# Spousal RRSPs Details



## spp_24 (Apr 13, 2009)

I have been making spousal RRSP contributions into my wife's RRSP ($600 per month) for the past several years. However in 2008 tax year I overcontributed beyond my limit by around $3000 since my RRSP contribution limit got adjusted (downwards) partway through the year.

The monthly contributions come out of our jointly held Manulife One account which recieves my pay plus handles all of our regular day to day transactions. The RRSP receipts say that I contributed into her RRSP.

Given that the $$ comes out of our joint account which we both deposit into, can I simply erase my name off the 2008 contributions and state on our taxes that she made the contributions? Or do I have to state the contributor at time the contribution is made? 

Hopefully this makes sense , I'd appreciate any advice people could offer


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## PMREdmonton (Apr 6, 2009)

I think the issue isn't where the money was drawn from but rather where it was put. The Spousal RRSP is probably a different account than your wife's individual RRSP.


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## lb71 (Apr 3, 2009)

I do not think you can go back and change the contribution from a spousal account to an individual account, so you are stuck with that contribution.

However, you are allowed to over contribute to an RSP in a tax year as long as that overcontribution amount does not exceed next year's contribution limit. So if that extra $3k is under your 2009 contribution limit, you won't get penalized.


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## cardhu (May 26, 2009)

This is an older thread, so its doubtful the OP is “listening” anymore, but for the sake of clarity …

The OP was not asking whether his spouse could shift the money from her spousal RRSP to her individual RRSP, but whether he could alter the receipt to indicate that she, and not he, had made the contributions … I believe the answer is NO, you can’t alter an RRSP contribution receipt, you must state who is the contributor at the time of the contribution. 



lb71 said:


> you are allowed to over contribute to an RSP in a tax year as long as that overcontribution amount does not exceed next year's contribution limit. So if that extra $3k is under your 2009 contribution limit, you won't get penalized.


This is wrong … you are allowed to overcontribute up to $2000 only … any more than that is subject to penalty.


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## MoneyGal (Apr 24, 2009)

You can have the receipt altered, but it depends on the regulations / practices of the issuer (your brokerage or bank), and you have to catch it and make the request within a reasonable time period (like within 30 days -- not after the new RRSP contribution year has arisen). 

When I was an advisor we re-issued receipts in situations like this from time to time.


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## cardhu (May 26, 2009)

I have had receipts reissued, to correct the broker’s mistake ....TDW is very good about that and does it without any griping ... but I’ve never had to test the “my-mistake” scenario. 

Note that OP was not asking about getting the issuer to reissue, but was asking about “erasing his name” from the receipt.


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## Maltese (Apr 22, 2009)

This is wrong … you are allowed to overcontribute up to $2000 only … any more than that is subject to penalty.[/QUOTE]


I was thinking about the $2000 overcontribution limit yesterday and how this amount hasn't changed. If my memory is correct this limit is at least 20 years old and hasn't increased with inflation. I believe it's time for an increase but I wonder if the government has even given this any thought.


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## MoneyGal (Apr 24, 2009)

Right, cardu: the answer to that specific question is no. 

The slips must be entered as generated. In the case where contributions have been made from a joint account, I can attest that it is possible to issue a new slip to attribute contributions to one spouse instead of the other. 

However: once the slips are generated and accepted, keep in mind they are already filed with CRA. Hence you can't just remove a name from a slip: CRA already has the names and will attribute the contributions in the same way the slip has been generated.


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## lb71 (Apr 3, 2009)

I stand corrected on the $2k limit.  Sorry. However, the OP should note that he does not have to include any contributions made in 2009 for the overpayment. The CRA site provides more guidance on whether a penalty will apply.



cardhu said:


> The OP was not asking whether his spouse could shift the money from her spousal RRSP to her individual RRSP, but whether he could alter the receipt to indicate that she, and not he, had made the contributions


Isn't that the same thing? If he wants the receipt to show she made the contribution, then the money would have to be placed in her individual account, not her spousal account.


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## MoneyGal (Apr 24, 2009)

But it only makes sense that the request would be:

_I made a contribution to my wife's spousal RRSP from our joint account. Can you amend the slip so the contribution shows as made by her to her personal RRSP account?_

If you have a spousal account, only your spouse can contribute: you cannot contribute to your own spousal account. 

So, in the scenario laid out by the OP, the broker/issuer would need to change both the contributor AND the account to which funds were contributed.


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## cardhu (May 26, 2009)

lb71 said:


> Isn't that the same thing? If he wants the receipt to show she made the contribution, then the money would have to be placed in her individual account, not her spousal account.


No its not the same thing ... she can contribute into her own spousal RRSP if she wants to ... its not recommended, but its certainly allowed. 



MoneyGal said:


> If you have a spousal account, only your spouse can contribute: you cannot contribute to your own spousal account.


If you have a spousal account, either you or your spouse can contribute to it ... there would be no need to request that the account number be changed on the receipt. 



Maltese said:


> I was thinking about the $2000 overcontribution limit yesterday and how this amount hasn't changed. If my memory is correct this limit is at least 20 years old and hasn't increased with inflation.


The overcontribution limit was reduced from $8000 to $2000 in 1996 ... that reduction coincided with the only RRSP contribution limit reduction in RRSP history ... from $14,500 to $13,500.

Personally, I don’t see any reason to raise the overcontribution limit ... $2000 seems more than enough to capture most people’s miscalculations, and that is the sole reason the allowance exists.


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## MoneyGal (Apr 24, 2009)

Cardhu - I'm pretty sure what you are writing is incorrect. 

I'm not aware of any circumstance in which you can contribute to a spousal RRSP for which you are the annuitant. As far as I know you cannot be both the contributor and the annuitant of a spousal RRSP. 

Spousal plans are registered with an annuitant and a contributor. Any contributions to a spousal plan will have a slip (deduction) generated in the name of the contributor. I'm not aware of any work-around for this.


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## lb71 (Apr 3, 2009)

I think MoneyGal is right. If an annuitant makes a contribution to his/her own spousal account, it would generate a contribution made by the annuitant's spouse.


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## cardhu (May 26, 2009)

You're both mistaken. 

You *can *contribute to a spousal RRSP for which you are the annuitant ... there don’t need to be any special circumstances, and no workaround is required ... you simply can.

Perhaps you are thinking of certain “systems” limitations inherent in some financial institutions’ computer setups ... I’m sure those exist, but having a bank or broker say “*we *can’t do it” is not the same thing as CRA saying “you can’t do it” ... CRA has no objection to this practice (IT307R4, s.13)

Incidentally, systems limitations cut both ways ... in some broker’s systems, the default is to issue the receipt in the annuitant’s name ... for example, make an electronic transfer into a TDW spousal RRSP, from a joint account, and by default the annuitant’s name and SIN will appear on the receipt, as “contributor” ... if the spouse wants to make a spousal contribution, they have to visit a branch, and arrange the contribution in person ... (at least it used to be that way, perhaps by now they’ve made spousal contributions a selectable option in their online systems)

Spousal plans are registered with an annuitant and a spouse ... any contributions to a spousal plan will have a receipt issued in the name of the contributor, of course, but the contributor can be either one of the annuitant or the spouse.


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## MoneyGal (Apr 24, 2009)

C - I read the circular (I read it before you posted it, because my curiosity was piqued). I don't find any reference in it to the circumstance you outlined - that is, nowhere do I find a clause which says, "a person may contribute to a spousal RRSP for which they are the annuitant". 

I did go through this circumstance (once) when I was a registered broker and my dealership wouldn't do it, but doesn't mean it can't be done.


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## cardhu (May 26, 2009)

> ¶ 13. A taxpayer may make RRSP contributions to a
> spousal and partner RRSP and the taxpayer’s spouse or
> common-law partner may also make contributions *to that
> same RRSP.*


emphasis mine


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## MoneyGal (Apr 24, 2009)

Excellent! Thanks for the pointer.


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## OhGreatGuru (May 24, 2009)

cardhu said:


> ¶ 13. A taxpayer may make RRSP contributions to a
> spousal and partner RRSP and the taxpayer’s spouse or
> common-law partner may also make contributions to that
> same RRSP.


Yes, but changing the tax slip to appear as if the contribution was made by the wife would be irrelevant to OP's problem. The amount that can be contributed, regardless of source, is determined by the husband's contribution room, and will be attributed to him accordingly. I suspect the ruling above is simply recognizing that one spouse could simply gift the other with money to contribute to the account, making it impossible to restrict whose money was actually used for the contribution.

PS. I have been re-reading the full text of that circular, as well as T4040. Much to my surpsrise, it does appear that you can combine a spousal and personal RRSP. It leads to a complicated calculation of attribution rules for withdrawals. But it doesn't explain how to calculate or attribute the original contribution room. One is left to guess how this is done. I can imagine that financial institutions would have difficulty making any distinctions in their accounting systems, in order to generate tax slips, so they probably discourage this practice.


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## cardhu (May 26, 2009)

Husband and wife each have their own individual contribution limits ... his contributions would count against his limits, and her contributions would count against her limits ... the account itself has no particular limit ... gifting has nothing to do with it ... changing the receipt to indicate the contribution was made by the wife would solve the OP’s problem, and his overcontribution would no longer exist ... assuming, of course, that the financial institution was willing to change the receipt ... he cannot simply scratch out, or erase, his own name and replace it with hers, as noted upthread. 

The calculation of attribution rules for withdrawals remains unchanged, no guessing required ... its exactly the same as it would have been otherwise. 

Maybe some financial institutions balk at this practice ... not all do, though ... there is really not much to keep track of, simply issue the receipt in the correct name, and that’s about it.


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## Retired at 31 (Apr 20, 2009)

Wife and I used to have two rsp's each - our own and corresponding spousals. Long story on how we got to that point to begin with, but suffice to say, it got confusing, so we merged them.

We both have spousal rsp's now and can each contribute "normally" or via the spousal method. TDW had no issues at all with the merger or with ongoing contributions.


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## cannon_fodder (Apr 3, 2009)

I can both attest to the fact that you can set up a Spousal RRSP and boths spouses can contribute as well as it can be confusing.

Whatever you do, try to ensure that any contributions to a spousal RRSP by either spouse come from the respective individual account as opposed to a joint account. Otherwise you might have what happened to us at BMO - they decided (arbitrarily) to allocate all contributions as spousal contributions and there was no way to fix that until we changed it to fund contributions from our own individual accounts.


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