Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP)
Also known as: RRSP · Registered Retirement Savings Plan · plan d’épargne-retraite enregistré
Product facts
- Country
- Canada
- Provider or product type
- pension
- Local wrapper
- A Canadian registered retirement savings plan holding contributions, growth, withdrawals, and conversion rules under Canadian law and the account terms.
- Risk tier
- Low
- Last verified
- 2026-08-30
- Reviewer
- Chip Moreno
- U.S. tax focus
- in Canada
Recommended next step
This product is mapped to the foreign pension consultation. The consultation organizes the facts and records before any preparation scope is written.
Start My Foreign Pension IntakePossible U.S. reporting channels
These are screening questions, not conclusions. Whether a form applies depends on your specific facts and the current instructions for the filing year.
- Form 1040 and pension-distribution schedules
- Form 3520 (check the Rev. Proc. 2014-55 exception)
- Form 8938
- FBAR (for the holding accounts)
- Form 8621 only if an underlying holding is PFIC stock
Facts that can change the U.S. analysis
These facts matter more than the product name. Identify each one for the relevant year and preserve the document that supports it.
- Whether the account and each transaction qualify under Rev. Proc. 2014-55 and the current Form 3520 instructions
- Distribution, conversion, rollover, inherited-account, or annuity facts for the tax year
- Underlying holdings that are Canadian mutual funds, ETFs, or other foreign pooled vehicles
- U.S. citizenship, residency, and filing status for each relevant year
Documents to gather
Start with the governing document, then add the annual statements. Keep the original record together with any translation.
- Plan or account agreement and annual statement
- Contribution, withdrawal, conversion (RRIF), and rollover records by year
- Underlying fund names, legal issuers, and domiciles
- Prior U.S. returns and any Forms 3520, 3520-A, 8621, 8938, or legacy Forms 8891
- Canadian withholding and foreign-tax records
Common record gaps and translation needs
- Missing plan agreement or incomplete annual statements
- French-language account records without a translated summary
- Unknown basis or prior contribution history for older accounts
Unresolved questions
These questions stay open until the governing documents, holdings, and filing-year facts are reviewed.
- Does the specific account and each transaction satisfy the Rev. Proc. 2014-55 exception?
- Do any underlying holdings create a PFIC (Form 8621) question?
- Were distributions, conversions, or rollovers reported for the correct year and currency?
Official sources
Every record is indexed only with at least one directly relevant official local source and one applicable U.S. primary source. Confirm the current instructions and authorities for your filing year.
Record governance
Last verified by Chip Moreno. This record is currently included in the sitemap and internal discovery.