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Last updated: September 10 2008
Tuition Fee Rebate Program - Calling All Students!
Manitoba residents: are you aware that you can benefit from the Manitoba Tuition Fee Income Tax Rebate if you graduated from a post-secondary institution since January 1, 2007? If you are now employed in Manitoba and pay tax in the province, you can apply for a rebate of 60% of your tuition costs to reduce the income tax payable.
To apply for the rebate, the total tuition paid over the years you attended school must be reported on your T1 income tax return. A portion of these fees paid will be used to reduce the amount of Manitoba tax you are required to pay. The provincial tax payable will be reduced over the next six or more years, and you can even delay the first claim by as much as ten years.
Example:
Aaron graduates in 2008, total tuition paid $20,000
Maximum claimable - $12,000 (60% of tuition)
Claim in Year One
Manitoba Tax Payable - $600
Tuition Rebate is the lesser of:
-
10% of tuition ($1,200)
-
$2,500 (maximum available annually)
- Manitoba tax payable - $600
Rebate - $600
Remaining tuition claimable $11,400 ($12,000 - $600)
Year Two
Manitoba Tax Payable - $2,400
Tuition Rebate is the lesser of:
-
10% of tuition ($1,200)
-
$2,500 (maximum available annually)
-
Manitoba tax payable - $2,400
Rebate: $1,200
Remaining tuition claimable $10,200 ($11,400 - $1,200)
Years Three to Ten:
Assuming Manitoba tax payable remains above $1,200 into the future, the tuition rebate will be available for at least the next eight years.
Here are the important points related to the Manitoba tuition fee income tax rebate:
- 60% of tuition fees paid up to $25,000 are claimable under the program
- Initial claim must be made within 10 years of graduation
- The benefit can be applied over the next 6 to twenty years
- Six years is the minimum period over which the rebate can be claimed
- Tuition fees DO NOT have to be paid in Manitoba (CRA must recognize the institution in order to make the initial claim)
- You must live in Manitoba to make the tuition claim on your return
Note that eligible grads have up to 20 years in which to claim their rebate. The minimum period over which the full rebate can be claimed is six years, so in principle, someone could wait 14 years before starting to file their claims. Thus, eligible 2007 grads who neglected to file a claim or were unaware of the program have lost nothing.
Per Manitoba Finance statistics, for the 2007 tax year the total amount of tuition claimed was $20.3 million, or an average of $4,265 per claimant.
Saskatchewan has a similiar program called The Graduate Retention Program, which is a refundable income tax credit which rebates up to $20,000 of tuition fees paid. There are various rebates available to students based on the length and type of program they are enrolled in.
In New Brunswick, all students enrolled for the first time at a university and attend a provincially funded university are eligible for a $2,000 one time benefit.
For further information on any of these programs, check with your provincial government's Department of Finance.
