Students & tuition

Downloaded from your school's portal, not mailed. It shows eligible tuition and months of enrolment. Textbooks, residence, and most ancillary and student union fees are not eligible — only what's on the slip.

The tuition amount is a non-refundable credit. With no tax owing there's nothing for it to reduce, so it isn't consumed — it waits. That's why the credit is usually worth nothing in the year of study and quite a lot in your first working year.

And they're applied automatically once you have tax to reduce. Four years of tuition can wipe out most of the tax in your first year or two of full-time work — but only if every year was reported on a return.

You can transfer up to $5,000 of the current year's federal amount to a parent, grandparent, spouse, or your spouse's parent — after using what you need yourself. Amounts already carried forward from previous years can never be transferred, so the choice has to be made in the year.

Ontario discontinued its tuition and education credits for tuition paid after early September 2017. The federal credit is unaffected, and older unused Ontario amounts carried forward can still be applied.

You'll be working within a few years and expect real tax to pay. The credit keeps its full value, and it's yours. This is the right answer for most students.

A parent is paying the tuition and has tax to reduce now, or your own path to taxable income is long and uncertain. A dollar of credit used this year beats a dollar sitting unused for a decade — and families usually settle it between themselves.

Awards connected to a program you're enrolled in full-time are generally exempt. Research grants and some part-time awards are not fully exempt. They arrive on a T4A — report the slip and let the exemption be applied rather than leaving it off.

Interest on government student loans gives a credit that can be carried forward five years, so hold it for a year you owe tax. Interest on a personal line of credit or a loan from family does not qualify, even if it paid the same tuition.

If you moved at least 40 km closer to a full-time program, moving expenses can be deducted — but only against taxable scholarship income or income earned at the new location. Moving for a summer job or co-op term is often the better claim.

The grants and growth come out as an educational assistance payment, taxable in the student's hands — which usually means little or no tax, because of the basic personal amount and tuition credits. The original contributions come back tax-free. Spreading withdrawals across years of study is the point.

Almost always produce a refund, because payroll withheld tax on the assumption you'd earn that much all year. CPP and EI generally aren't refunded, but the income tax usually is — and it also creates RRSP room you can bank for a higher-earning year.

Tuition at some foreign universities is eligible if the program meets the length and full-time requirements. International students in Canada are usually residents for tax purposes and should file — it's how the GST/HST credit and rent-based Ontario credits are claimed.

They can generally still be filed and the tuition registered, up to 10 years back. It's usually worth more than people expect.