Please note that the following document, although believed to be correct at the time of issue, may not represent the current position of the CRA.
Prenez note que ce document, bien qu'exact au moment émis, peut ne pas représenter la position actuelle de l'ARC.
Please note that the following document, although believed to be correct at the time of issue, may not represent the current position of the Department.
Prenez note que ce document, bien qu'exact au moment émis, peut ne pas représenter la position actuelle du ministère.
Principal Issues:
Does earned income (for RRSP purposes) include fellowship income?
Position TAKEN:
No
Reasons FOR POSITION TAKEN:
Fellowship income not included in the definition of earned income for RRSP purposes.
MINISTER'S OFFICE (2) Y.S. 95-05286M
DM'S OFFICE (1)
ASSOCIATE DEPUTY MINISTER (1)
ADM'S OFFICE (2)
RETURN TO 15TH FLOOR, ALBION TOWER
Signed on September 1, 1995
XXXXXXXXXX
Dear XXXXXXXXXX:
The Honourable David Anderson, Minister of National Revenue, has asked me to reply to your letter of July 15, 1995, regarding the inclusion of your XXXXXXXXXX fellowship in earned income for Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) purposes.
You state that you are aware that amounts received in respect of a fellowship are not generally considered earned income for RRSP purposes. However, it is your understanding, from information you received from your local Tax Services office, that your particular fellowship award could be included in earned income for RRSP purposes because it represented your sole source of income in 1994.
I regret any misunderstanding that arose from your discussion with officials of your local Tax Services office. The definition of earned income in subsection 146(1) of the Income Tax Act is very specific and does not include any fellowship award. Such awards are included in income under the provisions of paragraph 56(1)(n) of the Act. However, if a fellowship award is considered a research grant that is included in income under paragraph 56(1)(o) of the Act, the fellowship award would be included in earned income for RRSP purposes.
Guidelines regarding the determination of whether an award would be classified as a fellowship award or a research grant can be found in paragraphs 10, 11, and 12 of Interpretation Bulletin IT-75R3, a copy of which is enclosed for your information.
I trust my comments will be of assistance to you.
Yours sincerely,
Pierre Gravelle, Q.C.
Attachment
M. Sarazin
957-3499
July 28, 1995
951940
All rights reserved. Permission is granted to electronically copy and to print in hard copy for internal use only. No part of this information may be reproduced, modified, transmitted or redistributed in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, or stored in a retrieval system for any purpose other than noted above (including sales), without prior written permission of Canada Revenue Agency, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0L5
© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, 1995
Tous droits réservés. Il est permis de copier sous forme électronique ou d'imprimer pour un usage interne seulement. Toutefois, il est interdit de reproduire, de modifier, de transmettre ou de redistributer de l'information, sous quelque forme ou par quelque moyen que ce soit, de facon électronique, méchanique, photocopies ou autre, ou par stockage dans des systèmes d'extraction ou pour tout usage autre que ceux susmentionnés (incluant pour fin commerciale), sans l'autorisation écrite préalable de l'Agence du revenu du Canada, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0L5.
© Sa Majesté la Reine du Chef du Canada, 1995
Email this Content