All the Numbers

The Canada Learning Bond

From the All the Numbers wiki · Savings accounts

The Canada Learning Bond (CLB) is money the government pays into a child's RESP for families with lower incomes. Unlike the education grant, it does not need a contribution to be matched.

The rules

  • $500 for the first benefit year in which the child is eligible, then $100 for each later eligible benefit year, up to $2,000 for life.[1]
  • The child must be born after 2003 and be under 21 when the application is made. The first payment needs the child to be under 15 at the start of the month before the benefit year.[1]
  • A benefit year runs from July to June. Eligibility is tested on the caregiver's adjusted family net income for that year, against the first threshold used for the Canada Child Benefit, with a different test for families with more than three dependent children.[2]

What the planner does

The planner does not claim the CLB. Eligibility depends on family income by benefit year, and the planner never asks for it, so a plan assumes none is claimed.[3] A family that qualifies receives more than the projection shows.

The engine accepts eligibility as a fact that is supplied for each benefit year. It does not work it out from the incomes in the plan, because a calendar-year income does not map to a July-to-June year.[2] When it is told a year qualifies, it pays the bond in July, including back-payments for earlier years.

When money leaves the plan, the CLB and its growth come out as part of the student's assistance payments; see RESP withdrawals. If the plan ends without education, the bond has to be returned.

See also

  • Canada Child Benefit · A monthly tax-free payment for each child under 18, paid to the person who cares for them and reduced as family income rises above about $38,000. The engine can calculate it; the planner does not ask about children, so plans do not include it.
  • RESPs and the education grant · Contributions attract a 20% government grant, up to $500 a year, and $7,200 for a child's lifetime, up to a $50,000 contribution limit. Growth and grants come out taxed in the student's hands, at a rate that is usually near zero.
  • Taking money out of an RESP · Your own contributions come back tax-free. The grant and growth leave as education payments taxed to the student. If no one studies, growth is taxed to you with an extra 20%, and the grants are repaid. The planner pays contributions first.

References

  1. ↑Canada Education Savings Act s.6(1), 6(2)(a)–(b) · Canada Learning Bond: $500 for the first eligible benefit year (under 15 at the start of the month before the benefit year), $100 for each later eligible benefit year, lifetime $2,000; beneficiary born after 2003 and under 21 at application · See the source · effective 2004-01-01
  2. ↑CESA 6(2)(a)(i), 6(2.1); CESA s.2 "benefit year" · CLB eligibility is a supplied fact per July–June benefit year, never read off a calendar-year income; the statutory test is the caregiver's CCB adjusted income against the first threshold (6(2)(a)(i)(A), 6(2.1) for more than three dependants) · See the source · effective 2026-09-18
  3. ↑CESA s.5(4) (Additional CESG by adjusted income), s.6 (CLB) · An RESP beneficiary on the planner form is taken as resident in Canada and CESG-eligible in every plan year, with no Additional CESG and no Canada Learning Bond claimed, until the form can hold the income-tested facts · See the source · effective 2026-09-20