Let's Talk: Non-Registered Vs Registered Accounts

Hello eager financial readers! In this week's post, I'm going to help you understand the difference between registered and non-registered accounts. This week's post will be quite short. Just a quick explanation to help you understand some accounts that we'll dig more into later.

What's the Difference?

When you perform your banking activities to earn money, it falls under the 2 categories I previously mentioned. This is all you need to know for now. Registered accounts have tax advantages and are designed to help you save either tax-free or tax-deferred. Registered accounts each have their own unique features that will help you save money and legally avoid paying tax. Non-registered accounts are regular accounts that do not have any advantages. Any money earned is taxed. Below is a simplified version of the chart.

Registered

Non-Registered

Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF) Lock-In Retirement Account (LIRA) Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) Deferred Profit Sharing Plan (DPSP) Registered Pension Plan (RPP) Defined Contribution Pension (DC) Defined Benefit Pension (DB) Individual Pension Plan (IPP) Retirement Compensation Agreement (RCA)

Any account not listed under 'Registered' Examples include: chequing accounts, saving accounts, regular investment accounts

Nice and easy this time. It's about to get slightly more complicated!