RRSP

At the time of death, a person may have a registered retirement savings plan (RRSP). The RRSP may or may not have matured. Depending on the situation, the amount you include in the deceased's income can vary.

If the deceased person jointly elected with their spouse or common-law partner to split RRSP annuity payments that the pensioner received up until the date of death and reported on line 12900, the elected split-pension amount can be deducted on Line 21000, Deduction for elected split-pension amount.

On this page

• Payments from a matured RRSP
• Payments from an unmatured RRSP
• Rollover of RRSP proceeds to a registered disability savings plan (RDSP)
• Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP)
• Lifelong Learning Plan (LLP)
• Line 20800 – RRSP deduction

Payments from a matured RRSP

A matured RRSP is one that is paying retirement income, usually in monthly payments. Enter on line 12900 the RRSP payments the deceased received from January 1 to the date of death.

If the annuitant's spouse or common-law partner is designated as a beneficiary of the RRSP, in the RRSP contract or the will, they will begin receiving the remaining annuity payments from the plan. The surviving spouse or common-law partner has to enter the remaining payments as income on their return.

If the surviving spouse or common-law partner is the beneficiary of the estate, that person and the legal representative can jointly elect, in writing, to treat the amounts the RRSP paid to the estate as being paid to the spouse or common-law partner. Attach a copy of the written election to the return of the surviving spouse or common-law partner. The election has to specify that this person is electing to become the annuitant of the RRSP.

If the amounts from the RRSP are paid to a beneficiary other than the deceased's spouse or common-law partner, enter the amount from box 34 of the T4RSP slip on line 12900 of the deceased’s return. For more information, see Information Sheet RC4177, Death of an RRSP Annuitant, and Guide T4040, RRSPs and Other Registered Plans for Retirement.

For more information on a matured RRSP, see Matured RRSP.

Payments from an unmatured RRSP

Generally, an unmatured RRSP is one that does not yet pay retirement income.

Generally, the CRA considers a deceased annuitant to have received, immediately before death, an amount equal to the fair market value (FMV) of all the property of the unmatured plan at the time of death. The FMV of the property is shown in box 34 of the T4RSP slip issued to the deceased annuitant. You have to include this amount in the deceased's income for the year of death.

If a T4RSP slip showing the FMV of the plan at the time of death is issued in the deceased's name, you may be able to reduce the amount you include in the deceased's income. For details, see Information Sheet RC4177, Death of an RRSP Annuitant, and Guide T4040, RRSPs and Other Registered Plans for Retirement.

If all of the property held in the RRSP is to be paid to the surviving spouse or common-law partner, and that payment is directly transferred to their RRSP, RRIF, pooled registered pension plan (PRPP), specified pension plan (SPP), or to an issuer to buy the surviving spouse or common-law partner an eligible annuity (as specified in the RRSP contract or the will) before the end of the year following the year of death, a T4RSP slip will not be issued in the deceased’s name. In this case, the surviving spouse or common-law partner has to report the payment on their return and claim a deduction equal to the amount transferred.

Sometimes there is an increase in the value of an RRSP between the date of death and the date of final distribution to the beneficiary or estate. This amount has to be included in the income of the beneficiary or the estate for the year it is received. A T4RSP slip will be issued for this amount. For more information, see Chart 6 - Amounts from a deceased annuitant's RRSP, in Chapter 5 of Guide T4040, RRSPs and Other Registered Plans for Retirement.

Sometimes, the FMV of the property of an unmatured RRSP decreases between the date of death and the date of final distribution to the beneficiary or the estate. If the total of all distributions from the RRSP is less than the FMV of the property that was included in the deceased annuitant's income for the year of death, the deceased's legal representative can request that the difference between the FMV and the total of all distributions be deducted on the deceased's Final Return. Generally, for the deduction to be allowed, the final distribution must occur by the end of the year that follows the year of death. For more information, see Information Sheet RC4177, Death of an RRSP Annuitant.

If the amounts from the RRSP are paid to a beneficiary other than the deceased's spouse or common-law partner, see Guide T4040, RRSPs and Other Registered Plans for Retirement.

For more information on an unmatured RRSP, see Unmatured RRSP.

Rollover of RRSP proceeds to a registered disability savings plan (RDSP)

The existing RRSP rollover rules are extended to allow a specified RDSP payment from the deceased person's RRSP to the RDSP of an eligible individual.

An eligible individual is a child or grandchild of a deceased annuitant under an RRSP or a RRIF, or of a deceased member of a registered pension plan (RPP), PRPP, or SPP who was financially dependent on the deceased for support at the time of the deceased’s death, because of an impairment in physical or mental function.

A specified RDSP payment is a payment that meets all of the following conditions:

• The payment is made to an RDSP under which the eligible individual is the beneficiary
• The payment satisfies contribution conditions described in Guide RC4460, Registered Disability Savings Plan
• Effective March 19, 2019, if the eligible individual no longer qualifies for the disability tax credit, the payment is made before the end of the fifth taxation year throughout which the beneficiary is ineligible for the disability tax credit

For more information, see Registered disability savings plan or see Information Sheet RC4177, Death of an RRSP Annuitant.

Home Buyers' Plan (HBP)

The deceased may have participated in the HBP. If so, the deceased would have made a withdrawal from their RRSP and may have been making repayments to the RRSP, PRPP, or SPP. In this case, include on line 12900 the total of all amounts that remain to be repaid at the time of death. The amount of any RRSP, PRPP, SPP, or contributions that the deceased made to their individual plans in the year of their death can be designated as a repayment.

However, you do not have to report these amounts when the legal representative and the surviving spouse or common-law partner jointly elect to have the surviving spouse or common-law partner continue to make the repayments.

For more information, see Home Buyers' Plan.

Lifelong Learning Plan (LLP)

The deceased may have participated in the LLP. If so, the deceased would have made a withdrawal from their RRSP and may have been making repayments to their RRSP, PRPP, or SPP. Treatment of these amounts is the same as with the Home Buyer’s Plan, and a similar election is available. For more information, see Guide RC4112, Lifelong Learning Plan (LLP).

For more information, see Lifelong Learning Plan.

Line 20800 – RRSP deduction

Use this line to deduct contributions the deceased made before their death to their own RRSP, SPP, or PRPP, and to the deceased's spouse or common-law partner's RRSPs, or SPPs, but do not include repayments under a Home Buyers' Plan (HBP) or Lifelong Learning Plan (LLP).

Specified pension plan (SPP) contributions generally have the same rules as RRSP contributions. A PRPP is a retirement savings option for individuals, including those who are self employed, who do not have access to a workplace pension plan. For more information, go to The Pooled Registered Pension Plan (PRPP) or see Guide T4040, RRSPs and Other Registered Plans for Retirement.

After a person dies, no one can contribute to the deceased person's RRSPs, PRPPs, or SPPs. However, the deceased individual's legal representative can make contributions to the surviving spouse's or common-law partner's RRSPs or SPPs in the year of death or during the first 60 days after the end of that year.

The amount you can deduct on the deceased's return for 2023 is usually based on the deceased's 2023 RRSP deduction limit. You can also deduct amounts for contributions the deceased made for certain amounts the deceased received and transferred to an RRSP, RPP, or PRPP.

For more information, see Guide T4040, RRSPs and Other Registered Plans for Retirement.