You can transfer your unused tuition, education, and textbook amounts, up to the allowed maximum, to your parent, grandparent, or spouse or common-law partner.
The CRA's rules state that you - the student must first claim the fees on your return, regardless of who paid them. Once you reduce your tax payable to zero, you can transfer leftover amounts to your spouse, parent, or grandparent.
The student can transfer to either parent, but only to one. Choose the parent who has more tax payable to help them reduce their tax balance owing.
Students may transfer a maximum of $5,000 of the current year’s federal tuition amount minus how much they need to reduce their federal tax owing to zero. Depending on the province or territory’s tuition, education and textbook credits, students may also transfer the province’s maximum amount minus the amount they need to reduce their provincial tax owing to zero.
Students must claim their tuition amounts and reduce their own tax payable to zero before they may transfer any leftover credits to an eligible recipient. Once you have claimed your tuition fees, TurboTax will let you know how much of your leftover current-year credits can be transferred to someone else.
Before you decide on how much of your unused tuition amount you’re going to transfer to someone else, you should find out from them how much they need to reduce their tax payable to zero. If you give them more than they actually need, the excess amount will go to waste. It’s generally best for you give only the amount they need, keeping the rest for yourself to carry forward to a future year when you can benefit from it.
No. A student can only designate one person to receive the transfer. If the student is making a provincial transfer as well, the same person must be designated to receive both the federal and provincial transferred amounts. (These are CRA rules.)
No. The student must designate a single person to receive both federal and provincial tuition transfers.
Yes.
Each child should indicate on their paper T2202 slip who they designate to receive their transfer.
You can transfer up to $5,000 in federal tuition amounts.
You can also transfer up to $5,000 in provincial tuition amounts, unless you live in Alberta, Ontario, or Saskatchewan. These provinces do not have a provincial tuition tax credit.
Both federal and provincial amounts must be transferred to the same person.
No. Only the student can claim carry forward amounts, and carry forward amounts cannot be transferred in subsequent years.
TurboTax uses carry forward amounts first to reduce your tax payable. In this way, if all your tuition, education, and textbook amounts are not needed, the amounts that cannot be transferred are used first, and this year's amounts are available for transfer.
How many years can I carry forward these amounts?
You can carry forward unused tuition and education amounts until you have enough income to use them all up.
Each year, you first apply the amounts that you have carried forward from last year. Then, if you still have taxable income, you apply whatever portion of current year tuition, education, and textbook amounts that you need to reduce your taxable income to zero. Any amounts that still remain can be carried forward to next year, or transferred to an eligible person.
You can only transfer current year tuition, education, and textbook amounts, not amounts carried forward from last year.
When should I claim carry forward tuition, education, and textbook amounts?
You must claim these amounts as soon as you have income to claim them against. You can continue to carry forward unused amounts each year until you have used them up.
Can a parent or spouse carry forward transferred amounts?
No. A spouse, parent, or grandparent can only claim current year tuition and education amounts. You cannot transfer to them, nor can they claim, amounts that you carried forward from a previous year. Only the student can claim amounts carried forward.
Is it better to carry forward amounts or to transfer them to someone else?
That depends. It's nice to help someone else reduce their taxes, especially if they helped pay your tuition. However, you should not transfer more than the person needs to reduce their tax payable to zero, because they cannot carry forward the excess, nor can they transfer it back to you.
If you transfer too much, no one (including you) gets to use the excess, either this year or in the future. Instead, carry the excess forward to a future year when your own income is higher, and you need the additional tax credit. The more you carry forward, the more tax you can reduce in future years.