Tuition tax credits in Newfoundland and Labrador alleviate the personal income tax payable to the government, giving students a break on the amount owed. So, how do you go about claiming your tuition fees for tax credits?
Claiming Education and Tuition Tax Credits in Newfoundland and Labrador
Before you begin filing your taxes, be sure to collect all the documentation needed in order to accurately claim your income and amount of tuition paid to your post-secondary institution. For proof of tuition paid, be sure to download and save a hard copy of your T2202A, which is an official receipt stating the amount of money paid for tuition. Other official receipt forms can include forms TL11A, TL11C, or other official tuition tax receipts.
Once you’ve collected all your T4s and documents, start by filling out a 5001-C NL428 Tax and Credits form.. Part A of this form lists all the non-refundable tax credits available under the Newfoundland and Labrador provincial government. More specifically, line 24 relates to your own tuition and education amounts, where line 25 is where tuition transferred from a child is entered.
Transferring Tuition Amounts
As tuition fees rise, it’s possible that the tuition fees paid over the course of the year exceed the provincial limit. If this occurs, there are a few steps to take. Firstly, ensure that you claim your remaining tuition on your federal personal income tax claim. After this, two options exist: transferring the remaining tuition to an eligible individual to be claimed on their personal income tax claim and carrying over the unused amount.
Let’s dive into transferring your tuition fees to another person. This individual can be a parent or primary caregiver, grandparent, spouse or common-law partner, or even your spouse or common-law partner’s parents or grandparents. Note that you cannot transfer tuition fees to your spouse’s parent or grandparent if the spouse claimed your tuition fees on their personal income tax claim.
The maximum amount you, as a student, can transfer to another individual is $5,000 minus the amount you use yourself, even if there is an unclaimed portion of the tuition fees paid over the year.
In order to officially transfer your tuition fees to another individual, you must complete one of the following applicable forms to designate who can claim the transferred amount and to specify the provincial amount this person can claim:
- T2202, Tuition and Enrolment Certificate
- TL11A, Tuition and Enrolment Certificate – University Outside Canada
- TL11C, Tuition and Enrolment Certificate – Commuter to the United States
Carrying Forward Unused Amounts
If transferring your tuition fees to another individual isn’t possible or the transfer limit still doesn’t meet your tuition fees paid, it is possible to carry over the unused tuition amounts to be used in a subsequent year.
Carrying over unused amounts can actually be a great way to make the transition from student life to professional life much easier, as it will alleviate some personal income taxes that come with working full-time and not being enrolled in post-secondary education.
To carry-over tuition amounts in your provincial tax claim, the carryover amount must be outlined in Schedule NL(S11) as a carry forward amount. Note that there is a separate line to claim transferred tuition fees and carry over tuition fees.
Provincial Tax Credits are Just the Beginning
Just like the Newfoundland and Labrador education and tuition amounts, the federal government has implemented tuition tax credits into the personal income tax laws to reduce the amount of taxes payable on your federal return.
To qualify for tuition tax credits federally, you meet the qualifiers that students must fulfill in order to sufficiently qualify for tuition tax credits (rest assured that most students are eligible).
- Full-time or part-time student
- Fees are at least $100 paid to a qualifying institution
- Student is 17 years of age or older
- Enrolled at a qualifying educational institution in Canada or abroad
Note that for both provincial and federal personal income taxes, immigration and emigration during the tax year affects the amount eligible to be claimed.
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