T4RSP – Statement of RRSP Income

Money coming out of a registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) is reported on a T4RSP slip. Money going in is a contribution receipt; this is the other direction.

You do not prepare it. The issuer of the plan does, and you use the boxes when you file.

What it reports

The T4RSP, Statement of RRSP Income, reports amounts paid out of an RRSP during the year — annuity payments, withdrawals, refunds, amounts arising on a death or a deregistration — and the income tax withheld from them.

The amounts in boxes 16 to 34 are gross amounts, before tax or any other deductions are taken off. Where mutual fund units were redeemed and the proceeds were reduced by withdrawal fees, the amount reported is the net amount paid out of the plan.

Who sends it

The RRSP issuer or plan administrator — the financial institution holding the plan. Box 60 names the payer that remits the withholding tax to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).

The boxes that go on line 12900

Box 16 – Annuity payments. The total annuity payments received in the year on or after maturity of the plan.
Box 18 – Refund of premiums. An amount paid from an unmatured RRSP to the spouse or common-law partner of the RRSP annuitant because the annuitant died.
Box 20 – Refund of unused contributions. The amount refunded because it was not deducted from income. Include a copy of the approved Form T3012A. You can deduct an offsetting amount on line 23200 for the amount shown in this box.
Box 22 – Withdrawal and commutation payments. The amount withdrawn from the RRSP in the year, or the amount paid as full or partial commutation of an RRSP annuity. If the amount withdrawn was not deducted from income as an RRSP contribution, you may be able to claim an offsetting amount on line 23200 using Form T746.
Box 26 – Amounts deemed received on deregistration. The fair market value of all the property held by the RRSP just before it became an amended plan.
Box 28 – Other income or deductions. Report any income amounts on line 12900 and any deductions — shown in brackets — on line 23200. An amount rolled over from a deceased annuitant's RRSP to a registered disability savings plan is reported on the deceased's lines 12900 and 23200 with Form RC4625 attached; an eligible individual reports the rollover on line 13000 and the amount transferred on line 23200.

Box 30 – Income tax deducted goes on line 43700.

The two withdrawals that are not income

Box 25 – LLP withdrawal. The amount withdrawn from an RRSP under the Lifelong Learning Plan (LLP), using Form RC96. This amount is not included in your income, but you have to report it on line 21 of Schedule 7.
Box 27 – HBP withdrawal. The amount withdrawn from an RRSP under the Home Buyers' Plan (HBP), using Form T1036. This amount is not included in income either, but you enter it on line 19 of Schedule 7.

These two are the most common source of confusion on the slip: a large figure appears, and none of it is income. It still has to be reported, on Schedule 7 rather than on the income lines.

Whose income is it?

Box 24 shows whether this is a spousal or common-law partner RRSP, and box 36 carries the SIN of the contributor spouse or common-law partner. If Yes is ticked in box 24, or a SIN is shown in box 36, the contributor spouse or common-law partner may have to include in income part or all of the amounts in boxes 20, 22 or 26. Form T2205 is how you see who must report the income.

The remaining boxes

Box 12 – Social insurance number of the recipient, and box 14 – contract number of the RRSP.
Box 34 – Amounts deemed received on death. The fair market value of all the property held by the RRSP at the time of the annuitant's death. Chart 6 in Guide T4040 explains how to report it.
Box 35 – Transfers on breakdown of marriage or common-law partnership. The amount directly transferred; it is not included in income. Chart 10 in Guide T4040 has more.
Box 37 – Advanced Life Deferred Annuity (ALDA) purchase. Not reported on the return, and no deduction can be claimed for the amount transferred.
Box 40 – Tax-paid amount. Used to determine the amount to report on the deceased annuitant's final return.
Box 61 – Account number of the RRSP payer. It is not shown on the copies given to you, so a blank there is not a defect in your slip.

If a slip is late or looks wrong

The issuer named in box 60 is the one to ask about an amount, and the one who can reissue the slip. The CRA page this article is written from does not state a date by which the slip has to reach you.

What to keep

Keep the slip, and keep the forms that travel with it: an approved Form T3012A for a refund of unused contributions, Form RC96 for an LLP withdrawal, Form T1036 for an HBP withdrawal, Form T2205 for a spousal or common-law partner plan, Form T746 for an offsetting deduction.

Keep the slip even when the amount is not income. Boxes 25 and 27 are still reported, on Schedule 7, and the slip is the evidence behind those entries.

Dossier stores the slip and identifies it as a T4RSP, so it is with the rest of your year's paper. It does not read the amounts off it, and it does not decide whether an amount is income or a plan withdrawal reported on Schedule 7; the boxes on the slip say which is which.

Official CRA sources

Source: Canada Revenue Agency (canada.ca). Not tax advice.