The RDSP Catch-Up Calculator
Opened your RDSP late, or just got the Disability Tax Credit approved for past years? The government money from up to 10 years back may still be claimable. This calculator works out your year-by-year catch-up schedule using the same ordering rules ESDC actually uses.
Already have an RDSP? Your Statement of Entitlement is the official answer.
ESDC mails every RDSP holder a Statement of Entitlement each February showing the exact grant available that year (including carry-forward) and the exact contribution needed to get it. If you have one, its numbers beat any calculator — including this one, because it reflects your real income and contribution history. Use this tool to plan ahead, or to understand what your statement is telling you.
Your Situation
Grants and bonds stop after December 31 of the year they turn 49.
The first year the Disability Tax Credit was approved for. RDSPs began in 2008. Retroactive approvals count — that’s where catch-up comes from.
Sets the match rates. For 2026, the higher match applies at family income up to $117,045 (based on the 2024 tax return). Each year’s band really comes from the return 2 years earlier — refine it year by year below.
No contribution needed. Full $1,000/yr needs lower income (2026: up to $38,237; a partial bond runs to $58,523 — partial amounts come from your Statement of Entitlement, so choose Full or None here).
Fastest catch-up is on — the amount above is ignored; the schedule picks each year’s contribution for you.
Income changed over the decade? Set each missed year’s band individually — each one is decided by the tax return from 2 years before it, and compared against that year’s own threshold — it rises with inflation ($90,563 in 2016; $117,045 in 2026).
Already have a plan?
The two totals trim your lifetime caps ($70,000 grant / $20,000 bond). The year opened does a different job: it stops the schedule projecting bond for years your plan already collected.
Bond is only paid once a plan exists — this stops the estimate projecting bond for years your plan already collected it.
Your Catch-Up Schedule
Total Grant (CDSG)
$0
Total Bond (CDSB)
$0
Government Money
$0
How this year’s contribution is matched
| Year | Age | You contribute | Grant | Bond | Gov. total so far |
|---|
Estimate only, from the published rules: 10-year carry-forward, grant consumed at the highest matching rate first (oldest year first within each rate), $10,500/yr grant and $11,000/yr bond ceilings, $70,000 / $20,000 lifetime maximums. Compare your first-year line against your Statement of Entitlement — if they differ, the statement is right, because it uses your actual filed income and contribution history.
Why RDSP catch-up math confuses everyone
Highest rate first
When you contribute, the government doesn’t go year by year. It pays out all outstanding 300% entitlement first (oldest year first), then all the 200%, then the 100%. The same contribution can be worth wildly different grant amounts depending on what’s banked.
Yearly ceilings
No matter how big the backlog, one year can pay at most $10,500 of grant and $11,000 of bond (including that year’s own entitlement). A decade behind takes years to fix — that’s what the schedule above is for.
The window slides
A contribution can only reach back 10 years. As time passes, the oldest years fall out of reach — ESDC’s own worked example (a man named Paul) permanently loses $2,000 of grant this way, even doing everything right. Starting sooner beats contributing more.
The “3 years at a time” myth
You may hear — even from advisors — that catching up works 3 years at a time: contribute 3 × $1,500 = $4,500 to earn 3 × $3,500 = $10,500. That’s not how it works. The $10,500 is a cap on grant paid in a year, not a count of years. With 10 years of entitlement banked at the high match rates, contributing just $3,500 — seven years’ worth of $500 slices, all matched at 300% — earns the full $10,500. And there would still be 300% room and all the 200% room left for future years.
What is an RDSP?
The Registered Disability Savings Plan is a long-term savings account for Canadians with a CRA-approved Disability Tax Credit (DTC). Contributions aren’t tax-deductible, but investments grow tax-sheltered, and the federal government adds money of its own — a lot of it, especially for lower-income families. You can contribute up to $200,000 over a lifetime, until December 31 of the year the beneficiary turns 59. The catch: the plan is designed to stay open until age 60 (see the holdback rule below).
The two government top-ups
Canada Disability Savings Grant (CDSG)
Matches your contributions, based on family income (2026 threshold: $117,045, from the tax return 2 years prior):
- Under the threshold: $3 for every $1 on the first $500, then $2 for every $1 on the next $1,000 — up to $3,500 a year on a $1,500 contribution
- Over the threshold: $1 for every $1 on the first $1,000 — up to $1,000 a year
- Lifetime maximum: $70,000
Canada Disability Savings Bond (CDSB)
No contribution required. For lower-income beneficiaries (2026 figures):
- Full $1,000 a year at family income up to $38,237
- A partial bond between $38,237 and $58,523
- Nothing above $58,523
- Lifetime maximum: $20,000
Both the grant and the bond stop after December 31 of the year the beneficiary turns 49 — and both can be caught up for up to 10 years back, which is what the calculator above schedules.
The catch: the 10-year holdback
Grants and bonds come with a long string attached. All grant and bond money paid in the previous 10 years forms the Assistance Holdback Amount (AHA). If the plan closes, is deregistered, or the beneficiary dies, that amount is repaid to the government.
For ordinary withdrawals the rule is proportional: $3 of grant and bond is repaid for every $1 you withdraw (oldest-paid first), up to the holdback amount. Withdraw $600 with $21,000 of holdback and you repay $1,800. Plan around it: money that goes into an RDSP before 60 is meant to stay there.
Where to open a self-directed RDSP
Most banks offer RDSPs only through a branch, invested in their own funds. If you want to hold your own low-cost ETFs — the approach this whole site is about — the list is very short (checked October 2026):
- TD Direct Investing — self-directed RDSP, full ETF access.
- National Bank Direct Brokerage — self-directed RDSP (since 2015), $0-commission ETF trading.
- CI Direct Trading — a self-directed RDSP exists, but it’s paper-based and barely promoted.
- Questrade, BMO InvestorLine, RBC Direct Investing, Scotia iTRADE, CIBC Investor’s Edge, Qtrade, Disnat, Interactive Brokers Canada — no self-directed RDSP.
Full transparency: this page has no referral link, on purpose. Wealthsimple — the platform the rest of this site recommends — doesn’t offer RDSPs at all yet (it’s reportedly on their roadmap for later 2026 or 2027, with nothing live and no announced format). For this one account, TD or National Bank are the self-directed choices.
RDSP questions, answered
Do I need the DTC first?
Yes. An RDSP requires a CRA-approved Disability Tax Credit (form T2201). Entitlements only accrue for years the beneficiary was DTC-eligible and living in Canada.
My DTC was approved retroactively for past years. Can I still get that grant and bond money?
Yes — that’s exactly what carry-forward is for. Entitlements from up to 10 years back remain claimable (subject to the $10,500 / $11,000 yearly ceilings) until the end of the year the beneficiary turns 49.
What if I can’t afford to contribute? Is the RDSP still worth opening?
Very often, yes. The bond requires no contribution at all — up to $1,000 a year, $20,000 lifetime, for lower-income beneficiaries. Opening the plan also starts the 10-year holdback clock.
What happens if the beneficiary loses DTC eligibility?
Since 2021 the plan no longer has to close. It stays open but frozen — no new contributions, grants, or bonds — and resumes normally if the DTC is regained. Past grants and bonds aren’t repaid for that reason alone.
Can I hold an RDSP alongside a TFSA and RRSP?
Yes. The RDSP has its own rules and limits, separate from TFSA/RRSP room.
Where do I get my exact numbers?
Your Statement of Entitlement, mailed by ESDC every February, or your plan issuer. It shows your real available grant (with carry-forward) and the contribution needed to claim it.