How does a spousal RRSP withdrawal work?

Spousal RRSPs are a classic income-splitting tool, but the rules around taking money back out trip a lot of people up. This piece sorts out who reports a withdrawal as income, the contributor or the spouse who owns the account, and shows why timing decides the answer. The key is the attribution rule: pull funds too soon after a contribution and the withdrawal is taxed back in the contributor's higher-income hands, which defeats the whole purpose. Waiting the required stretch with no fresh contributions lets the lower earner claim it instead, at their lower rate. There's also a practical wrinkle about contributing late in the year to shorten the wait. It's most relevant to couples with a meaningful income gap who set up a spousal plan and now want to draw on it without undoing the tax advantage.