Principal Issues: Do Special Audit or Academic Sampler courses for students qualify for the ETC?
Position: Depends
Reasons: CRA generally relies on the institution's determination as to whether the individual is registered as a full or part time student for the ETC.
XXXXXXXXXX 2011-040381 George A. Robertson, CMA
March 1, 2012
Dear XXXXXXXXXX :
Re: Education Tax Credit (ETC) for Non-Credit Studies
This is in response to your April 20, 2011 e-mail request on whether individuals enrolled as Special Audit or Academic Sampler students would qualify as being enrolled in a specified educational program (SEP) for claiming the ETC under section 118.6 of the Income Tax Act (the Act). We are prepared to provide the following general comments, which may be of assistance.
The details as provided for these non credit studies are:
The students
- have permission from the applicable University department;
- have enrolled through that department [not the University];
- do not hand in assignments, write exams, or receive a final grade for the course; and
- pay approximately half of the regular tuition fee.
These courses would all last a minimum of three consecutive weeks, and many would contain a minimum of 12 instruction hours per month.
Our comments:
Pursuant to subsection 118.6(2) of the Act, an individual's ETC is based on the number of months that the student is enrolled in a qualifying educational program (QEP) as a full-time student at a designated educational institution (DEI). The CRA generally relies on the educational institution's determination as to whether the individual is registered as a full-time student.
A part-time student may also be eligible for the ETC if the student is enrolled in a specified educational program (SEP). A SEP means a program:
- that would be a QEP if the definition of QEP were read without reference to the words "that provides that each student taking the program spend not less than 10 hours per week on courses or work in the program", and
- "requires a minimum of 12 hours of instruction each month on courses in the program".
In order to be eligible for the ETC, both paragraphs 12 and 8 of Income Tax Interpretation Bulletins Education Tax Credit (IT 515R2) and Tuition Tax Credit (IT 516R2), respectively, refer to one of the criteria for a course to be considered at the "post-secondary school level," is that, in Canada, a course should provide credit towards a degree, diploma or certificate. It is CRA's view that the term program in the definition of QEP and therefore a SEP, refers to a program of study rather than to each course individually. Whether or not this requirement would be met in the circumstances, is a question of fact.
Yours truly,
Sharmini Ratnasingham
Assistant Director
Personal and Credit Section
Financial Industries Division
Income Tax Rulings Directorate
Legislative Policy and Regulatory Affairs Branch