If you were a student in a previous year, you might have unused federal tuition, education, and textbook amounts that you can claim on your 2016 return to reduce your tax payable. If that’s the case, you can determine your carry forward amount by:
- Referring to your most recent notice of assessment (NOA) or notice or reassessment or
- Logging into the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) My Account service (registration required)
Remember:
- You have to claim your carry forward amounts in the first year that you have to pay income tax
- You can’t carry forward unused amounts that you transferred to a parent, grandparent, spouse, or common-law partner and
- Amounts that have been carried forward from a previous year cannot be transferred
Tax Tip: Even if you don’t have to pay income tax and you’re carrying forward all or part of your tuition, education, and textbook amounts, you should still file your tax return on time so that the CRA can update their records with your unused credit amounts.
Where do I claim this?
Follow these steps in H&R Block’s tax software to file your 2016 taxes:
- On the PREPARE tab, click the LET’S TALK ABOUT 2016 icon.
- Select the checkbox labelled, I wasn’t a student, but I have unused education amounts then click Continue.
- Click the STUDENTS icon. You will find yourself here:
- Under the CREDIT AMOUNTS heading, select the checkbox labelled Tuition or examination fees carried forward from a previous year.
- When you arrive at the page for your Tuition, education, and textbook amounts, enter your information into the tax software.
If you were a student in 2016, H&R Block’s tax software will automatically carry forward any of your unused Tuition, education, and textbook amounts for you.
