How Much You Can Withdraw From an RESP in Your First 13 Weeks of School
By Muntasir Minhaz • Published Jun 15, 2025 • Money & Budgeting, Canadian Universities & Colleges
Full-time students draw up to $8,000 in Educational Assistance Payments (EAPs) during the first 13 consecutive weeks of enrolment. Part-time students are capped at $4,000 per 13-week period. After week 13, no dollar limit applies as long as the student stays enrolled.
🎓 Full-time cap: $8,000 in the first 13 weeks
📩 Part-time cap: $4,000 per 13-week period
⏱️ No cap once you pass week 13, if still enrolled
💵 Need more? Ask your RESP promoter about an exception, with proof of real costs
🏠 A break of 12 months or more resets the 13-week clock
Two kinds of RESP withdrawals
An RESP pays out in two separate streams. Your own contributions return as Post-Secondary Education (PSE) payments. These are tax free with no dollar limit at any point in the program. Government grants and the investment growth on the plan return as Educational Assistance Payments (EAPs), and these carry a cap for the first 13 consecutive weeks of a study period.
The dollar limits for the first 13 weeks
| Enrolment status | EAP limit in the first 13 weeks |
|---|---|
| Full-time study | $8,000 |
| Part-time study | $4,000 per 13-week period |
These figures date from the March 28, 2023 federal budget, which raised them from $5,000 and $2,500. The new caps match real first-term costs such as a residence deposit or an upfront tuition instalment more closely. Check the current rule on the Government of Canada education savings page before you plan a withdrawal.
Why the cap exists
EAP money is taxable in the student's hands, not the subscriber's. The 13-week rule guards against paying out a large amount of taxable grant money to a student who leaves a program early, before the school confirms the student stayed enrolled. A student with little other income typically owes close to no tax on an EAP, so the cap mainly controls timing rather than tax exposure.
No cap after week 13
Once your child passes the 13-week mark in a program and stays enrolled, the promoter pays any EAP amount left in the plan, up to the full balance. Nothing limits withdrawals for the rest of that program.
Ask about an exception if costs run higher
Contact the RESP promoter before you treat $8,000 or $4,000 as a hard ceiling. Some promoters approve a larger first-term EAP when you document real costs, such as a lease for off-campus housing, equipment required for the program, or an upfront residence fee above the standard cap. Bring invoices, the offer letter, and a cost breakdown to the request, and confirm your specific promoter's policy, since practice varies by promoter.
Split the request: PSE first, EAP second
Ask your promoter to release the PSE portion first, since it carries no cap and no tax bill for the student. Reserve the EAP request for the amount above your own contributions, and stay under the 13-week cap unless you have a documented reason to request more.
A break in study resets the clock
If the beneficiary stops attending for 12 months or longer and then re-enrols, the first-13-weeks limit applies again from the new start date. A normal summer break between continuous terms does not reset it.