27 July 1999 Internal T.I. 9916057 - LIFELONG LEARNING - FULL-TIME ATTENDANCE

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.

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:

The Winnipeg TSO received a query from an individual taking his masters degree by correspondence through a US university and interested in participating in the Lifelong Learning Program (LLP).

Position TAKEN:

Distance learning, through a university outside Canada, qualifies if the student is enrolled full-time in a qualifying educational program.

Reasons FOR POSITION TAKEN:

Question of fact based on the course of study. The student must be enrolled as a full-time student at a designated educational institution. There is no requirement that the student be in full-time attendance (118.5 tuition credit) as the LLP is tied to the education tax credit(118.6). Provided the student can pass the various 118.6 tests as modified by 146.02(1) he should generally qualify. Being a correspondence based program the 10 hours per week on courses or work in the program may be a difficult requirement to meet.

		July 27, 1999

Winnipeg Tax Services Office HEADQUARTERS
Client Services Division D. Miller
957-2060
Attention: Jim Simpson
7-991605

Lifelong Learning Plan

This is in reply to your letter of June 2, 1999, regarding section 146.02 of the Income Tax Act (the “Act”). We understand that an individual is taking his Masters Degree at a U.S. university through correspondence. The courses will be sufficient so that the individual will be considered by the university as a full time student. Interpretation Bulletin IT-516R2 indicates that a person taking a distance program would not qualify for the tuition credit as that person would not meet the requirement of paragraph 118.5(1)(b) of the Act, as he is not in full-time attendance. You are concerned whether “full-time attendance” is a requirement with respect to the recently enacted legislation pertaining to the Lifelong Learning Plan (“LLP”).

Our Comments

Subparagraph (f)(i) of the definition of “eligible amount” in subsection 146.02(1) of the Act requires that the designated person be enrolled “as a full-time student in a qualifying educational program”. Pursuant to subsection 146.02(1) of the Act, a “qualifying educational program” has been given the same meaning as is found in subsection 118.6(1) of the Act, except that such definition is to be read without reference to paragraphs (a) and (b) of the definition; and the reference to “3 consecutive weeks” is changed to “3 consecutive months”. Accordingly, for purposes of the LLP, the full-time student must be enrolled in a program of not less than 3 consecutive months duration that provides that each student taking the program spend not less than 10 hours per week on courses or work in the program. The program, in this scenario, would also have to be at a post-secondary level.

We confirm that, unlike the requirements pertaining to the tuition credit for students enrolled in universities outside Canada, there is no requirement that the student be in actual attendance at the U.S. university. However, it is a question of fact whether a correspondent student spends the required 10 hours each week throughout the minimum three month duration on courses or work in the program. When there are insufficient or, as in your situation, no direct hours of instruction, paragraph 11 of IT-515R2 outlines the Department’s interpretation of reasonable time outside the classroom that could be considered in satisfying the 10 hours per week requirement.

For your information, a copy of this memorandum will be severed using the Access to Information Act criteria and placed in the Legislation Access Database (LAD) on the Department’s mainframe computer. A severed copy will also be distributed to the commercial tax publishers for inclusion in their databases. The severing process will remove all material that is not subject to disclosure including information that could disclose the identity of the taxpayer. Should your client request a copy of this memorandum, they can be provided with the LAD version or they may request a copy severed using the Privacy Act criteria which does not remove client identity. Requests for this latter version should be made by you to Jackie Page at 819 994-2898. The severed copy will be sent to you for delivery to the client.

We trust that these comments will be of assistance.

Jim Wilson
for Director
Business and Publications Division
Income Tax Rulings and
Interpretations Directorate
Policy and Legislation Branch

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