Tuition and education/textbook amounts are two different credits.
You can claim federal and provincial tuition amounts. Some provinces and territories allow you to claim provincial education and textbook amounts. As of January 1, 2017, the federal education and textbook amounts have been eliminated. However, you can still claim federal and provincial education and textbook amounts that you carried forward from 2016 or earlier.
The tuition amount is based on program and student eligibility, and the amount you paid.
The education and textbook amounts are based on the number of months in attendance. Provincial credits are calculated from the tuition amount and number of full-time or part-time months that you report federally. Enter these amounts only once. You do not have to separate your tuition into federal and provincial amounts.
Québec offers a provincial tuition or examination amount but does not offer an education credit.
Can I claim a part-time and full-time education amount for the same month?
No. You can only claim one education amount for each calendar month you are registered, regardless of how many programs or educational institutions you attend in that month.
If you attended two qualifying institutions during the same month, you can only claim the education amount for one institution/program. If you attended two programs that overlapped, claim each calendar month that you attended.
Example: Your T2202 from College A shows 4 part-time months (from January through April). Your T2202 from College B shows 3 part-time months (from April through June). Claim 6 months total, one for each calendar month you attended. You cannot claim 2 months for April.
Note: Although you can only claim the education amount for one program taken during the same month, you can claim the tuition fees for both programs.
Can I claim the cost of textbooks or dormitory fees?
Although you cannot claim the entire cost of your textbooks, you may be able to claim the textbook credit. This credit is available to all students who are eligible for the education amount. As of January 1, 2017, the federal government has eliminated the education and textbook credits. However, you can still claim amounts you carried forward from previous years. And, some provinces and territories continue to offer the education and textbook credits.
Like the education amount, the textbook credit is based on the number of full-time or part-time months you were enrolled (reported on your T2202 or TL11 tuition receipt). The textbook amount is $60 per full-time or $25 per part-time month federally, plus an additional amount that varies per province.
You cannot claim the cost of dormitory fees. You also cannot claim fees for social, athletic, or student associations, parking, or board and lodging.
Who can claim the education and textbook amount?
You can claim the credit yourself, or you can transfer it to your spouse or common-law partner, parent, or grandparent.
Once you have reduced your own tax payable to zero, you can transfer leftover amounts to your spouse, parent, or grandparent, to a maximum of $5,000. This amount is reduced by the amount that you claimed on your own return.
However, you do not have to transfer unused amounts. Instead, you can choose to carry them forward to a future tax year.
Note that you can only transfer current-year amounts. You cannot transfer amounts you're carrying forward from prior years.