Provincial RESP Grant Calculator (BCTESG/QESI) Canada

Many RESP calculators stop at the federal grant and leave the provincial money out, which understates what a Quebec or British Columbia family can collect. This calculator estimates the Quebec Education Savings Incentive year by year, adds the one-time BC Training and Education Savings Grant where it applies, and shows how much lifetime room your contribution plan will use.

What the calculator covers

Only two provinces currently top up an RESP, in very different ways.

Quebec’s QESI is a refundable tax credit paid directly into the RESP, worth a percentage of the year’s net contributions. It is capped each year and at $3,600 per child for life. Unused entitlement builds up as carry-forward room, so a year with a larger contribution can collect up to double the usual annual amount.

British Columbia’s BCTESG is a single $1,200 payment that needs no contribution. The conditions are an open RESP, a resident subscriber and an application inside a narrow age window.

Choose the province and the calculator applies the right rules. Any other province returns zero, because no other province pays an RESP grant today.

How the QESI is worked out

1. The year’s contribution is multiplied by the QESI rate for the potential grant.
2. That is capped at the annual maximum.
3. If you have carry-forward room and contributed enough to use it, up to one more annual maximum is added.
4. Carry-forward room is reduced, or increased when the year’s contribution was too small for the full annual amount.
5. Payments stop once the child’s lifetime maximum is reached.

So contributing about $2,500 a year captures the full basic annual grant, and $5,000 in a year captures double if you have room banked. Contributing far more than that in one year earns no extra provincial grant, which is why front-loading an RESP with a lump sum wastes grant.

Contributions stop attracting QESI after the year the child turns 17, and the last two years carry extra conditions, so the calculator counts only years inside that window.

How the BCTESG works

The BCTESG has no contribution requirement, no matching and no instalments: one $1,200 payment into the RESP. You apply after the child’s sixth birthday and before their ninth, and nothing can be done afterwards. RESPs are often opened when a child starts school, and many BC families learn of the grant only after the window has closed.

Tick the BCTESG box in the advanced options if you have claimed it or intend to. If the child is already 9 or older, the tool returns zero for it.

Provincial grants sit on top of federal ones

The federal Canada Education Savings Grant pays 20% on the first $2,500 of annual contributions to a lifetime maximum of $7,200, and the Canada Learning Bond helps lower-income families; both have their own calculators on this site. A Quebec family contributing $2,500 a year receives 20% federally and another 10% provincially, a 30% return on contributions before any investment growth.

The low-income increase

Quebec pays an increased QESI amount to families below certain income thresholds. The amount depends on family net income and is confirmed by Revenu Québec, and there is no stored parameter for it, so if you have been told you qualify, enter the annual amount in the advanced options. It is added to each grant year, subject to the same lifetime cap.

A worked example

A Quebec family with a five-year-old contributes $2,500 a year for ten years, $25,000 in total. The QESI is $250 a year, $2,500 in total, or 10% of contributions. $1,100 of lifetime QESI room is left unused because contributions stop before the child ages out. The family could collect that by contributing for more years or by using carry-forward room in a bigger year, and the calculator lets you test both.

Getting the most from provincial grants

• Open the RESP early so the BCTESG window is never missed.
• Contribute steadily rather than in one lump so annual caps are not wasted.
• Check your carry-forward room before a larger contribution so it collects double rather than being trimmed to the annual cap.

Grant rules and amounts are set by Revenu Québec and the Government of British Columbia, and the figures behind this calculator are maintained from those sources. Results are a planning estimate and not financial advice; confirm your entitlement with your RESP provider or the relevant government before relying on it.

About This Provincial RESP Grant Calculator

Use this provincial RESP grant calculator to get an instant, accurate estimate. The figures follow official guidance and every rate and threshold is kept up to date for 2026. Adjust the inputs above to match your situation, or browse all our calculators to plan your next step.