The Lifelong Learning Plan (LLP)

The Lifelong Learning Plan (LLP) allows you to withdraw amounts from your RRSPs to finance training or education for you or your spouse or common-law partner. You cannot use the RRSP funds to finance a child's education, such as your child or the child of your spouse or common-law partner.

You can withdraw up to $10,000 in a calendar year from your RRSPs. This is your annual Lifelong Learning Plan limit. Your spouse or common-law partner can also withdraw up to $10,000 in the same year you do. You can both participate in the LLP for one of you or you can participate in the LLP for each other. You cannot withdraw more than $20,000 each time you participate in the Lifelong Learning Plan . This is your total Lifelong Learning Plan  limit. You can participate in the Lifelong Learning Plan  again, starting the year after you bring your Lifelong Learning Plan  balance to zero. There is no limit on the number of times you can participate in the plan over your lifetime. You can participate in the Lifelong Learning Plan  even if you have withdrawn amounts from your RRSP under the Home Buyers' Plan that have not been fully repaid.

You have to meet all following conditions for participating in the Lifelong Learning Plan  when you make a withdrawal from your RRSP:

• You must be a full-time student (or a part-time student if he or she meets the disability conditions).

• You have to be a resident of Canada.

• You have to enroll in a qualifying educational program at a designated educational institution. (The program must last three consecutive months or more; and require a student to spend 10 hours or more per week on courses or work in the program.)

• The participation in the Lifelong Learning Plan  has to be done before the end of the year you reach the age of 71.

If all conditions are met while you are participating in the plan, the withdrawals will not have to be included in your taxable income, and the RRSP issuer will not withhold tax on these amounts. If you have an RRSP and you withdraw funds within 89 days of your contribution, you may not be able to deduct the full contribution from your income.

You and your RRSP issuer have to fill out Form RC96, Lifelong Learning Plan (LLP) – Request to Withdraw Funds From an RRSP, for each RRSP withdrawal. Your RRSP issuer will not withhold tax from the funds you withdraw if you meet the Lifelong Learning Plan  conditions Your RRSP issuer will send you a T4RSP, Statement of RRSP Income, showing the amount you withdrew under the Lifelong Learning Plan . You have to attach the T4RSP slips to your Return.

You have up to 10 years to repay the RRSPs. Generally, in each year of your repayment period, you have to repay 1/10th of your original Lifelong Learning Plan  balance until the full amount is repaid. The start date for the repayments depends on the status of the student. Canada Customs and Revenue Agency determines when your repayment period starts by checking the student's Return to see if the student was entitled to the education amount as a full-time student for at least three months. If the student does not meet this education amount condition two years in a row, the repayment period usually starts in the second of those two years. If the student continues to meet this condition every year, your repayment period starts in the fifth year after your first RRSP withdrawal.

You will receive an Lifelong Learning Plan  Statement of Account each year on your Notice of Assessment or Notice of Reassessment. This statement will show the total LLP withdrawals, the amount you have repaid to date, your Lifelong Learning Plan balance, and the amount you have to repay the following year. You can make the repayment to an existing RRSP or to a new RRSP. The RRSP issuer will give you an official receipt for the contribution. If you contribute an amount that is less than the amount you have to repay this year, you have to include the difference in your taxable income in your Return.

You can cancel your participation in the Lifelong Learning Plan  by paying the withdrawal back to your RRSPs, only if one of the following situations applies:

• The student was not enrolled in the qualifying educational program when you made the withdrawal, and does not enroll in time

• The student left the program before April of the year after the withdrawal and 75% or more of the tuition was refundable

• You became a non-resident of Canada before the end of the year in which you made the withdraw

When you make the cancellation of payment to your RRSP, your RRSP issuer will give you a receipt. Any amount that you do not repay will be included in your income for the year you withdrew it.