When filing your taxes, there are numerous personal tax credits available that will help you offset the federal (and sometimes provincial) taxes owing on your tax return. We previously discussed how tax credits affect your balance owing. In this posting we will be providing you with some relevant information about a few of these tax credits.

Please note that technical data below has been taken from the Canada Revenue Agency Website at the following link:

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/ndvdls/tpcs/ncm-tx/rtrn/cmpltng/ddctns/lns300-350/menu-eng.html

 

You may be eligible to claim an amount for the interest paid on your loan in 2012 or the preceding five years for post-secondary education if you received it under:

• the Canada Student Loans Act;
• the Canada Student Financial Assistance Act; or
• a similar provincial or territorial government laws.

Only you can claim an amount for the interest you, or a person related to you, paid on your student loans. You can claim an amount only for interest you have not previously claimed. If you have no tax payable for the year the interest is paid, it is to your advantage notto claim it on your tax return. You can carry the interest forward and apply it on your return for any of the next five years.

You cannot claim interest paid on any other kind of loan, such as:

• a personal loan or a line of credit;
• a student loan that has been combined with another kind of loan; or
• a student loan received from another country.

In addition, you cannot claim interest you paid because of a judgment obtained after you failed to repay a student loan.

Completing your tax return

On line 319 of your Schedule 1, Federal Tax, enter the eligible amount of interest paid on a student loan.

Remember to claim the corresponding provincial or territorial non-refundable tax credit on line 5852 of your provincial or territorial Form 428.

For more information about your student loan and interest paid, visit CanLearn.ca.

Supporting documents

Filing electronically 
Keep all your documents in case we ask to see them at a later date.

Filing a paper return
Attach your documents for the amounts you are claiming for 2012.

 

 

 

The tuition, education, and textbook amounts allows you to reduce any income tax you may owe.

Your educational institution will provide you with a slip that has the total eligible tuition fees paid as well as the months you were enrolled either part-time or full-time.

If you have eligible tuition fees, and education and textbook amounts from a previous year that were not reported, review How to change your return and obtain a copy of your notice of assessment or reassessment.

Supporting documents – If you are filing a paper return, attach a completed Schedule 11. Keep all your official receipts issued by an educational institution or other forms in case we ask to see them. If you are filing electronically, keep all of your documents in case we ask to see them. For more information, please consult E-services for individuals.

 

 

You will have received a tax certificate from your educational institution with the total eligible fees paid for the tax year.

If you have more than one tax certificate, you can claim all amounts that are more than $100.

You cannot claim the tuition amount on your tax certificate if any of the following applies to you:

• the fees were paid or reimbursed by your employer, or an employer of one of your parents, where the amount is not included in your or your parent’s income;
• the fees were paid by a federal, provincial, or territorial job training program, where the amount is not included in your income;
• the fees were paid (or eligible to be paid) under a federal program to help athletes, where the payment or reimbursement has not been included in your income.

Licensing examination fees

Examination fees paid to an educational institution, professional association, provincialministry or other similar institution, to take an occupational, trade or professional examination that is required to obtain a professional status recognized by federal or provincial statute, or to be licensed or certified as a tradesperson, to allow you to practice the profession or trade in Canada, may be eligible for the tuition tax credit. You should be provided with a receipt to substantiate your eligible exam fees. To view the information that should be contained in the receipt go to example of a receipt for licensing examination fee.

Completing your tax return

Enter the amount of your tuition in field 320 of Schedule 11.

Don’t forget to put in your education and textbook amounts too.

Supporting documents – If you are filing a paper return, attach a completed Schedule 11. Keep all your tax certificates or other forms in case we ask to see them. If you are filing electronically, keep all of your documents in case we ask to see them. For more information, please consult E-services for individuals.

 

ou will have received a tax certificate from your educational institution (see types of institutions page) indicating the number of months you were enrolled full-time (Box C) or part-time (Box B).

Full-time – Box C

Multiply $400 times the number of months indicated in Box C.

You can also claim the full-time amount if one of following applies to you:

• you were enrolled part-time and you can claim the disability amount; or
• you were enrolled part-time and you had a mental or physical impairment certified in a letter, or on certificate T2202, by a medical doctor, optometrist, audiologist, occupational therapist, psychologist, physiotherapist, or speech-language pathologist but you do not qualify for the disability amount.

Note
If you require certificate T2202 to be completed, it is your responsibility to ask your educational institution to complete it for you. They will be certifying that you were enrolled in a full-time program.

Part-time – Box B

Multiply $120 times the number of months indicated in Box B.

You cannot claim the education amount if you:

• received a grant or were reimbursed for the cost of your courses by your employer or another person with who you deal at arm’s length;
• received a benefit as part of a program (such as free meals and lodging from a nursing school); or
• received an allowance for a program such as a training allowance.

Notes
If you were 16 at the end of the year, you can claim the education and textbook amount only for courses you took at the post-secondary level (see types of institutions on the Eligible tuition fees page).

A grant, reimbursement, benefit, or allowance does not include any scholarship, fellowship, bursary, or prize you received, or any benefit you received under the Canada Student Financial Assistance Act,
Canada Student Loans Act, or an Act respecting financial assistance for education expenses of the Province of Quebec.

These amounts also do not include any financial assistance provided under Part II of the Employment Insurance Act (as shown in box 20 of your T4E slip), a labour-market development agreement as part of a similar provincial or territorial program, or a program developed under the authority of the Department of Human Resources and Skills Development Act.

A post-secondary program that consists mainly of research is eligible for the education amount, and the scholarship exemption, only if it leads to a college or CEGEP diploma, or a bachelor, masters or doctoral degree (or an equivalent degree). Accordingly, post-doctoral fellowships will continue to be taxable.

 

You can claim only one textbook amount for each month that you qualify for the full-time or the part-time education amounts.

You can claim the textbook amount only if you can claim the education amount.

The amount is:

• $65 times the amount in Box C of the certificate you received from your school; or
• $20 times the amount in Box B of the certificate you received from your school.

Before you start

Schedule 11 must be completed and filed by you only.

If you have transferred an amount to an eligible person (see Transferring and carrying forward amounts) they do not need to send us a copy of your Schedule 11.

Complete the lines of Schedule 11 that apply to you based on the information provided on the tax certificate you received from your educational institution. See below for instructions.

Depending on your province or territory of residence, you may also need to complete a provincial and territorial tax and credits form.

Even if you do not have to pay tax and you are carrying forward all or part of your tuition, education, and textbook amounts, you must file this form with your tax return so we can update our records with your unused tuition, education, and textbook amounts available for carry forward to other years.

Supporting documents – If you are filing a paper return, attach a completed Schedule 11. Keep all your official receipts issued by an educational institution or other forms in case we ask to see them. If you are filing electronically, keep all of your documents in case we ask to see them. For more information, please consult E-services for individuals.

How to complete Schedule 11

Line 1 – Unused federal tuition, education and textbook amounts

Remember to enter on line 1 of this schedule any unused amounts from previous years that are shown on your notice of assessment or notice of reassessment from last year.

If you have eligible tuition fees, education, and textbook amounts from a previous year that you forgot to claim, see How to change your return, so that we may update our records.

Line 2 (field 320) – Eligible tuition fees

Complete line 2 of Schedule 11 to show the amount of eligible tuition fees paid as shown on your tax certificate.

Lines 3 and 4 – Part-time Education and Textbook amounts

Use the amount in column B of your tax certificate to complete line 3 and line 4 of your Schedule 11.

The number of months claimed must agree with the number of months on your tax certificate.

Lines 6 and 7 – Full-time Education and Textbook amounts

Use the amount in column C of your tax certificate to complete line 6 and line 7 of your Schedule 11.

The number of months claimed must agree with the number of months indicated on your tax certificate.

Line 17 – Total tuition, education, and textbook amounts

Enter the amount from line 17 on line 323 of Schedule 1 of your return.

If you have unused amounts and you are transferring an amount to another individual, complete lines 18 to 25.

If you have unused amounts and you are not transferring an amount to another individual, complete lines 18, 19, 20, and 25 only.

Lines 18 to 25 – Transfer/Carryforward of unused amount

Complete these lines to calculate the transfer amount and the carryforward of unused amount.

If you are transferring an amount to another individual, complete the appropriate area of your tax certificate.

 

You must claim your tuition, education, and textbook amounts first on your own return. Complete Schedule 11 to calculate how much of this credit you will need to reduce your tax payable. You may need to use all of the credit, or just some of the credit depending on how much tax you owe.

If you did not need to use all of the credit, you can now choose one of the following options:

Transfer the amount

You can transfer an amount equal to $5,000 minus the amount you used to reduce your own tax payable. You can transfer the remainder to:

• your spouse or common-law partner (who would claim it in field 360 of their Schedule 2, depending on their province or territory of residence)
• your or your spouse’s or common-law partner’s parent or grandparent (who would claim it in field 324 of their Schedule 1)

To transfer the amount you must complete the transfer section of the certificate you received from your school.

Example
Tanya is a single parent. Her son, Philip goes to college and works part-time in the bookstore. He makes very little money.

Tanya may be eligible to claim the unused part of Philip’s eligible tuition, education, and textbook amounts that he does not need to reduce his federal income tax to zero. The maximum amount Philip can transfer is $5,000 minus the amount he claimed.

To calculate the amount of the transfer and to designate Tanya – the parent, as the person who can claim the transfer, Philip must complete Schedule 11 as well as the transfer section of the certificate he received from his school.

Philip must first claim the amount on his tax return on line 327 of his Schedule 11. Tanya claims the amount that Philip has transferred to her on line 324 of her Schedule 1.

Carry forward the amount

Your second choice is to carry forward the remaining amount so you can claim it in a future year. You must claim this amount in the first year you have a tax payable. Complete Schedule 11 to calculate the amount you have available to carry forward.

Note Even if you do not have to pay tax and you are carrying forward all or part of your tuition, education, and textbook amounts, you should file your return and attach a completed Schedule 11 so we can update our records with your unused tuition, education, and textbook amounts available for carry forward to other years.

Depending on your province or territory of residence, you may also need to complete Schedule S11 to calculate your provincial or territorial transfer or carry forward amounts.

Supporting documents

If you are the student – if you are filing a paper return, attach a completed Schedule 11.  You must keep all of your official receipts or other forms in case we ask to see them.

If you are the person receiving the transfer – you do not submit Schedule 11, the receipts, or other forms. If you have claimed an amount transferred from a student on your return and are requested to provide supporting documentation, the student’s signature must be present on the reverse side of the forms. If you are filing electronically go to E-services for individuals, keep all of your documents.

 

 

 

The student has calculated on their Schedule 11 the amount of this credit which they will need to reduce their own tax owing. If there is any remaining amount the student may choose to transfer it to one of the following individuals.

The student cannot transfer any amount they carried forward in a previous year. The maximum amount they are allowed to transfer is $5,000 less the amount they needed to use to reduce their own tax owing.

Only one person can claim this transfer from the student. It does not need to be the same person from year to year.

Transfer to Parent or Grandparent

The student may transfer an amount to his or her parent or grandparent, or to the parent or grandparent of the student’s spouse or common-law partner. The student will complete and sign the transfer section of their tax certificate and provide the recipient of the transfer with a copy. The parent or grandparent would enter this amount in field 324 of their Schedule 1.

Transfer to Spouse or Common-law

The student may transfer an amount to his or her spouse or common-law partner. The student will complete and sign the transfer section of their tax certificate and provide the recipient of the transfer with a copy. The spouse or common-law partner would enter this amount in field 360 of Schedule 2.

Note
If the tuition fees being transferred to you are not shown on the student’s tax certificate, you should have a copy of the student’s official tuition fees receipt.

 

 

 

 

If your spouse or common-law partner does not need to claim some or all of certain non-refundable tax credits to reduce his or her federal tax to zero, you may be able to transfer those unused amounts to your return.

You may be able to claim all or part of the following amounts for which your spouse or common-law partner qualifies, if he or she did not need the whole amount to reduce his or her federal tax to zero:

• the age amount (line 301) if your spouse or common-law partner was 65 years of age or older;
• the amount for children born in 1995 or later (line 367);
• the pension income amount (line 314);
• the disability amount (for self) (line 316); and
• tuition, education, and textbook amounts (line 323) for 2012 that your spouse or common-law partner designates to you. The maximum amount that your spouse or common-law partner can transfer is $5,000 minus the amounts that he or she uses even if there is still an unused part.

Note
Your spouse or common-law partner cannot transfer to you any tuition, education or textbook amounts carried forward from a previous year. If you were separated because of a breakdown in your relationship for a period of 90 days or more includingDecember 31, 2012, your spouse or common-law partner cannot transfer any unused amounts to you.

 

Complete Schedule 2, Federal Amounts Transferred From Your Spouse or Common-law Partner, to calculate your claim. Enter, online 326 of Schedule 1, Federal Tax, the amount from line 10 of the completed Schedule 2.

If your spouse or common-law partner is filing a return, use the amounts that he or she entered on his or her return, schedules and worksheet.

If your spouse or common-law partner is not filing a return, use the amounts that he or she would use on his or her return, schedules and worksheet, if filing a return.

Make sure you enter your marital status and the information concerning your spouse or common-law partner (including his or her net income, even if it is zero) in the “Identification” area on page 1 of your return.

If the amount on line 326 includes a new application for the disability amount, also attach a completed and certified Form T2201, Disability Tax Credit Certificate. We will review your claim before we assess your return to determine if your spouse or common-lawpartner qualifies. If he or she qualified for the disability amount for 2011 and still meets the eligibility requirements in 2012, you can claim this amount without sending us a new Form T2201. However, you have to send us one if the previous period of approval endedbefore 2012 or we ask you to do so.

Remember to complete Schedule S2, Provincial Amounts Transferred From Your Spouse or Common-Law Partner, to claim the corresponding provincial or territorial non-refundable tax credit. Enter the amount which you are entitled on line 5864 of your provincial or territorial Form 428.

Supporting documents

Filing electronically
Keep all of your documents in case we ask to see them at a later date.

Filing a paper return
Attach your completed Schedule 2. If your spouse or common-law partner is not filing a return, also attach the information slips that show his or her income. Do not send your other documents, but keep them in case we ask to see them at a later date.

 

If you would like more information on the above we would gladly be able to assist you with your needs.