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In Canada, post-secondary students can claim their tuition fees, admission fees, examination fees (even ones paid to a professional association), and education costs on their annual tax return, whether you do your own tax return or have it done by a professional.
The credit that you’ll receive from those payments will vary because this is a tax credit based on how much you spend per year. There are other expenses that you can claim as a student as well, including moving expenses if you’re moving to be a full-time student.
How The Tax Credit Works
In order to get approved for the tuition tax credit, the educational institution in Canada that you’re attending must be approved by the Canada Revenue Agency. You also have to spend a minimum of $100 in order to apply for the credit. The credit itself covers 15%, or the lowest federal tax bracket, of the tuition fees that you paid for the year.
When it comes to this tax credit, if you can’t use the full amount of your credit, you can apply it for the next year. You can also choose to transfer it to an eligible spouse or other family member. Currently, the maximum amount that you’re able to transfer is $5,000.
How To Claim Tuition Fees
In order to claim the tuition tax credit, you need the official tax receipt from your educational institutions. However, there are certain circumstances where you can’t claim the fees. These instances include:
- When the fees are paid or reimbursed by an employer, and the amount isn’t included in your income
- When the fees are paid or reimbursed by a parent employer, and the amount isn’t included in your parent's income
- When they were paid by a federal, provincial or territorial job training program where the amount isn’t included in your income
- The fees were paid by a program that helps athletes, and the reimbursement isn't included in your income
In order to qualify for this credit, you must also be at least 16 years old before the end of the year and you must be enrolled in education to gain or obtain skills for a job. This includes trade or vocational school.
Once you determine that you’re eligible for the credit, you enter the amount on your official tax receipt into your tax return. This amount will then help to determine how much of a credit you’ll receive or how much your tax bill will be reduced.
Maximum Credit You Can Claim
In Canada, the maximum amount you can claim for the this non-refundable tax credit is $5,000 per year. This means that the eligible credit you can receive with the tuition tax credit calculated for the current year is $750. Any tuition paid that’s more than $5,000 won’t be eligible for the tuition tax credit. However, you can transfer them to an eligible spouse, common-law partner or family member to reduce their tax payable from their taxable income.
How Long You Can Carry Forward Tuition Tax Credits
There’s really no defined time period for how long you can carry forward a tuition tax credit. As long as you’re attending post-secondary education and have an amount to carry forward, then you can. That said, those who are full-time students are more likely to use the full credit every year because they’ve likely spent more than $5,000. Part-time students or those who only have done one semester are less likely to use their full credit every year.
Transferring Your Tuition Tax Credit
As we’ve mentioned, you can transfer up to $5,000 of the current year's tuition to a family member. This amount includes tuition, education and textbook fees. You can’t pass on anything you’ve already claimed, just the remaining amounts.
When you’re transferring your tuition, there are only a few people to whom you can transfer it. These include:
- A spouse/common-law partner
- A parent or grandparent
- Your spouse's parent or grandparent
If your spouse is claiming credit, they would claim it on 36000 on their Schedule 2 form. Everyone else would claim the credit on line 32400 of their income tax return.
Ontario Tax Credit
If you live in Ontario, unfortunately, there’s no longer a provincial tuition tax credit. That said, if you do have any unused tuition tax credits, you are still able to claim them until they run out. However, if you’re still a student, you can’t claim any new fees for a provincial tax credit. However, you can still claim your fees under the provincial tuition tax credit.
BC Tax Credit
In BC, you’re eligible to claim the federal tuition tax credit, but the BC education tax credit has also been discontinued. This means that you can still claim any tuition amounts under the federal tax credit. However, there’s no provincial credit you can claim anymore. It was discontinued in 2019.
Alberta Tax Credit
Just like BC and Ontario, you can only claim the federal tuition tax credit in Alberta. There are no provincial amounts available. This means that you have up to $5,000 every year that you can claim, and any unused amounts can be transferred or carried over to future years.
How To Check Your Tuition Tax Credit With The CRA
The simplest way to check your tuition tax credit with the CRA is to log into your My CRA account. Once you have successfully logged in, you will want to select “Go To Tax Returns” in the Tax Return Section of your account. Once you’re there, you’re going to look for the section “Carryover Amounts” and look for “View Carryover Amounts.”
Once you’ve entered this section, you’re going to see any unused amounts that you have available to carry forward. If you’re still a student, then you’ll have the $5,000 available for the year as well as any unused amounts. Even though these amounts are unused and carried forward, you can choose to use them yourself or transfer them to an eligible family member.
T2202 Tax Credit
The T2202 Tuition and Enrolment Certificate is the official tax form that you need in order to claim your eligible fees on your Income Tax and Benefit Return. This is the tuition certificate for eligible educational institutions; however, in previous years, the T2202A and the TL11B were the official forms that were used.
In February, when your T4 forms are available, your education tax forms should either be sent to you in the mail or made available on your account with your financial institution. While you may not have to submit the form and just need the amounts, you should keep it so you have proof if you’re ever asked for it.
Canada Training Credit
The Canada Training Credit is another one of the federal education credits that is used to further your education. With this credit, you can claim up to $250 per year for eligible education and eligible tuition fees paid, up to a lifetime amount of $5,000. This is different from the tuition tax credit, which allows you to claim up to $5,000 per year. That said, you are able to claim both tax credits per tax year. You can also forward any unused Canada Training Credit amounts. Depending on the province you live, you may also be eligible for the provincial tuition tax credit and receive all the credits. This credit also allows you to claim tuition from other education institutions than those that qualify for the tuition tax credit.
Canada Student Loans and Tax Credits
If you’re paying for your post-secondary school with financial assistance from Canada student loans, you can actually get a tax credit when you file your income taxes. How it works is that you can receive a tax credit for 15% tax credit on any interest paid for both federal and provincial loans, and it can help reduce the amount of tax owed from your employment income.
Another option you may be able to claim when attending a post-secondary education institution is the scholarship exemption. If you receive any scholarships or grants for your post-secondary program to further your skills in an occupation, you can claim up to $500 tax-free along with your total tuition amount.
Summary
In Canada, if you’re a post-secondary student or taking courses to further your education, you could be eligible for the federal tuition tax credit as well as other education tax credits. It doesn’t matter how you pay these fees unless your employer or an employer of a family member covers the cost. You could use your Canada student loans or other forms to get the credit. It also doesn’t matter which post-secondary school level you’re in.
Whether you’re a part-time student or a full-time student, you’re eligible for this credit as well as the other tuition credits. You only have to pay $100 per year in order to be eligible. While you can only claim 15% of the total spent, this does add up quickly, especially when you’re claiming the full $5,000.
