6 October 2011 External T.I. 2011-0406601E5 - Education Tax Credit- Part-Time Student

Please note that the following document, although believed to be correct at the time of issue, may not represent the current position of the CRA.
Prenez note que ce document, bien qu'exact au moment émis, peut ne pas représenter la position actuelle de l'ARC.

Principal Issues: 1. How does the ITA differentiate between a full-time student and a part-time student for the purposes of the child care expense deduction and the Education Tax Credit?

Position: 1. Although the time requirements under 63(3) and 118.6 are similar, the Education Tax Credit contains specific definitions for designated educational institution, qualifying educational program and specified educational program

Reasons: 1. The legislation.

XXXXXXXXXX 							2011-040660
								Robert Dubis

October 6, 2011

Dear XXXXXXXXXX :

We are replying to your letter of January 17, 2011 regarding the definition of "full-time" student for the purposes of claiming the Education Tax Credit.

The situation outlined in your letter appears to relate to a factual one, involving a specific taxpayer. It is not this Directorate's practice to comment on proposed transactions involving a specific taxpayer other than in the form of an advanced income tax ruling. For more information about how to obtain a ruling, please refer to Information Circular IC70-6R5, "Advanced Income Tax Rulings", dated May 17, 2002. This Information Circular and other CRA publications can be accessed on the internet at http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca. Although we cannot comment on your specific situation, we are prepared to provide the following general comments, which may be of assistance.

Your letter refers to the time requirements discussed on Form T778, Child Care Expenses Deduction. The legislative provisions dealing with child care expenses are contained in subsection 63(3) of the Income Tax Act (Act). For the purpose of determining whether you are a full-time or part-time student for the purpose of the Education Tax Credit, the legislative provisions are contained in section 118.6 of the Act.

Although the time requirements for both the child care deduction and the Education Tax Credit are similar, the legislative requirements for qualifying for either the full-time or part-time Education Tax Credit are more detailed. Specifically, for the purposes of determining whether you qualify for the full-time Education Tax Credit, your institution must ascertain whether you "are enrolled in a qualifying educational program as a full-time student at a designated educational institution" under subsection 118.6(1) of the Act.

Where the student is enrolled at a designated educational institution but does not qualify as a full-time student, the student may still qualify for the part-time Education Tax Credit. To qualify, the student must be enrolled in a specified educational program that provides that each student in the program spend not less than 12 hours in the month on courses in the program. A specified educational program means a program that would be a qualifying educational program if the definition for that term were read without reference to the 10 hours per week.

The determination of whether or not a student is entitled to a certain number of months on a full-time or part-time basis for the purposes of the Education Tax Credit is generally the responsibility of the particular educational institution.

We refer you to publications P105, Students and Income Tax and Interpretation Bulletin IT-515R2, Education Tax Credit for a discussion of the meaning of the highlighted terms for the purposes of claiming the Education Tax Credit. Both publications are available on the Canada Revenue Agency's Web site at www.cra.gc.ca.

We trust that the information provided is helpful.

Yours truly,

Sharmini Ratnasingham
Assistant Director
for Director
Ontario Corporate Tax Division
Income Tax Rulings Directorate
Legislative Policy and Regulatory Affairs Branch