Apply for the Canada Education Savings Grant (CESG) – How much a child could get

3. How much a child could get

Each year, the CESG provides 20% of the Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) contributions of up to $2,500. That means the CESG can add a maximum of $500 to an RESP each year.

Children from middle- and low-income families might be eligible to get the Additional amount of CESG. If eligible, that means an extra 10% or 20% is added to the first $500 contributed to an RESP each year.

The Additional amount of CESG may be:

• up to $100 if the 2020 adjusted income is $48,535 or less ($500 x 20% = $100)
• up to $50 if the 2020 adjusted income is greater than $48,535 and up to $97,069 ($500 x 10% = $50)

The maximum amount of CESG, including the Additional amount, a child can get is $7,200.

Income levels example

A child named as the beneficiary in an RESP, who is born in 2014 and from a family with an adjusted income of $32,000, could be eligible to get the CESG, plus an additional amount of CESG of 20%.

Table 1: Income levels example

Table summary – The total amount put in an RESP is $9,300 ($7,500 in contributions plus $1,800 in grants).

Using the previous example, the following calculations can be used to determine the CESG that will be deposited in the RESP:

• ($2,500 + $2,000 + $3,000 = $7,500 in contributions that qualify for the CESG) x 20% = $1,500
• (3 x $500 in contributions that qualify for the Additional amount of CESG) x 20% = A payment of $300
• $1,500 (CESG) + $300 (the Additional amount of CESG) = A total deposited in the RESP of $1,800