25 March 1997 External T.I. 9707935 - SPOUSAL PLAN, AMEND T4

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.

970793
XXXXXXXXXX M.P. Sarazin

March 25, 1997

Dear XXXXXXXXXX:

Re: RRSP Spousal Plan

This is in reply to your letter dated March 24, 1997, wherein you requested our views regarding the existence of a spousal registered retirement savings plan ("RRSP") and the application of the attribution rules relating to spousal RRSPs.

In your letter you have outlined what appears to be an actual fact situation related to a past transaction. The review of such transactions falls within the responsibility of Tax Services offices. However, we can provide you with the following general comments which we hope will be of assistance.

The Department's general views with respect to spousal RRSPs are presented in the enclosed Interpretation Bulletin IT-307R3. Paragraph 2 of IT-307R3 discusses the definition of a spousal RRSP and it states:

"After 1988, a "spousal plan" in relation to a taxpayer is defined by subsection 146(1) to mean:

?an RRSP under which the taxpayer's spouse is the annuitant at the time when the taxpayer has made a contribution; or

?an RRSP or RRIF that has received a payment or transfer of property from a spousal plan of the spouse."

Until one of the two conditions is satisfied, an RRSP will not constitute a spousal RRSP for purposes of the Income Tax Act (the "Act"). Consequently, if your husband has never contributed to your RRSP and the particular RRSP has never received a payment from a spousal RRSP or spousal registered retirement income fund ("RRIF"), the particular RRSP will not qualify as a spousal RRSP for purposes of the Act.

For reporting purposes, we would refer you to page 8 of the 1996 T4RSP and T4RIF Guide wherein it is stated that a "YES" is only inserted in box 24 of a T4RSP slip only if the RRSP is a spousal RRSP. The Guide reiterates the above conditions that have to be satisfied before an RRSP will constitute a spousal RRSP for purposes of the Act.

Special attribution rules may apply where amounts are withdrawn from a spousal RRSP. These special rules are discussed in paragraphs 15 to 17 of IT-307R3. However, the special attribution rules do not apply unless the RRSP is a spousal RRSP.

Where an amount has been incorrectly reported on a T4RSP slip then we would suggest that you contact the issuer in order to have the error corrected. If the error is not corrected then you should discuss the matter with your Tax Services Office.

We trust the above comments will be of assistance to you.

Yours truly,

for Director
Financial Industries Division
Income Tax Rulings and
Interpretations Directorate
Policy and Legislation Branch

ENCLOSURE