In Canada, post-secondary students can claim their tuition, admission, and examination fees (including those paid to a professional association), as well as education costs, on their annual tax return, whether they file their own return or have a professional do it.
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
To get approved for the tuition tax credit, the Canada Revenue Agency must approve the educational institution in Canada that you’re attending. You also have to spend at least $100 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 following year. You can also choose to transfer it to an eligible spouse or other family member. Currently, the maximum amount you can transfer is $5,000.
How To Claim Tuition Fees
To claim the tuition tax credit, you need the official tax receipt from your educational institution. 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, 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.
To qualify for this credit, you must also be at least 16 years old by the end of the year and enrolled in education to gain or obtain job-related skills. 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 determine how much 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 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 Can You 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 have completed only one semester are less likely to use their full credit each 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 their Schedule 2 form for 36000. 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.
Did the Tuition Tax Credit Used To Be Different?
While the tuition tax credit does still exist, the rules on what you used to claim and what qualified for deductions were different. Now, it doesn’t matter if you’re a student enrolled in full-time or part-time education; whether that’s at a university or not, you can claim the current year’s tuition amount on your tax return. It’s important to remember that this is a federal amount, and most provinces and territories no longer offer tax credits for tuition costs.
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 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 may just need the amounts, you should keep it on file 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 tuition fees paid, for a lifetime limit 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 can claim both tax credits in a given tax year. You can also forward any unused Canada Training Credit amounts. Depending on the province you live in, 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 educational 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 Canadian student loans, you can actually get a tax credit when you file your income taxes. How it works is that you can receive a 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.
How the Tuition Tax Credit Can Help You
If you attend a postsecondary educational Institution, this federal program, known as the tuition tax credit, can help you reduce your costs by changing how you pay income tax. You can only claim this at the post-secondary level, and it can be applied to your or your parents’ income. The federal program is meant to help cover eligible fees paid, ancillary fees, exam fees for professional status/trade, textbook amounts, provincial/territorial tuition, and financial products that help with education costs.
The T2202, also known as the tuition tax certificate, allows you to claim this credit, and Federal Schedule 11 is used to calculate the amounts transferred for the calendar year. You will be notified every year that you qualify and how much you qualify for.
Can International Students Claim the Tuition Tax Credit?
Since there isn’t a specific international student tax credit, international students are eligible to claim the tuition tax credit. However, to do so, you do have to:
- Be considered a Canadian resident for tax purposes
- Be attending a designated education institution that the CRA recognizes
Can Tuition Paid Abroad Qualify for the Credit?
In Canada, there is no foreign tuition credit, but you can qualify for tuition paid abroad. However, you must be a Canadian resident the institution has to meet specific criteria that the CRA sets. It has to be a university outside of Canada, and you must be attending a program that is 3 weeks or longer, and it must lead to a bachelor’s degree or higher.
Provinces that Still Offer Tuition Tax Credits
In Canada, there is no longer a Saskatchewan tax credit, an Alberta tax credit or an Ontario tax credit. However, you can still get a Quebec tuition credit and a Manitoba tuition credit, as well as credits in all other provinces in Canada.
Amending Past Returns for Missed Credits
You might not realize this, but getting an amended tax return is actually pretty simple. This can be done for a full-time or part-time tuition credit, and you can claim up to 10 years in the past. You can also do this for the textbook tax credit if it applies. All you have to do is log into your My CRA account and use the ” Change My Return ” feature. It will then go through a CRA reassessment, and the approved changes will be applied.
What Happened to the Education Amount Credit?
The education amount credit, also known as the education and textbook tax credit, was eliminated by the federal government in 201. Before this, this credit allowed students to claim a specific amount for each month they were enrolled in school, as well as for what they paid for textbooks. Now there is just the tuition tax credits. However, unused education and tax credits can still be carried forward.
RESPs and If They’re Taxable
In Canada, there is no RESP withdrawal tax for students for original contributions. However, any grants or investment earnings, known as Educational Assistance Paymen(or E)APs, are taxable. That said, what you pay is based on what you earn, and students tend to have lower incomes, so taxes are usually minimal.
Hotoou Claim Tuition on a Tax Software
If you’re doing your own tax software filing, you can claim your educational costs to reduce your tax burden. You just go to the deductions or students section in your tax filing software and enter the exact amounts on your tuition tax form. The program will then do the rest and calculate your 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 Canadian 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 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.
Final Thoughts
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 Canadian 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.
