From a federal tax standpoint, being a grad student isn’t any different than being any other post-secondary student. Tuition, education and textbook credits work the same way, and these can be carried forward or transferred to a partner or family member. Several provinces offer graduate retention programs that extend past your studies, but only if you remain a resident in that province.

Post-graduate students in Canada receive the same tax benefits as graduate work.

Post-graduate students in Canada receive the same tax benefits as graduate work.

Tuition, education and textbook amounts

Your school will issue form T2202/T2202A, which shows the tuition, education and textbook amounts you can claim on Schedule 11. “As long as your tuition was paid by you or a member of your family, and not reimbursed by an employer or through a government program, such as a job training initiative, you should be able to claim the tuition tax credit,” says accountant Chris Follett of London, Ontario.

Many schools do not mail out paper copies of your T2202A. Check your online student account for an electronic copy. Although CRA does not require you to submit the form with your return, you may be asked to provide the slip at a later time. Because it may be difficult to obtain this info after you graduate and no longer have a student account, save or print a copy for your own records.
Tuition is listed in Box A on your T2202/T2202A. The education amount allows full-time students to claim a tax credit equal to $400 for each month of full-time studies (listed in Box C), while part-time students can claim a tax credit of $120 for each month (see Box B). The textbook amount is a tax credit of $65 per month of full-time studies and $20 per month of part-time studies.
Please note that the education and textbook amounts are no longer available starting in 2017. The information provided is for individuals who are doing tax returns for 2016 or earlier.

Using schedule 11

Schedule 11 is only completed by the student, even in cases where credits are transferred to another person. The form consolidates your student tax credit activity for a tax year and makes it easy to transfer and carry forward unused amounts. Previous unused amounts will be included on your previous year notice of assessment, and these are carried forward to current-year Schedule 11. Use the data from your T2202/T2202A form to perform this year’s calculations. Amounts transferred or carried forward are calculated at the bottom of the form. You can designate the person to receive a transfer on the back of form T2202/T2202A.

Note that if your spouse claims you on her tax return (on line 303 or 306) because she provided financial support to you for the tax year, these earned credits must be transferred to the spouse (or carried forward yourself).

Graduate retention programs

Several provinces offer graduate and post-graduate students tax advantages in order to entice students to remain in-province after graduation. These plans pay back an amount of the tuition you paid in the years after graduation, as long as you remain a resident of the province. Every program has its own variation, however, so check with your provincial government for details.

Other common student credits

As a grad student, you probably have your tax routine down pat. If there have been changes to your life, however, there may be some deductions and tax credits you haven’t considered. Among these may be:

  • Interest paid on your student loan
  • Moving expenses, such as those incurred to move to another city to continue your studies
  • Child care expenses
  • Monthly passes for local transit services
  • Medical expenses including insurance premiums.

References & Resources

Photo Credits

  • Nick White/Digital Vision/Getty Images