It generally makes sense to maximize your TFSA contributions before starting to invest in a taxable non-registered account.
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Giving your spouse money to invest in an RRSP
The same exclusion applies to registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) contributions. There is no attribution of income that results from giving your spouse money to invest in their RRSP.
A couple can also consider opening a spousal RRSP. The contributions to the account are made by one spouse, but the account is owned by the other spouse. The contributor’s contribution room is used, and they claim the tax deduction. But the account holder spouse takes the withdrawals in the future, paying tax on them.
There is a nuance with spousal RRSPs that if you take a withdrawal and contributions were made in the current year or the two previous years, the income may be attributed to the contributor spouse. The income attribution would be withdrawals up to the amount of the contributions made during the current year and two previous years.
How to do a spousal loan
If you want your spouse to invest money in a non-registered account and not have the income attributed back to you, there is the option of a spousal loan. You can loan money to your spouse at the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) prescribed rate of interest. For the third quarter of 2025, that rate is 3%.
The prescribed rate changes quarterly, but the rate in effect at the time of the loan can be maintained for the life of the loan. (See all prescribed rates on the Government of Canada’s website.)
To use an example with a $100,000 prescribed-rate loan to your spouse, they would have to pay you $3,000 per year of interest. The interest paid by them would be tax-deductible for them, and the interest income received by you would be taxable for you.
If the account earned more than $3,000 per year, it is like the excess income is moved from one tax return to the other, since it would have all been on the original spouse’s tax return otherwise. For a couple of years a few years ago, the prescribed rate was at 1%, and the income-splitting opportunity was compelling. The prescribed rate was higher until recently but has fallen as interest rates have fallen.
