Tuition Tax Credit in Canada: How Students Can Save in 2025

Post-secondary education is expensive, but the tuition tax credit helps recover some of it through the tax system. For 2025, students can claim a non-refundable federal credit of 14.5% on eligible tuition fees (the federal “appropriate percentage” fell from 15% to 14.5% after the mid-2025 federal rate cut, and drops again to 14% in 2026) — plus a provincial credit where one still exists, at each province’s lowest tax rate, ranging from 4% in Nunavut to 10.8% in Manitoba. Alberta, Ontario, and Saskatchewan no longer give a provincial credit on new tuition.

Here’s how the tuition credit works, who can claim it, and the often-overlooked rules around carrying forward unused amounts or transferring them to a supporting family member.

What Counts as Eligible Tuition

Eligible tuition fees include:

• Tuition paid to a designated post-secondary institution in Canada (university, college, or accredited trade school)
• Fees paid to a Canadian educational institution providing occupational-skills training certified by Employment and Social Development Canada (students must be 16+)
• Tuition at a university outside Canada if the student is enrolled full-time in a course lasting at least three consecutive weeks leading to a degree at the bachelor level or higher
• Tuition paid to a U.S. institution for a student living near the border who commutes

Ancillary fees (student association, athletics, health plans) are eligible up to $250 per year unless they’re mandatory for all students.

Not eligible: tuition under $100 per institution, tuition reimbursed by an employer, fees paid by a scholarship if the scholarship itself is tax-exempt, and textbook costs (the separate federal textbook credit was eliminated in 2017).

The Federal Credit

The federal tuition tax credit is calculated as:

14.5% × eligible tuition fees reported on Form T2202 (the “appropriate percentage” for 2025; 14% from 2026)

Your school issues Form T2202 (Tuition and Enrolment Certificate) by the end of February each year. The certificate shows tuition fees paid and months of enrolment. Starting in 2017, the federal education and textbook amounts were eliminated, so only tuition itself generates a credit federally.

Worked Example — $8,500 Tuition

Emma is a full-time student at the University of Calgary and paid $8,500 in tuition for 2025.

• Federal tuition credit: 14.5% × $8,500 = $1,232.50
• Alberta provincial credit: $0 — Alberta eliminated its provincial tuition and education tax credits for 2020 and later tax years (pre-2020 carry-forward amounts can still be used)
• Total tax reduction: $1,232.50

If Emma’s tax owing for 2025 is only $400 (she worked part-time and earned $18,000), she can only use $400 of the credit this year. The unused $832.50 can be carried forward or transferred.

Carry-Forward and Transfer Rules

This is where the tuition credit becomes genuinely valuable — even students with zero income benefit.

Carry-Forward

Unused federal tuition credits can be carried forward indefinitely and applied against the student’s own tax in any future year. Most students accumulate $5,000–$20,000 of carry-forward by graduation, which shelters their first few years of post-grad income from tax.

Carry-forward happens automatically once reported on Schedule 11. CRA tracks the balance on your notice of assessment.

Transfer to a Supporting Person

If the student can’t use the full credit in the current year, they may transfer up to $5,000 of federal tuition (minus the amount used by the student) to:

• A parent or grandparent
• A spouse or common-law partner
• The student’s spouse’s parent or grandparent

The transfer is current-year only — carry-forward amounts cannot be transferred later. If a student doesn’t transfer this year and carries forward instead, the credit is locked to the student forever.

Worked Example — Transfer to Parent

Continuing Emma’s example: she used $400 of her federal credit against her own tax. She has $1,232.50 − $400 = $832.50 of federal credit unused.

Options:

1. Carry forward all $832.50 to use against her own future tax
2. Transfer up to $832.50 (still under the $5,000 cap) to her parent’s return for immediate use

If Emma’s parent has enough federal tax payable to use it, transferring saves them $832.50 immediately — but Emma loses it forever. If Emma expects to earn well after graduation, carrying forward is usually better because her own future marginal rate will likely match or exceed her parent’s.

Provincial Tuition Credits in 2025

Most provinces and territories mirror the federal credit, applying their lowest provincial tax rate to your tuition. CRA’s 2025 provincial and territorial Schedule 11 forms divide the credit by that rate to work out the tuition amount.

Alberta, Ontario, and Saskatchewan no longer add to a provincial tuition credit for new study periods. Students there can still use unused amounts from before the elimination, but they earn no new provincial credit.

Other Education-Related Benefits

The tuition credit is only part of the picture. Students should also look at:

• Canada Training Credit — refundable credit of up to $250/year for workers 26+ with a training credit balance
• Interest on student loans — non-refundable credit of 14.5% (2025) of interest paid on Canada Student Loans or provincial equivalents (not private lines of credit)
• Moving expenses — deductible if you moved 40+ km closer to your school
• Scholarships and bursaries — CRA says a post-secondary scholarship, fellowship, or bursary may be fully exempt when you are a full-time qualifying student and the award is intended to support your enrolment in the program (see line 13010)

Key Takeaways

• Federal tuition credit = 14.5% of eligible tuition (2025 rate; 14% from 2026) on Form T2202
• Unused credits carry forward indefinitely to the student’s future returns
• Up to $5,000 (federal) can be transferred to a parent, grandparent, or spouse in the current year only
• Ontario has eliminated the provincial tuition credit for studies from September 5, 2017 (earlier unused amounts can still be claimed if you lived in Ontario on December 31, 2017)
• The credit is non-refundable — it can’t reduce tax below zero

Estimate your credit with the Tuition Tax Credit Calculator. If you’re also paying student loan interest, check how that interacts on our Student Loan Calculator.