Tax breaks for the upcoming post-secondary school year

This year, for the first time since 2019, most (if not all) post-secondary students will be preparing to go to (or return to) university or college for in-person learning. While that’s an exciting prospect after two years of pandemic restrictions, starting or returning to post-secondary education is also an expensive undertaking. There will be tuition bills, of course, but also the need to find housing and pay rent in what is, in most college or university locations, a very tight and expensive rental market. Those who choose to live in residence and are able to secure a place will also face bills for accommodation and, usually, a meal plan.

While the way in which learning is delivered may have changed and changed again over the past two and a half years, the financial realities have not. Regardless of how post-secondary learning is structured and delivered, it is expensive. Fortunately, there are also tax credits and benefits which can be claimed to offset such costs.

The tax credits and deductions which can be claimed by post-secondary students (or their spouses, parents, or grandparents) in relation to the 2022–23 academic year are summarized below.

Tuition fees

The good news is that a federal tax credit continues to be available for the single largest cost associated with post-secondary education – the cost of tuition. Any student who incurs more than $100 in tuition costs at an eligible post-secondary institution (which would include most Canadian universities and colleges) can still claim a non-refundable federal tax credit of 15% of such tuition costs. Many of the provinces and territories (excepting Alberta, Ontario, and Saskatchewan) also provide students with an equivalent provincial or territorial credit, with the rate of such credit differing by jurisdiction.

The charges imposed on post-secondary students under the heading of “tuition” include myriad costs which may differ, depending on the particular program or institution, and not all of those costs will qualify as “tuition” for purposes of the tuition tax credit. The following specific amounts do, however, constitute eligible tuition fees for purposes of that credit:

• admission fees;
• charges for use of library or laboratory facilities;
• exemption fees;
• examination fees (including re-reading charges) that are integral to a program of study;
• application fees (but only if the student subsequently enrolls in the institution);
• confirmation fees;
• charges for a certificate, diploma, or degree;
• membership or seminar fees that are specifically related to an academic program and its administration;
• mandatory computer service fees; and
• academic fees.

The following charges, however, do not constitute tuition fees for purposes of the credit:

• extracurricular student social activities;
• medical expenses;
• transportation and parking;
• board and lodging;
• goods of enduring value that are to be retained by students (such as a microscope, uniform, gown, or computer);
• initiation fees or entrance fees to professional organizations including examination fees or other fees (such as evaluation fees) that are not integral to a program of study at an eligible educational institution;
• administrative penalties incurred when a student withdraws from a program or an institution;
• the cost of books (other than books, compact disks or similar material included in the cost of a correspondence course when the student is enrolled in such a course given by an eligible educational institution in Canada); and
• courses taken for purposes of academic upgrading to allow entry into a university or college program. These courses would usually not qualify for the tuition tax credit as they are not considered to be at the post-secondary school level.

Certain ancillary fees and charges, such as health services fees and athletic fees, may also be eligible tuition fees. However, such fees and charges are limited to $250 unless the fees are required to be paid by all full-time students or by all part-time students.

At both the federal and provincial levels, the credit acts to reduce tax otherwise payable. Where, as is often the case, a student doesn’t have tax payable for the year because his or her income isn’t high enough, credits earned can be carried forward and claimed by the student in any future tax year or transferred (within limits) in the current year to be claimed by a spouse, parent or grandparent.

Rent, food, and other personal and living expenses

Unfortunately, although housing and food costs will take up a big portion of each student’s budget, there is not (and never has been) a tax deduction or credit which is claimable for such costs. In all cases, living costs incurred by a post-secondary student (whether on campus or off) are characterized as personal and living expenses, for which no tax deduction or credit is allowed.

Student debt

Most post-secondary students in Canada must incur some amount of debt in order to complete their education, and repayment of that debt is typically not required until after graduation. Once repayment starts, a tax credit can be claimed for the amount of interest being paid on such debt, in some circumstances.

Students who are still in school and arranging for loans to finance their education should be mindful of the rules which govern that student loan interest tax credit, since decisions made while still in school with respect to how post-secondary education will be financed can have tax repercussions down the road, after graduation. That’s because while interest paid on a qualifying student loan is eligible for the credit, only some types of student borrowing will qualify for that credit. Specifically, only interest paid on government-sponsored (federal or provincial) student loans will be eligible for the credit. Interest paid on loans of any kind from any financial institution will not.

It’s not uncommon (especially for students in professional programs, like law or medicine) to be offered lines of credit by a financial institution, often at advantageous or preferential interest rates. As well, financial institutions sometimes offer, once a student has graduated and begun to repay a government-sponsored student loan, to consolidate that student loan with other kinds of debt, also at advantageous interest rates. However, it should be kept in mind that interest paid on that line of credit (or any other kind of borrowing from a financial institution to finance education costs) will never be eligible for the student loan interest tax credit.

As explained in the Canada Revenue Agency publication on the subject: “[I]f you renegotiated your student loan with a bank or another financial institution, or included it in an arrangement to consolidate your loans, you cannot claim this interest amount”. In other words, where a government student loan is combined with other debt and consolidated into a borrowing of any kind from a financial institution, the interest on that government student loan is no longer eligible for the student loan interest tax credit.

Students who are contemplating borrowing from a financial institution rather than getting a government student loan (or considering a consolidation loan which incorporates that student loan amount) must remember, in evaluating the benefit of any preferential interest rate offered by a financial institution, to take into account the loss of the student loan interest tax credit on that borrowing in future years.

Other credits and deductions

While the available student-specific deductions and credits are more limited than they were in previous taxation years, there are nonetheless a number of credits and deductions which, while not specifically education-related, are frequently claimed by post-secondary students (for instance, deductions for moving costs). The Canada Revenue Agency publishes a very useful guide which summarizes most of the rules around income and deductions which may apply to post-secondary students. The current version of that guide, entitled Students and Income Tax, is available on the CRA website at https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/forms-publications/publications/p105.html. That guide was last revised in December of 2021 and the references in it are to the 2021 taxation year. However, it is safe to assume that the same rules will apply for 2022.