Transcript

[Text on screen: Learn About Your Taxes. The one about the tuition tax credit (Part 1)]

[Sage is in front of a white backdrop. Upbeat music plays.]

Sage: If you attend university, college, or trade school, then you'll know how expensive it can be. But did you know your tuition fees can give you a tax credit?

What is the tuition tax credit?

You’ve probably heard about the tuition tax credit! It’s actually called the ‘tuition, education and textbook amount’. This amount is a non-refundable tax credit that helps you lower the amount of taxes you may owe to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and even bring it down to zero. You will not, however, get a refund if the credit is more than the taxes you owe.

You can claim 15% of your eligible tuition fees in the year you paid them. So, if you have $5,000 in tuition fees, you’ll be able to claim up to $750 in tuition credit for the tax year.

[Sage disappears. An illustration of the Canadian provinces is drawn on screen.]

Some provinces and territories have their own tuition credits, so depending on where you live, you may be able to make an additional claim.

How to claim your tuition tax credit.

[Sage is in front of a white backdrop. Form T2202 appears behind him.]

Near tax time, your post-secondary institution will give you a form that looks like this, called Form T2202, Tuition and Enrolment Certificate, and you can find it:

• in your school’s student portal, or
• in your CRA My Account, if you gave your social insurance number (SIN) to the school

[Sage disappears. Example information is filled out on Form T2202.]

The form will include:

• your personal information and information about your school
• your SIN
• and the period of education
• and the amount of eligible tuition fees

When doing your taxes, you’ll have to enter these details.

If you have My Account and you gave your SIN to your school, you can use the Auto-fill My Return service, and all the info will be added for you! The software will register your tuition fees, fill out the Schedule 11, and calculate your total tuition tax credit for the year. If you are filing by paper, you have to complete a schedule 11, and mail it with your return.

But what if you don’t owe taxes?

You can carry forward the unused tuition amount to help lower the amount of taxes you will owe in a future year. Or, you can transfer it to someone in your family who is either a spouse, a parent, or a grandparent and they can claim the amount on their taxes.

[An illustration of a person using a laptop is drawn on screen.]

Forgot to report your tuition fees from a past year? You will have to go back and change your tax return. Tuition fees need to be reported in the year you paid them. This is one reason why it’s important for you to do your taxes every year.

Want to know your unused tuition amount? Your CRA My Account or your notice of assessment will show the amount you’re carrying forward to a future year.

So that’s the basics of the tuition tax credit. Make sure to watch part two to see how to carry forward or transfer this credit.

If you need help with filing your taxes, we have free volunteer tax clinics across the country that can help.

For more information, go to canada.ca/taxes-help.

To learn more about taxes, go to canada.ca/learn-about-taxes.