Tuition you paid to an educational institution can reduce the tax you owe. Line 32300 is where that claim goes, and the certificate your school sends you is what supports it.
The line is still called Your tuition, education, and textbook amounts. But the federal education amount and the textbook tax credit were eliminated in 2017. Only the tuition amount remains federally.
Unused education and textbook amounts from before 2017 can still be carried forward. Some provinces and territories keep their own versions of those amounts.
What document supports the claim
To claim your tuition fees you must have received one of these from your educational institution:
- Form T2202, Tuition and Enrolment Certificate
- Form TL11A, Tuition and Enrolment Certificate – University Outside Canada
- Form TL11C, Tuition and Enrolment Certificate – Commuter to the United States
- Form TL11D, Tuition Fees Certificate – Educational Institutions Outside Canada for a Deemed Resident of Canada
Instead of one of those forms, you may receive an official tax receipt from the institution. It shows the eligible tuition fees you paid for a calendar year. If nothing has arrived, contact the institution.
What the certificate or receipt must show
- the name of the educational institution that issued it
- your name as the student
- the calendar year it covers
- the amount of eligible tuition fees paid for that calendar year
Fees paid to attend each institution must be more than a minimum amount set for each institution before the certificate amounts qualify.
What counts as eligible tuition fees
Eligible fees are more than the tuition line itself. They include admission fees, library and laboratory charges, exemption fees, examination fees that are integral to a program, application fees where the student goes on to enrol, confirmation fees, charges for a certificate, diploma, or degree, membership or seminar fees related to the program, mandatory computer service fees, and academic fees.
A fee for an occupational, trade, or professional licensing or certification examination needs a receipt that certifies more:
- the examination taken and its date
- the portion of the fees that is eligible under paragraph 118.5(1)(d)
- that the examination is required for a federally or provincially recognized professional status, or for a trade licence or certification that lets you practise in Canada
- that no part of the amount was for travel, parking, or equipment of enduring value
- the signature of an authorized officer
If your school is outside Canada
An institution outside Canada issues a TL11A, TL11C, or TL11D rather than a T2202. The form must be filled in and certified. Use the CRA's list of recognized educational institutions outside Canada to confirm that the school can issue official tax receipts.
Schedule 11, and what you do not use this year
Schedule 11 must be completed and filed with your Income Tax and Benefit Return. That holds even if someone else paid the fees, and even if you have no tax to pay. Depending on where you lived, a provincial or territorial Schedule S11 may be needed too.
An amount you do not need this year can be carried forward or transferred, but not both:
- Carried forward. File a return every year to keep the amount alive.
- Transferred, up to the yearly transfer limit, to your spouse or common-law partner, a parent, or a grandparent. The transfer is designated on the certificate itself: part 3 of the TL11A, part 4 of the TL11C, or the second box on the back of Form T2202. Federal Schedule 2 is used when the amount goes to a spouse or common-law partner.
An amount carried forward from an earlier year can never be transferred later.
What to keep
Keep the tuition certificate or the official tax receipt from the institution. Keep the copy that shows any transfer you designated. Dossier tags these by student and by calendar year.
If you file on paper, attach the completed Schedule 11 but do not send the other documents for the amount you are claiming. If you file electronically, keep all of the documents in case the CRA asks to see them later.
Official CRA sources
- Line 32300 – Your tuition, education, and textbook amounts
- Eligible tuition fees
- Completing Schedule 11
- Transfer or carry forward amount
- Recognized educational institutions outside Canada
- Guide P105, Students and Income Tax
Source: Canada Revenue Agency (canada.ca). Not tax advice.