# Spouse has cash, I have cap room



## patch (May 28, 2009)

Hi there,

Sorry if this is a double post, I wrote this before and it didn't seem to post.

My spouse has a lot of cash in an unregistered account but no RRSP cap rooom. I'm the opposite.

If she gives me the cash to be put into my RRSP, would the CRA have an issue with this? This is not a spousal RRSP situation.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!


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## Spidey (May 11, 2009)

Provided you are both earning an income, Revenue Canada generally does not get involved in the specifics of family finance.


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## FrugalTrader (Oct 13, 2008)

As Spidey mentioned, accountant friends of mine have confirmed that attribution rules do not apply to RRSP contributions.


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## billiam (Aug 24, 2009)

> accountant friends of mine have confirmed that attribution rules do not apply to RRSP contributions.


I think this statement needs to be clarified that it only relates to a spousal RRSP contribution and not to what the OP has indicated.

If you refer to IT511R: 

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pub/tp/it511r/it511r-e.html

and look at subsection 74.5(12) of the ITA it makes no mention of an exclusion as contemplated. Therefore, attribution would apply.

Of course it someone has an ITA Section reference to the contrary by all means post it.


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## MoneyGal (Apr 24, 2009)

What Spidey said. It isn't that "attribution doesn't apply," it's that CRA isn't that involved in individual family financial arrangements at the level at which they could say, THIS dollar belongs to this spouse, and THAT dollar belongs to the other spouse.


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## OhGreatGuru (May 24, 2009)

Moneygal is right. Theoretically the attribution rule applies, but practically it cannot be applied if both spouses have income. CRA cannot control who pays for what in the family budget. If you tell them "this year we decided my wife would pay the mortgage and grocery bills, so I could contribute to my RRSP", what can they do? They would only get suspicious if a spouse with no taxable income at all was suddenly able to make a large RRSP contribution. But if the spouse had no taxable income, there would be no point in making an RRSP contribution (as opposed to spousal RRSP), because there would be no tax deduction.


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## patch (May 28, 2009)

Thanks very much for the responses!


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