ARCHIVED - Line 208 - Registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) contributions

Archived

This page has been archived on the Web.

This section gives general information on RRSPs. It is divided into the following parts:

• Maximum you can deduct
• 1995 RRSP deduction limit
• Income eligible for transfer
• Repayments under the Home Buyers' Plan (HBP)
• Schedule 7, RRSP Unclaimed Contributions, Transfers, and Designations of Repayments under the Home Buyers' Plan

If you need more information after reading this section, get the income tax guide called RRSP and Other Registered Plans for Retirement.

Maximu m you can deduct

The maximum you can deduct on line 208 is the lesser of:

• your "1995 RRSP deduction limit" plus "income eligible for transfer" that you received in 1995 and transferred to an RRSP before March 1, 1996; and
• the total of the RRSP contributions you made from March 2, 1995, to February 29, 1996, plus the RRSP contributions you made from January 1, 1991, to March 1, 1995, that were not allowed as a deduction on your returns for the years 1990 to 1994.

Contributions you made include amounts you contributed to your own RRSP or your spouse's RRSP based on your "1995 RRSP deduction limit." They also include eligible amounts from lines 115, 129, and 130 of your 1995 return that you transferred to your own RRSP. However, contributions you made do not include any of the amounts mentioned in the "Note" below the heading "Transfers" on page 19. For more information on eligible amounts you can transfer, see the heading "Income eligible for transfer," on page 18.

You cannot contribute any amounts to your own RRSP after the end of the year in which you turn 71. As well, you cannot contribute any amounts to your spouse's RRSP after the end of the year in which your spouse turns 71.

Receipts - Attach to your return official receipts that confirm the amount you are deducting, unless you included the receipts on a previous return.

We will only accept a photocopy of a receipt if the issuer certifies that it is a true copy. If you contributed to your spouse's plan, the receipt has to show your name as the contributor and your spouse's name as the annuitant.

1995 RRSP deduction limit

We will show your 1995 RRSP deduction limit on your latest Notice of Assessment, Notice of Reassessment, or on Form T1028, Your RRSP Deduction Limit Statement for 1995.

If you do not have your notice or Form T1028, you can determine your limit for 1995 by calling T.I.P.S. (RRSP), one of our automated T.I.P.S. services, or by contacting your tax services office.

If you would like to calculate your 1995 RRSP deduction limit, get the income tax guide called RRSP and Other Registered Plans for Retirement.

Note

You can carry forward the part of your RRSP deduction limit that you do not use. The amount you can carry forward is called your unused RRSP deduction room. The RRSP deduction limit shown on your Notice of Assessment includes any unused RRSP deduction room that you can carry forward.

Income eligible for transfer

A transfer is an RRSP contribution you make based on eligible income you received. You can claim an RRSP deduction for eligible amounts you received and included in income on your 1995 return, and that you transferred to your own RRSP before March 1, 1996. This contribution, called a transfer, is in addition to any RRSP contribution you can make based on your "1995 RRSP deduction limit."

Only certain types of income you received and reported on lines 115, 129, or 130 of your 1995 return can be transferred to your own RRSP. For example, if you received a retiring allowance in 1995, you can make an RRSP contribution, called a transfer, based on the eligible part of that income. The income tax guide called RRSP and Other Registered Plans for Retirement gives more details on the income that is eligible for transfer.

Note

If you are deducting an RRSP contribution you made based on eligible income you received, you have to complete Schedule 7.

If you transfer amounts to an RRSP, you may have to pay minimum tax. See "Minimum tax" on page 35 for details.

Repayments under the Home Buyers' Plan (HBP)

If you withdrew funds from your RRSP under the HBP before March 2, 1994, you have to make your first annual repayment by February 29, 1996. If you withdrew your funds after March 1, 1994, and before January 1, 1995, you have to make your first annual repayment by March 1, 1997. If you withdrew funds in 1995, you have to make your first annual repayment by March 1, 1998. You cannot deduct on your return any RRSP contribution you designate as an HBP repayment on Schedule 7.

Repayments for 1995 - You have to attach Schedule 7 to your 1995 return. Enter on Schedule 7 the total of the contributions you made from March 2, 1995, to February 29, 1996, that you want us to consider as repayments under the HBP for 1995.

Note

If you made contributions to your own RRSP from January 1, 1995, to March 1, 1995, that you want to designate as a 1995 repayment under the HBP, contact us.

If you have not made an HBP repayment for 1995, or you repay less than the required repayment, you may have to include an amount in income. See line 129 for details.

If you are participating in the HBP and withdrew funds before March 2, 1994, you should have received a repayment statement from us in the fall of 1995. The statement will give the amount you have to repay for 1995, and will confirm the total amount you have repaid to date.

If you would like more information, get the pamphlet called Home Buyers' Plan.

Sch edule 7, RRSP Unclaimed Contributions, Transfers, and Designations of Repayments under the Home Buyers' Plan

See Schedule 7 to determine if you have to complete this schedule and attach it to your return.

It is important for you to complete Schedule 7, if required, since we will use this information to verify any deduction for unclaimed RRSP contributions on your future returns. The information you provide on this schedule will also allow us to tell you, on your Notice of Assessment for 1995, your unclaimed RRSP contributions available for deduction on your 1996 return.

Unclaimed RRSP contributions - You may have made a contribution to your own RRSP or your spouse's RRSP that you did not deduct on any income tax return. This could happen if you made a contribution to your RRSP that is more than your RRSP deduction limit for the year. It could also happen if you chose not to claim an RRSP contribution you made in a year.

Note

If you had unclaimed RRSP contributions for 1994, you should have filed a completed Schedule 7 with your 1994 return. If you did not, you should submit a completed copy of a 1994 Schedule 7 to your tax centre. See "You would like to change your return - what should you do?" on page 7 for details.

If you made contributions to your own RRSP or your spouse's RRSP from January 1, 1991, to March 1, 1995, that you have not deducted, and you did not file a 1994 return, contact us.

If you do not have your 1994 Notice of Assessment or Notice of Reassessment, you can determine if you have unclaimed RRSP contributions for 1994 by calling T.I.P.S. (RRSP), one of our automated T.I.P.S. services, or by contacting us.

Home Buyers' Plan - See the heading "Repayments under the Home Buyers' Plan (HBP)" on page 19 for more details.

Transfers - See the heading "Income eligible for transfer" on page 18 if you need more information on transfers.

No te

You cannot claim an RRSP deduction for certain RRSP contributions you made. When completing Schedule 7, do not include any of the following five amounts:

• Any payments that were directly transferred to your own RRSP for which you did not receive an information slip.
• Any RRSP contribution you made after March 1, 1995, that was refunded to you or your spouse because it was an undeducted contribution. Report the refund on line 129 of your 1995 return. If you have a Form T3012A, Tax Deduction Waiver on the Refund of Your Undeducted RRSP Contributions, approved by the Department for that amount, attach a copy to your return and claim a deduction at line 232. Otherwise, complete and attach Form T746, Calculating Your Deduction for Refund of Undeducted or Excess RRSP Contributions, to determine if you can claim this deduction.
• If, after March 1, 1995, you made contributions to your RRSP or your spouse's RRSP, less than 90 days before you or your spouse withdrew funds from that RRSP under the Home Buyers' Plan, part or all of those contributions may not be deductible. For more details, get the income tax guide called RRSP and Other Registered Plans for Retirement or the pamphlet called Home Buyers' Plan.
• The excess part of a direct transfer of an RPP lump-sum payment to an RRSP or registered retirement income fund (RRIF) that you are including on line 130 of your 1995 return, and are deducting on line 232 (you may have completed Form T1043, Calculating Your Deduction to Offset RRSP or RRIF Income if an Excess Amount from an RPP Has Been Transferred to an RRSP or a RRIF).
• The part of an RRSP withdrawal that you recontributed to your RRSP and deducted on line 232. This would have happened if you inadvertently withdrew more RRSP funds than you needed to obtain past-service benefits under an RPP.

Date modified:

2002-02-04