Lifelong Learning Plan Withdrawals
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How much you can withdraw
Under the LLP, you can withdraw up to $10,000 from your RRSPs in a calendar year. This is your annual LLP limit. The amount you withdraw is not limited to the amount of tuition or other education expenses. Your spouse or common-law partner can also withdraw up to $10,000 from their RRSPs under the LLP in the same year you do. For more information, go to Can my spouse or common-law partner and I participate in the LLP at the same time?.
You cannot withdraw more than $20,000 each time you participate in the LLP. This is your total LLP limit. You can participate in the LLP again, starting the year after you bring your LLP balance to zero.
If you withdraw more than the annual LLP limit of $10,000, the excess will be included in your income for the year of the withdrawal. The excess does not reduce your total LLP limit of $20,000.
If you withdraw more than the total LLP limit of $20,000, the excess will be included in your income for the year you exceed the total LLP limit.
Restrictions on withdrawals
You cannot withdraw funds from a pooled registered pension plan (PRPP) or a specified pension plan (SPP) under the LLP. However, PRPP and SPP contributions can be designated as an LLP repayment. You do not have to include the withdrawn LLP amounts in your income, and the RRSP issuer will not withhold tax on these amounts. You must repay these withdrawals to your RRSP, PRPP or SPP, generally within 10 years. Any amount that you do not repay when it is due will be included in your income for the year it was due.
Note
You cannot use locked-in RRSPs to withdraw funds under the LLP. Locked-in RRSPs, which are typically created from pension funds and are subject to specific provincial or federal pension legislation, do not permit withdrawals for LLP purposes. These types of RRSPs are designed to provide retirement income and have strict rules that generally prohibit early access, except under very limited circumstances such as financial hardship, small balance unlocking, or reaching retirement age.
When you can make LLP withdrawals
As long as the LLP student continues to meet the LLP conditions (refer to Conditions the LLP student has to meet), you can keep withdrawing amounts from your RRSPs until the earliest of the following:
- the commencement of your repayment period
- January of the fourth calendar year after the year you made your first LLP withdrawal
You may not make additional LLP withdrawals until the year after your previous LLP balance is zero.
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Example 1
Carlos made LLP withdrawals of $10,000 in 2020 and $5,000 in 2021 because his spouse was attending university. His spouse files an income tax and benefit return every year indicating she is enrolled in a full-time program. Carlos would like to withdraw another $5,000 in 2025. However, even though his spouse is still in school, he will have to start repaying his previous $15,000 withdrawals in 2025 and any 2025 withdrawal would be considered as ineligible and taxable.
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Example 2
Nadia made her first LLP withdrawal in 2023 for herself as the LLP student and completed the program the same year. She was not a student in 2024 or in 2025. However, in 2025 she enrolled full time in a program beginning in January 2026 and would like to make another LLP withdrawal. Since Nadia will have to start repaying her 2023 withdrawal in 2025 (refer to chart When to start repaying your LLP withdrawals) she cannot make another LLP withdrawal in 2025 nor in subsequent years until the year after her first withdrawal has been fully repaid.
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Example 3
Angela made an LLP withdrawal of $5,000 in 2015 because her spouse was enrolled full-time in a program that year. Her repayment period started in 2017 and she has been making a $500 repayment each year. In 2026, she decided to return to school and would like to make a withdrawal of $10,000. Such a withdrawal would not be eligible unless she made contributions to her RRSP, PRPP or SPP and chooses to fully repay the remaining $1,000 by making the designation in Part B on Schedule 7 of her 2025 income tax and benefit return. If she does so, she could then start a new participation period beginning in 2026 and designate herself as the student.
How to make LLP withdrawals
To make an LLP withdrawal, use Form RC96, Lifelong Learning Plan (LLP) Request to Withdraw Funds from an RRSP. You must fill out Form RC96 for each withdrawal you make.
Fill out Part 1 of Form RC96. You can name yourself or your spouse or common-law partner as the LLP student in Part 1. After you fill out this part, give the form to your RRSP issuer, who will fill out Part 2.
Your RRSP issuer will not withhold tax from the funds you withdraw if you meet the LLP conditions. Your RRSP issuer will send you a T4RSP slip, Statement of RRSP Income showing the amount you withdrew under the LLP in box 25. Attach this slip to your income tax and benefit return.
Filing an income tax and benefit return
Starting in the year you make your first LLP withdrawal, you must file an income tax and benefit return every year until you have repaid all your LLP withdrawals or included them in your income. You must send an income tax and benefit return to the CRA even if you do not owe any tax, or you did not make a repayment to your RRSP.
Fill out Schedule 7, RRSP, PRPP and SPP Contributions and Transfers, and HBP or LLP Activities (included in your income tax package) and attach it to your income tax and benefit return to show the LLP withdrawals or the repayments made in the tax year. This will help both you and the CRA to keep track of them.
When you report a withdrawal on the Schedule 7, tick Box 26400 if your spouse or common-law partner is the student. If you do not make this indication, we will assume that you are the designated student. If withdrawals are made in different years, the student indicated must remain the same or your withdrawal may be considered ineligible.
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The Lifelong Learning Plan Withdrawal Process
You must meet all of the following LLP conditions:
- you are a resident of Canada (if you become a non-resident before the end of the year of the withdrawal, consult Cancelling a Lifelong Learning Plan withdrawal)
- the LLP student is enrolled (or has received an offer to enrol before March of the following year):
- as a full-time student
- in a qualifying educational program
- at a designated educational institution
- if you have made an LLP withdrawal in a previous year, your repayment period has not begun
Note
If the LLP student meets one of the disability conditions they can be enrolled on a part-time basis.
- you have an RRSP
Fill out Form RC96, Lifelong Learning Plan (LLP) Request to Withdraw Funds from an RRSP and give it to your RRSP issuer.
Your withdrawals are limited to the following:
- up to $10,000 in a calendar year
- up to $20,000 in a participation period
The LLP student has to:
- enrol before March of the year after the year of the LLP withdrawal
- still be enrolled in that program in April of the year after the LLP withdrawal, unless the student has already completed the program by then
- meet the other conditions in Conditions that the student has to meet
Note
If the student leaves the educational program before April of the year after the LLP withdrawal, refer to If the LLP student leaves the educational program for more information.
The RRSP issuer will withhold tax at source on the part of the withdrawal that exceeds the $10,000 limit for the year.
The RRSP issuer will send you a T4RSP slip showing the amount you withdrew under the LLP.
You must file an income tax and benefit return and fill out a Schedule 7 to report all LLP withdrawals made in the tax year.
How the LLP withdrawal from your RRSP affects your RRSP deduction
You can continue to contribute to your RRSP, PRPP or SPP and deduct your contributions from your income on your income tax and benefit return after you have made an LLP withdrawal from your RRSP. However, you may not be able to deduct contributions you made before the withdrawal from your RRSP. The following explains the restrictions that apply.
If you do not have an RRSP, you cannot set one up and then make an LLP withdrawal immediately. The contribution has to be in the RRSP for 90 days before you can deduct it from your income on your income tax and benefit return.
If you already have an RRSP and you contribute to it in the 89-day period before you make an LLP withdrawal, you may not be able to deduct the contribution from your income on your income tax and benefit return even if you repay this amount to your RRSP under the LLP. If the value of the RRSP right after the LLP withdrawal is more than or the same as the amount of the RRSP contribution, you can deduct the entire contribution. If the value of the RRSP right after the LLP withdrawal is less than the amount of the RRSP contribution, you cannot deduct either a portion or all of the contribution.
To find out how much you cannot deduct, use the following formula for each RRSP from which you make an LLP withdrawal:
Total contributions you made to the RRSP in the 89-day period before the LLP withdrawal
Minus:
Value of the RRSP immediately after you made the LLP withdrawal
Equals:
The part of the contributions you cannot deduct at any time
Example 4
Stephen has an RRSP with a value of $6,500. He contributes $8,000 to the RRSP on February 12, 2025. He then makes an LLP withdrawal of $10,000 on March 4, 2025. The value of the RRSP after the withdrawal is $4,500.
February 12, 2025
Value of RRSP before contribution $6,500
February 12, 2025 contribution + $8,000
Value after the contribution = $14,500
March 3, 2025
LLP withdrawal - $10,000
Value after withdrawal = $4,500
Stephen determines the part of his contribution that is not deductible as follows:
Total contributions you made to the RRSP in
the 89‑day period before the LLP withdrawal $8,000
Minus:
Value of the RRSP immediately
after you made the LLP withdrawal - $4,500
Result:
The part of the contributions
you cannot deduct at any time = $3,500
Stephen cannot deduct $3,500 of the contribution he made on February 12, 2025, for any year.
Use the Appendix below to determine the part of contributions that you or your spouse or common-law partner made to your RRSP that are not deductible for any year.
Appendix – Effect of LLP on RRSP deductions
Calculating the part of your RRSP contributions that are not deductible for any year
Use a separate chart for each withdrawal made under the LLP.
Area 1 – Fill out this area if you are the only one who contributed to your RRSP during the 89-day period just before you withdrew an amount from that RRSP.
1. RRSP account number
2. Amounts you contributed to the above RRSP during the 89-day period just before you withdrew an amount from that RRSP under the LLPFootnote1
3. FMV of the property held in the above RRSP just after you made your withdrawal
4. Line 2 minus line 3 (if negative, enter “0”). This is the amount of your contributions to the RRSP indicated on line 1 that you cannot deduct for any year.
Area 2 – Fill out this area if you contributed to your spouse's or common-law partner's RRSP during the 89-day period just before your spouse or common-law partner withdrew an amount from that RRSP.
5. RRSP account number
6. Amounts you and your spouse or common-law partner contributed to the above RRSP during the 89-day period just before your spouse or common-law partner withdrew an amount from that RRSP under the LLPFootnote2
7. FMV value of the property held in the above RRSP just after your spouse or common-law partner made their withdrawal
8. Line 6 minus line 7 (if negative, enter “0”). This is the amount of the contributions to the RRSP indicated on line 5 that is not deductible for any yearFootnote3
If the LLP student leaves the educational program
For you to be able to repay the LLP withdrawals over a 10-year period, the LLP student usually has to meet one of the following conditions:
- complete the program
- continue to be enrolled in the educational program at the end of March of the year after the LLP withdrawal
If the LLP student leaves the program before April of the year after the withdrawal, you can still make your repayments over a 10-year period if less than 75% of the student's tuition is refundable by the educational institution.
If the LLP student leaves the program before April of the year after the withdrawal, and 75% or more of the LLP student's tuition is refundable, you must cancel the LLP withdrawal. For more information, refer to How to cancel your LLP withdrawal. If you do not cancel it, the amount you withdrew will be included in your income for the year you withdrew it.
The CRA checks the LLP student's enrolment by looking at the T2202, Tuition and Enrolment Certificate and lines 32010 and 32020 of Schedule 11 of their income tax and benefit return for the year you make the withdrawal and for the following year.
If the CRA cannot determine that the LLP student has continued in the program, the CRA will contact you to find out if you still meet the conditions to make the repayments over a 10-year period.
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Example 5
In September 2025, George withdraws $1,000 from his RRSPs under the LLP. Earlier in the same month, he enrolled in a four-month college program and paid $750 in tuition fees. George completes the program in January 2026. Therefore, he can repay his LLP amounts over a 10-year period.
Note
Special rules apply if the LLP participant dies. For more information, refer to If the person who made the LLP withdrawal dies.
Questions you may have
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Can I make LLP withdrawals from more than one RRSP?
You can make LLP withdrawals for you or your spouse or common-law partner from more than one RRSP as long as you are the annuitant of each RRSP. Your RRSP issuer will not withhold tax on these amounts. Although the maximum amount you can withdraw each time you participate is $20,000, there is an annual withdrawal limit of $10,000.
Note
Similar to locked-in RRSPs, PRPPs and SPPs do not allow for LLP withdrawals. However, you can designate your PRPP and SPP contributions as an LLP repayment.
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Can I make LLP withdrawals for other purposes?
As long as you meet all the LLP conditions when you make the withdrawal, you can use the funds you withdrew for any purpose.