Student’s Tax Return

I am a student in Canada.

How can I file my taxes?

What is Tuition credit?

If you are a student, over the age of 16, at a post-secondary level in Designated Educational Institution, you are eligible for tuition tax credits. The common tax slip that students get since 2019 is T2202, which will be provided by the educational institution, college, or university.

Tuition credit is a non-refundable tax credit, meaning that you will not get any money back as it can only be used to reduce any tax the student might need to pay in the tax year. If the student has a little or no tax payable, the unused tuition credit will be carried forward to the next year until it is used. There is also an option of transferring the tuition credit (Max: $5,000) to the student’s spouse or common-law partner to lower their tax payable. In this case, the second page of T2202 needs to be signed by the student agreeing with transferring the tuition credit.

Note that you cannot transfer carried forward tuition credit amount as it is only possible to transfer the credit gained in the tax year.

Moreover, tuition credit includes provincial tax credit as well as a federal tax credit in some cases. If you move to another province after your graduation, and you have unused tuition credit or carried forward amount, you can not use the provincial part of tuition credit. You can only use it when you reside in the province you have studied. However, you may use the federal portion of your tuition credit no matter where you are.

Regardless of being a student or not, you should claim any source of income while filing your taxes.

If you have any questions regarding a student’s tax return, contact us at [email protected]!