Please note that the following document, although believed to be correct at the time of issue, may not represent the current position of the Department.
Prenez note que ce document, bien qu'exact au moment émis, peut ne pas représenter la position actuelle du ministère.
Principal Issues:
whether tuition tax credit & education tax credit are available in respect of a university that is NOT designated under the Canada Student Loans program
Position TAKEN: yes for both credits
Reasons FOR POSITION TAKEN:
-tuition tax credit -position stated in IT-516R
-education tax credit -
November 21, 1994
XXXXXXXXXX DISTRICT OFFICE Rulings Directorate
XXXXXXXXXX A. Humenuk
Chief of Public Affairs 957-8953
941811
XXXXXXXXXX University
We are replying to your July 14, 1994 request for assistance in determining whether the above noted university is eligible to issue tax receipts for the purpose of the tuition tax credit and the education tax credit. We apologize for the delay in our response.
XXXXXXXXXX
contacted you because of a problem that had arisen in respect of the tuition receipts issued by the university. He told you that a student had been denied the tuition tax credit because XXXXXXXXXX was not listed as a specified educational institution under the Canada Student Loans Act nor was it designated by the Ministry of Human Resources to be an educational institution offering courses that furnish a person with skills for, or improve a person's skills in, an occupation. You have also asked us to address the issue of whether XXXXXXXXXX is a "designated educational institution" for the purpose of the education tax credit.
As stated in paragraph 3 of Interpretation Bulletin IT-516R "Tuition Tax Credit", tuition receipts from an educational institution whose name contains the word university will normally be considered to be eligible for the tuition tax credit unless specific information to the contrary exists. Under the Degree Granting Act of Ontario, it is illegal for a person to grant degrees, use or be known by a name of a university unless it is authorized to do so by an Act of the Ontario Assembly. The private act authorizing the XXXXXXXXXX to grant degrees and be considered a university was enacted in XXXXXXXXXX The information submitted by
XXXXXXXXXX currently offered by the university support rather than contradict the fact that the university is a qualifying institution for the purposes of section 118.5 of the Act.
While it is unlikely that subsection 118.6(1) of the Act was intended to deny a full time university student an education tax credit because of the lack of designation by the provincial authorities, a strict interpretation of the definition of "designated educational institution" in subsection 118.6(1) would suggest that a university or college which is not
"... designated by the Lieutenant Governor in Council of a province as a specified educational institution under the Canada Student Loans Act, designated by an appropriate authority under the Canada Student Financial Assistance Act, or designated by the Minister of Higher Education and Science of the Province of Quebec for the purposes of An Act respecting financial assistance for students of the Province of Quebec ..."
would not qualify as a designated educational institution and that a student enrolled full time in a program which would otherwise qualify would not be eligible for the credit.
While it seems unlikely that a university or college offering courses at a post-secondary school would not be so designated, XXXXXXXXXX one of the reasons a university might not be designated under the Canada Student Loan program as administered in Ontario (OSAP program), would be that no student enrolled at that university had yet applied for assistance under the OSAP program. This might happen where a private university is affiliated with a public university and the administration and financial affairs are handled solely through the affiliated public university.
XXXXXXXXXX
Should you encounter another situation in which an educational institution has not been designated by the provincial authorities in circumstances where it is reasonable to think that it might qualify if application were made, you may wish to contact the provincial authorities for clarification. In the event that a provincial designation is not forthcoming in respect of a university or similar institution, we would be pleased to review the situation in greater detail.
J.A. Szeszycki
for Section Chief
Personal and General Section
Business and General Division
Rulings Directorate
Policy and Legislation Branch
