You can choose how much and what type of withdrawal is to be taken from the RESP. There are three main types of withdrawals:
Education Assistance Payment (EAP)
An EAP is the amount paid to a beneficiary (a student) from an RESP to help finance the cost of post-secondary education. It can be paid once a beneficiary is attending qualified education, training or an apprenticeship program – either in Canada or abroad. Any government contributions or investment growth in the plan will be taxable to the student (beneficiary) when withdrawn. To withdraw funds as an EAP, download and complete the Educational Assistance Payment (EAP) And Post Secondary Education (PSE) Request Form and Proof of Enrollment Form or copy of course schedule with letter from Post-Secondary Institution (including name and address) stating that the student is enrolled in a full or part time program.
Personal contributions can be returned to you at any time without tax consequences, as long as the beneficiary is enrolled in a qualifying program at the time. If not, the withdrawal of personal contributions may trigger repayment of recent years’ government assistance, according to a formula based on the timing of the original contributions.
Accumulated Income Payment (AIP)
This is a taxable payment made to you of any remaining income in the plan, generally only if the beneficiary will not be attending school. An extra 20% tax applies, which may be avoided by rolling the AIP amount into an RRSP (assuming you have at least that amount of contribution room in their RRSP and subject to a maximum transfer value of $50,000). The RESP must then be closed by the end of February in the year following the AIP.
To withdraw funds from a Qtrade RESP for non-educational use, please download and complete the RESP Capital Withdrawal Form.
Read more at the Government of Canada website.