributor is not also the annuitant, the annuitant's first and last name and their SIN
The last point matters more than it looks. The contributor must report the RRSP contribution and deduction on their income tax and benefit return, and not the annuitant. If you contributed to a plan whose annuitant is someone else, the receipt is yours to use.
The two contribution periods
This is the part that catches people out, because a year's worth of contributions arrives on receipts covering two different stretches of time. The contribution periods for a tax year are:
- the first period — the last 10 months (March to December) of the tax year, ordinarily March 2 to December 31 of the tax year
- the second period — the first 60 days of the following year, ordinarily January 1 to March 1 of the year after the tax year
So a receipt dated in the first weeks of a calendar year usually belongs to the previous tax year's return. Read the tax year printed on the receipt rather than the date you made the deposit.
Where the amount goes
Refer to Schedule 7 to find out whether you have to complete that schedule for unused contributions, transfers, withdrawals and repayments under the Home Buyers' Plan (HBP) and the Lifelong Learning Plan (LLP).
Otherwise, enter on line 24500 the total RRSP contributions made for both contribution periods, and enter on line 20800 the RRSP deduction you want to claim. The contribution and the deduction are two separate figures: what you put in, and how much of it you choose to deduct this year.
If a receipt is late or looks wrong
Issuers have until May 1 to send you your RRSP contribution receipts for the previous tax year.
Even if you have not received all of your RRSP contribution receipts, you must file your income tax and benefit return on time to avoid any penalties or interest. Your RRSP issuer can confirm your contribution amounts.
What to keep
Keep every receipt for the tax year, including the ones covering the first 60 days of the following year. The deduction on line 20800 is supported by the receipts behind it, not by an account statement.
If the annuitant named on a receipt is not you, keep it with the contributor's records: the contributor is the one who reports the contribution and the deduction.
Dossier stores each receipt and identifies it as an RRSP contribution receipt, so the set is together when you file. It does not read the amounts off the receipt, and it does not decide which contribution period a receipt falls in — that is printed on the receipt itself.
Official CRA sources
- Guide T4040, RRSPs and Other Registered Plans for Retirement
- Schedule 7, RRSP, PRPP and SPP Contributions and Transfers, and HBP and LLP Activities
Source: Canada Revenue Agency (canada.ca). Not tax advice.