Line 323 - Your tuition, education, and textbook amounts

Line 323 - Your tuition, education, and textbook amounts

Complete Schedule 11 to calculate your total eligible tuition, education, and textbook amounts for 2016 and to carry forward any unused amounts from previous years that are shown on your notice of assessment or notice of reassessment for 2015. Enter the amount you are claiming on line 323.

For more information, see "Transferring and carrying forward amounts" on page 57 or Guide P105, Students and Income Tax.

Tax Tips
Even if you have no tax to pay and you are transferring part of your tuition, education, and textbook amounts, file your return and attach a completed Schedule 11 so we can update our records with your unused tuition, education, and textbook amounts available to carry forward to other years.

If you are transferring an amount to a designated individual, transfer only the amount this person can use.

That way, you can carry forward as much as possible to use in a future year.

You may be able to claim all or part of your spouse's or common-law partner's tuition, education, and textbook amounts on line 326 and/or your child's or grandchild's tuition, education, and textbook amounts on line 324.

Eligible tuition fees

Generally, a course qualifies if it was taken at the post-secondary level or (for persons 16 years of age or older at the end of the year) if it develops or improves skills in an occupation and the educational institution has been certified by Employment and Social Development Canada.

In addition, you must have taken the course in 2016.

Not all fees can be claimed. To qualify, the fees you paid to attend a Canadian educational institution must exceed $100.

For fees paid to an educational institution outside Canada, see Guide P105 and Information Sheet RC192, Information for Students - Educational Institutions Outside Canada. In addition, you cannot include in your claim the amounts paid for other expenses, such as board and lodging, students' association fees, or textbooks (see "Textbook amount" on the next page).

If the fees were paid or reimbursed by your employer or an employer of one of your parents, you can claim them only if the payment or reimbursement was included in your or your parent's income.

Forms

To claim tuition fees paid to an educational institution in Canada, you will need an official tax receipt or a completed Form T2202A, Tuition, Education, and Textbook Amounts Certificate, which your institution has to give you.

To claim tuition fees paid to an educational institution outside Canada, you will need Form TL11A, Tuition, Education, and Textbook Amounts Certificate - University Outside Canada, or Form TL11C, Tuition, Education, and Textbook Amounts Certificate - Commuter to the United States.

Ask your institution to complete and give you the applicable form.

To claim tuition fees paid to a flying school or club in Canada, you will need a completed Form TL11B, Tuition, Education, and Textbook Amounts Certificate - Flying School or Club, which your school or club has to give you.

You can get these forms from us. You can also get Form TL11B from your flying school or club.

Education amount

You can claim this amount for each whole or part month in 2016 in which you were enrolled in a qualifying program. If you were under 16 years of age at the end of the year, you can claim this amount only for courses you took at the post-secondary level.

Post-secondary programs consisting mainly of research are eligible for the education amount only if they lead to a college or CEGEP diploma or a bachelor, masters, or doctoral (or equivalent) degree. For more information, see Guide P105, Students and Income Tax.

Generally, you cannot claim this amount for a program for which you received a benefit, a grant, an allowance, or a reimbursement of your tuition fees.

However, you can claim this amount even if you received salary or wages from a job related to your program of study or certain other kinds of payments, such as scholarships and student loans, or if you received and reported as income any financial assistance provided under:

To confirm the period in which you were enrolled in a qualifying program, your educational institution has to complete and give you one of the following forms:

The following amounts apply for each month in which you were enrolled in a qualifying program:

If you could attend only part-time because you had an impairment restricting one of the activities listed in Guide RC4064, Disability-Related Information, but your condition was not severe and prolonged, you can claim $400 per month. You must submit a letter from a medical doctor, optometrist, audiologist, occupational therapist, psychologist, physiotherapist, or speech language pathologist to certify your impairment.

You cannot claim more than one education amount per month.

Textbook amount

You can claim this amount if you are entitled to claim the education amount.

The following are the amounts you can claim:

Supporting documents - If you are filing electronically, keep all your documents in case we ask to see them later. If you are filing a paper return, attach your completed Schedule 11 but do not send your other documents. Keep them in case we ask to see them later.

Transferring and carrying forward amounts

You must claim your tuition, education, and textbook amounts first on your own return, even if someone else paid your fees. However, you may be able to transfer all or some of the unused part of these amounts to your spouse or common-law partner (who would claim it on line 326 of his or her Schedule 1) or to your or your spouse's or common-law partner's parent or grandparent (who would claim it on line 324 of his or her Schedule 1).

You can designate who can claim an unused amount and specify the amount that person can claim. To do this, complete the "Transfer or carryforward of unused amount" section of Schedule 11 to calculate this transfer. As well as any of the following applicable forms:

Attach Schedule 11 to your return even if you are transferring all of your total tuition, education, and textbook amounts.

You can carry forward and claim in a future year the part of your tuition, education, and textbook amounts you cannot use (and do not transfer) for the year. However, if you carry forward an amount, you will not be able to transfer it to anyone. You must claim your carry-forward amount in the first year you have to pay federal tax. Calculate the carry-forward amount on Schedule 11.

To view your carryforward amounts, go to cra.gc.ca/myaccount.