If you are a student, you probably don’t owe much in taxes, but you’ll still want to make sure you are getting the refund you deserve. Here are five tax tips that will make sure you don’t miss out on any credits or deductions at tax time.
1) Claim extra school related costs.
You’ll receive a T2202 slip for your official tuition expenses from your post-secondary institution, but if you incurred additional expenses while attending school you may be eligible to deduct those expenses on your tax return.
Additional education expenses that may be eligible for a deduction on your income tax return include:
- the cost of your identification card
- examination fees
- admission fees
Additional expenses do not include travel, parking, and equipment such as lab coats, calculators or computers.
If you are unsure if these costs were included in your T2202, contact your student services office to clarify the expenses included on your T2202 slip.
2) Take the bus.
Please note that the Public Transit Amount is no longer available after 2017. The information presented here is for individuals preparing tax returns for 2017 and earlier.
If you take the bus or use public transit to get around, save your passes and receipts through the year to take advantage of the Public Transit tax credit. The Public Transit amount will allow you to claim the cost of monthly or annual public transit passes for travel within Canada.
To claim the Public Transit amount on your income tax return, your receipt must include the following information:
- an indication that it is a monthly (or longer duration) pass;
- the date or period for which the pass is valid;
- the name of the transit authority or organization issuing the pass;
- the amount paid for the pass; and
- the identity of the rider, either by name or unique identifier.
If your pass does not include all of this information, you will also need to keep your receipts, cancelled cheques or credit card statements, in addition to your passes, to support your claim.
Can you claim a transit credit if you purchased a U-pass as part of your university tuition?
Yes. Your university should issue you a separate U-pass receipt along with your T2202A slip. Use this to claim the transit credit for the applicable months.
3) File a tax return.
Many students who go to school full-time and do not work skip filing a tax return because they don’t have any income tax to pay. This isn’t a good idea! Filing a tax return will ensure that you apply for the social benefits you may be entitled to like the GST/HST credit and will calculate the education amounts you are entitled to carry forward to apply to future income tax returns or transfer to your parent or spouse.
4) Keep track of the interest on your student loans.
If your student loan was received under the Canada Student Loans Act, the Canada Student Financial Assistance Act or a similar provincial or territorial government law, you are eligible to claim the amount you paid in interest on your loan for 2011.
You cannot claim interest paid on any other kind of loan include a personal loan or line of credit.
5) Keep your moving expense receipts.
If you moved to go to school full-time, you can deduct your moving expenses on your income tax return if you have taxable income from scholarships, bursaries, fellowships or research grants. You must have moved at least 40 kilometres & be closer to the school in order for the moving expenses to qualify.
To claim moving expenses you’ll need to know the following information:
- the distance (in kilometres) from your old home to your school
- the distance (in kilometres) from your new home to your school
- the date of the move
- the date you started your studies
- the address of your school, your old residence & your new residence
- the sale of your old home (if applicable) including the selling price, any real estate commissions, legal fees or advertising costs
- any temporary living expenses incurred including the number of nights in the temporary living conditions & the cost of meals
- travelling expenses including the number of kilometres travelled, number of household members in the move and the amount paid for meals while moving
- new home expenses including the purchase price and legal fees
- eligible income at your new location including income from scholarships, bursaries, fellowships & research grants