On Campus

Overview of federal/provincial tax credits and rebates

Depressed by the price of university? These programs can help lighten your debt

Tax credits from the Government of Canada

Tuition tax credit: $400/month for full-time students, $120/month for part-time students.

Textbook and technology credit:$65/month for full-time students, $20/month for part-time students

Tax credits from provincial governments

Alberta and Ontario: $460/month per student

Manitoba and Saskatchewan: $400/month per student

All other provinces: $200/month per student

Tax rebates from provincial governments

Manitoba: Introduced in 2007, the “Manitoba Tuition Fee Income Tax Rebate” provides post-secondary graduates with a 60 per cent income tax rebate on their eligible tuition fees. The rebate can be claimed over a period of 6 to 20 years by any graduates who have completed studies at a post-secondary education institution after January 1, 2007 and now work and pay taxes in Manitoba.

New Brunswick: The “Tuition Tax Cash Back Credit”provides graduates from an eligible post-secondary institution, who live, work and pay provincial personal income tax, eligibility for a non-taxable rebate of 50 percent of their tuition costs to a maximum of $2,000 per annum (maximum lifetime rebate of $10,000). The graduate has 20 years to utilize the tax credit.

Nova Scotia: The “Graduate Tax Credit” is available to anyone living and working in Nova Scotia who graduated from an eligible post-secondary program on or after January 1, 2006. The Tax Credit is only accessible by application and can reduce the provincial portion of income tax by $1,000 for a single year (unused portions can be carried forward for up to two years). In 2008, the credit has been expanded to $2,000.

Saskatchewan: Introduced in 2007, the “Saskatchewan Graduate Tax Exemption” replaced the Graduate Tax Credit (whose value was increased in 2004 from $350 to $500 with a target of $1,000 by 2007) allows graduates of any recognized post-secondary institution to be exempt from provincial income tax for $10,000 per year, or $50,000 during the first five years following graduation. The exemption is likely to result in annual tax savings for a graduate of $1,100 or $5,500 over five years.

– Courtesty of Usher, Alex and Duncan, Patrick (2008). Beyond the Sticker Shock: A Closer Look at Canadian Tuition Fees. Toronto, ON: Educational Policy Institute.

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