Who's eligible
To open an RDSP, the beneficiary must be approved for the Disability Tax Credit (DTC), certified by a medical professional. They also need to be a Canadian resident with a Social Insurance Number, and the plan must be opened before December 31 of the year they turn 59. Contributions can be made until the end of the year the beneficiary turns 59, with a lifetime contribution limit of $200,000 and no annual contribution cap.
The Canada Disability Savings Grant, in detail
This is where the RDSP becomes genuinely remarkable — no other registered account in Canada matches contributions this generously.
| Adjusted family net income | Matching rate | On contributions of |
|---|---|---|
| $114,750 or less (2025 threshold, indexed annually) | 300% | First $500/year |
| $114,750 or less | 200% | Next $1,000/year |
| Above $114,750 | 100% | First $1,000/year |
For a lower-income family, that means contributing just $1,500 in a year can bring in $3,500 in matching grants — the maximum annual grant. Over a lifetime, total grants can reach $70,000 per beneficiary. Unused grant and bond entitlements can also be carried forward, within a 10-year window, up to $10,500 in grants and $11,000 in bonds paid in a single year.
Want help setting up or maximizing an RDSP? Let's walk through the numbers together.
Book a CallThe Canada Disability Savings Bond
The Bond goes a step further than the Grant: it requires no contribution at all to receive it.
- Adjusted family net income of $37,487 or less (2025 threshold): $1,000/year, with no contribution required.
- Between $37,487 and $57,375: a reduced bond amount, calculated on a sliding scale.
- Above $57,375: no bond is paid.
Lifetime bond limit: $20,000. Combined with the maximum lifetime grant, a lower-income family could see up to $90,000 in free government money flow into an RDSP over a beneficiary's lifetime.
A worked example
Maximizing the match
A family with adjusted net income under $114,750 contributes $1,500 in a year. That triggers 300% matching on the first $500 ($1,500 in grant) and 200% matching on the next $1,000 ($2,000 in grant) — a total of $3,500 in grants, the full annual maximum, on a $1,500 contribution. If that same family also qualifies for the full Bond, another $1,000 arrives with no additional contribution at all. That's $4,500 added to the account in a single year, from a $1,500 contribution.
The 10-year rule on withdrawals
Grants and bonds come with a holdback: if money is withdrawn, or the plan is closed, deregistered, or the beneficiary loses DTC eligibility before age 60, grants and bonds paid in the preceding 10 years may need to be repaid. For a straightforward withdrawal (not a plan closure), the rule is proportional — for every $1 withdrawn, $3 of grants and bonds from the preceding 10 years must be repaid, up to the total holdback amount. This makes the RDSP best suited to long-term, patient savings rather than a short-term account — the rules reward leaving the money in place.
Rolling RRSP or RRIF proceeds into an RDSP
A lesser-known rule can soften the RRSP tax trap we cover in our estate planning & probate guide: when a parent or grandparent dies, the proceeds of their RRSP or RRIF can, under certain conditions, roll into the RDSP of a financially dependent child or grandchild with a disability — tax-deferred, up to the RDSP's lifetime limit. This doesn't generate new grants or bonds (the rollover isn't a "contribution" for matching purposes), but it can meaningfully reduce the terminal tax bill an estate would otherwise owe on that RRSP or RRIF.
Settling an estate with a disabled beneficiary involved? This rollover is easy to miss if nobody flags it in time.
Book a CallWho can open and manage an RDSP
An RDSP can be opened by the beneficiary themselves (if they're an adult who can legally manage their own affairs), a legal guardian or representative, or a parent while the beneficiary is a minor. Not every bank or credit union offers RDSPs — it's a specific registered product only some institutions administer — so it's worth confirming availability before assuming your existing bank can open one.
