Important: Effective January 1, 2017, the federal education and textbook tax credits have been eliminated (students can still claim the tuition tax credit). If you’ve got unused education and textbook credits from years prior to 2017, you’ll still be able to claim them or carry forward these amounts for use on future returns. Refer to the Canada Revenue Agency’s (CRA) website for more information regarding these changes.
In order to claim your dependant’s unused tuition amounts, the dependant has to be either:
- your or your spouse’s/common-law partner’s child or
- your or your spouse’s/common-law partner’s grandchild
To find out how much your dependant can transfer to you, you first need to complete your dependant’s tax return. If your dependant doesn’t need all of their tuition amount for 2017 to reduce their tax payable, any unused amount can be transferred to you. The maximum amount your dependant can transfer to you is $5,000, federally (provincial amounts might differ).
Notes:
- Your dependant can only transfer current year tuition amounts to you. Any unused tuition, education, and textbook amounts your dependant has been carrying forward from previous years can only be claimed by them.
- If the student is a resident of Québec, they’ll only be able to transfer a provincial amount if they’ve received an RL-8: Amount for post-secondary studiesslip and entered the information into the tax software.
Make sure that your dependant completes the Designation for Transfer of an Amount section on the back of their T2202A: Tuition Education and Textbook Amounts Certificate or part 3 of their TL11A, TL11B, TL11C, or TL11D slip indicating who the recipient of the transfer will be and the federal and provincial amounts being transferred. Both you and your dependant will need to keep a copy of this document with your records.
Provincial tuition amounts
As of 2017, changes have also been made to the provincial tuition, education, and textbook amounts. Click here to find out if the tuition, education, and textbook amounts tax credit is still available in your province. If you’ve got unused tuition, education, and textbook credits from years prior to 2017, you’ll still be able to claim them or carry forward these amounts for use on future returns.
I have more than one student in my family
If you have more than one child who is enrolled in college and has unused tuition amounts this year that can be transferred:
- If you have a spouse or common-law partner: you can choose who will receive the transfer amounts for each child; for example, one person can claim the amounts for multiple dependants, or one child could transfer their unused tuition amounts to you, while the other child can transfer their unused amount to your spouse or common-law partner.
- If you’re a single parent: you can claim the unused tuition amounts from all of your children.
How do I claim my dependant’s unused tuition amounts?
Transferring your dependant’s tuition and education amounts in the software – outside Québec
Note: Make sure you have already completed your dependant’s tax return and entered their tuition and education amounts. You do this in your dependant’s return, under the PREPARE tab:
- Indicate that your dependant has Tuition, education, and textbook amounts to transfer.
- Enter all of the required information on the Tuition, education, and textbook amounts page, under the TRANSFERS.
If you are filing a single return: You will see any available tuition, education, and textbook amounts being transferred to you under the OPTIMIZATION icon of the WRAP-UP tab. You cannot change the amounts claimed, as they have been optimized for you by H&R Block’s tax software.
If you are filing a coupled return: You will see any available tuition, education, and textbook amounts being transferred to you under the OPTIMIZATION icon of the WRAP-UP tab. Depending on your tax situation, you might be able to change who is claiming the tuition amount from your dependant.
Transferring your dependant’s tuition and education amounts in the software – in Québec
Note: Make sure you have already completed your dependant’s tax return and entered their tuition and education amounts.
Go to the Dependant amounts page under the OPTIMIZATION icon of the WRAP-UP tab. You’ll be asked if you want to claim the amount for a child under 18 enrolled in post-secondary studies. You’ll be asked if you want to split the amount available.
Note: Be sure to record the federal and provincial transfer amounts on the back of your tuition certificate.
