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La version française de cette publication est intitulée Renseignements pour les étudiants – Établissements d'enseignement à l'extérieur du Canada.

Table of Contents

• General Information
• Leaving Canada for education or employment
• Factual residents of Canada
  • Tax treaties
  • Foreign tax credits
  • Which forms book do I use?
• Non-residents
• Foreign income tax obligations
• Your income, deductions, credits, and benefits
  • Income
  • Deductions
  • Credits
  • Benefits
• Forms for students
• Students with an impairment in physical or mental functions
• Tuition, education, and textbook amounts
  • Tuition amount – University outside Canada (Form TL11A)
  • Education amount – University outside Canada (Form TL11A)
  • Tuition amount – Commuter to the United States (Form TL11C)
  • Education amount – Commuter to the United States (Form TL11C)
  • Textbook amount (Forms TL11A and TL11C)
  • Tuition amount – Educational Institutions Outside Canada for a Deemed Resident of Canada (Form TL11D)
• Lifelong learning plan (LLP)
• Registered education Savings plan (RESP)
• Call us
• References and publications
• Appendix
  • Table of differences between Forms TL11A, TL11C, and TL11D

Are you enrolling in a course or learning program at a foreign university, college, or other accredited post-secondary educational institution outside Canada? If so, this information will help you better understand your Canadian income tax obligations and benefits.

Guide P105, Students and Income Tax, and the Students webpage contain information for students who are residents of Canada, including those who are temporarily living outside Canada. This information sheet provides additional information as well as links to other relevant tax publications and webpages that may help answer questions about your tax situation.

If you are an international student studying in Canada, go to International students.

Leaving Canada for education or employment

Individuals’ obligations or rights with respect to filing a Canadian income tax and benefit return for a particular year depend on their residency for income tax purposes. For residents of Canada, the requirement to file a return depends on the individual’s income and other factors that may apply. See "Do you have to file a return?" in the guide for the tax package for the province or territory where you usually live.

For more information, see Income Tax Folio S5-F1-C1, Determining an Individual’s Residence Status.

Factual residents of Canada

If your stay abroad is temporary and you have kept significant residential ties in Canada, you will generally be considered a factual resident of Canada. A deemed resident is an individual who does not establish significant residential ties with Canada, who stays in Canada for 183 days or more in a calendar year and who is not considered to be a resident in their home country under the terms of a tax treaty between Canada and that country.

A factual resident generally has to file a Canadian income tax return every year to report world income (from all sources in Canada and abroad) and to claim any entitlement to certain benefits. A deemed resident of Canada is subject to similar reporting requirements.

The same rules for reporting and calculating Canadian income also generally apply to foreign income earned. For example, if you are a factual resident, you generally have to report any employment income and other types of income earned in Canada and abroad, such as the taxable part (if any) of scholarships, fellowships, and bursaries, even if you do not get any income information slips from foreign sources similar to a Canadian T4 or T4A slip.

However, even if you have no income or tax payable, you can still file a Canadian tax return to report your eligible tuition fees and education and textbook amounts. This will allow you to carry forward the unused amounts to the first future year when you have tax payable. By filing a return, you may also be able to transfer a part or all of the unused current-year amounts, within limits, to another eligible person such as a spouse or a common-law partner, or to your or your spouse’s or common-law partner’s parent or grandparent.

If you are a factual resident when you file your return, the CRA will determine your eligibility and tell you if you are entitled to receive the GST/HST credit. To qualify for Canada Child Benefit you and your spouse or common-law partner have to file a return every year, even if there is no income to report.

Your registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) deduction limits for a future year may be increased based on qualifying income earned in Canada and abroad that you report on your current year’s tax return.

If you are 18 or older, a resident of Canada, and have employment income outside Canada where you are not required to contribute to a plan that is similar to the Canada Pension Plan (CPP), you may be able to contribute to the CPP. See Form CPT20, Election to Pay Canada Pension Plan Contributions.

Tax treaties

If Canada has a tax treaty (also called a tax convention) with the foreign country where you are staying, it might affect how your income is reported and taxed in Canada and in the foreign country.

Tax treaties are generally intended to avoid double taxation. They have specific rules on how certain types of income are reported and taxed, based on the residency of the individual. A tax treaty might also define how residency is determined and what taxes are affected, so it is important to check if a tax treaty might apply to your situation.

If you are considered a factual or deemed resident of Canada for tax purposes, and a resident of another country according to a tax treaty Canada has with the other country, you may be considered a deemed non-resident of Canada.

Some tax treaties have special rules for students, such as Article XX of the Canada-U.S. tax convention. Note that the term "contracting state" used in the text of any tax treaty simply means a country that has signed the treaty.

Go to Tax treaties for more information. The "Treaty countries" link brings you to Finance Canada's Status of Tax Treaties webpage where you will find a list of Canada's current tax treaties. Select a country to see the convention's terms and conditions.

Canada has agreements with many countries for exchange of information programs that make it easier to share taxpayer data for compliance purposes.

When you file a Canadian return, some of the income you earned abroad might not be taxable in Canada because of the provisions of a tax treaty. See the instructions for line 256 in the General Income Tax and Benefit Guide for more information.

Foreign tax credits

When you report foreign income on which you paid a final non-refundable foreign income tax, and that income is not exempt from Canadian tax under a tax treaty, you may be eligible for a federal foreign tax credit to help offset the foreign tax you paid. See Income Tax Folio S5-F2-C1, Foreign Tax Credit, and Form T2209, Federal Foreign Tax Credits.

A provincial or territorial foreign tax credit might also apply - see Form T2036, Provincial or Territorial Foreign Tax Credit, and the instruction sheet for completing your provincial or territorial forms (except Quebec).

Which forms book do I use?

Factual residents use the income tax package for the province or territory where they keep residential ties. This would usually be where they lived immediately before leaving Canada and is entered as the "province or territory of residence on December 31" on the tax return. In this case, follow the guide and instructions for your tax package carefully, as you may be entitled to certain provincial or territorial tax credits even while you are away from Canada temporarily.

Deemed residents have to use the income tax and benefit package for non-residents and deemed residents of Canada. See our webpage for Deemed residents and note the special rules for government employees.

Non-residents

If you sever residential ties with Canada to live abroad permanently or continue to receive Canadian source income after a permanent move from Canada, see Individuals – Leaving or entering Canada and non-residents for more information.

Foreign income tax obligations

Your residency status, the type and amount of income you earn during your stay abroad, the country that is the source of your income, whether there is a tax treaty in force, and the length of your stay are among the various factors that can affect both foreign and Canadian tax obligations.

Even if you remain a factual resident of Canada and continue filing Canadian income tax returns, the statutory filing requirements for income tax returns in the foreign country may or may not be affected, depending on the various factors outlined above. Any foreign requirements to pay tax will likely have a direct impact on how you complete or file your Canadian return.

Before you leave Canada, contact the tax authorities of a foreign country to find out what rules might apply to you. Special tax rules might apply to international students and knowing what they are will help you to meet both your Canadian and foreign income tax obligations.

For example, even though most scholarships, fellowships, and bursaries are no longer taxed in Canada (depending on whether you are entitled to the education amount), some countries may consider these amounts to be taxable income, especially if the scholarship is received from a source in that country. If part of such a foreign scholarship has to be reported on your Canadian income tax return, then that part is declared at line 130 (Other income) in Canadian dollars, and a foreign tax credit may generally be calculated for the non-refundable foreign tax you paid on the net scholarship declared. Check to see if Canada has a tax treaty with the country in which you are studying. This will help you to determine how any income you may earn while living in that country will be affected for tax purposes.

We cannot provide general information about the tax laws of foreign countries and jurisdictions. Although some foreign income tax information can be found on the Internet, it may not always be accurate or up-to-date for your particular situation. For this reason, it is preferable to contact the foreign tax authorities directly.

The following general information is for students who are considered to be factual or deemed residents of Canada.

Your income, deductions, credits, and benefits

Guide P105, Students and Income Tax and the Students webpage explain the common types of income, deductions, credits, and benefits that generally apply to students. Some common areas for consideration are listed below:

Income

Any foreign income you report has to be shown in Canadian dollars on your Canadian income tax return (this also applies to deductions claimed). For example, foreign employment income is found under Line 104 – Foreign employment income. If you have received assistance in the form of a scholarship, fellowship, bursary, or study grant, please see Income Tax Folio S1-F2-C3, Scholarships, Research Grants and Other Education Assistance.

Deductions

If you paid moving expenses for your move from Canada you may be eligible to claim the moving expense deduction. See paragraph 5 of Interpretation Bulletin IT-178, Moving Expenses, and the instructions on Form T1-M, Moving Expenses Deduction. If you are moving to be enrolled in a program at a post-secondary educational institution, you have to be a student in full-time attendance in order to claim the deduction. In such a case, the moving expenses deduction is limited to the amount of scholarships, fellowships, bursaries, prizes and research grants that are included in your income for the year.

Credits

Note that the Public transit amount (line 364), on schedule 1 applies only to public transportation in Canada.

Interest paid on a student loan from a foreign source is not eligible for a non-refundable tax credit. For more information on the eligible student loans, see Line 319 on Schedule 1 in your General Income Tax and Benefit Guide and the provincial or territorial instructions for line 5852 on Form 428, if applicable.

Line 323 in the General Income Tax and Benefit Guide and the provincial or territorial instructions for line 5856 on Schedule 11 (except Quebec) also explain how to calculate and claim the applicable non-refundable tax credits for the tuition, education and textbook amounts, how to transfer unused current-year tax credits to another designated individual or carry them forward to a future year, and how to get the student form certified to support such a claim (see the next heading). They also explain which federal and provincial or territorial schedules students have to complete when filing their income tax returns.

The cost of any books that is included in the total fees for a correspondence course may be part of the eligible tuition fees only if the eligible educational institution is located in Canada. In no other case is the cost of books added to eligible tuition fees.

With respect to the tuition, education, and textbook amounts, the certification of Canada’s department of Employment and Social Development Canada does not apply to any educational institutions outside Canada, whether or not the course is to develop or improve skills in an occupation.

Benefits

Sometimes a student is employed by an educational institution and receives free or subsidized tuition (sometimes called a tuition fee waiver) as an employment benefit. The benefit may be taxable or there may be a restriction on claiming tuition fees and the education and textbook amounts, because the tuition fee waiver may prevent the student’s program from being a qualifying or specified educational program. See Income Tax Folio S2-F3-C2, Benefits and Allowances Received from Employment for more information.

Forms for students

One of the following tax forms has to be completed and certified by a qualified foreign educational institution to support any claim for the Canadian tuition, education, and textbook amounts:

• TL11A, Tuition, Education, and Textbook Amounts Certificate – University outside Canada
• TL11C, Tuition, Education, and Textbook Amounts Certificate – Commuter to the United States
• TL11D, Tuition Fees Certificate – Educational Institutions outside Canada for a Deemed Resident of Canada

The general eligibility conditions are explained below. You can select one of the forms above to download it, or you can get it at Forms and publications. To order printed copies, call 1-800-959-8281 toll-free from Canada or the United States. If you are calling from outside Canada and the United States, order our tax forms at 613-940-8495. We accept collect calls by automated response. Please note that you may hear a beep and experience a normal connection delay.

When you ask your foreign educational institution to complete and certify one of these forms, refer them to Information Sheet RC190, Information for Educational Institutions outside Canada, for instructions. You do not have to attach a certified form to your income tax return, but keep it in case we ask to see it later.

If you are transferring unused tuition, education, and textbook amounts to a spouse or common-law partner, or to your or your spouse’s or common-law partner’s parent or grandparent, complete and sign the designation of transfer (see Part 3 of Form TL11A, Part 4 of Form TL11C, or slip 2 of Form T2202A, Tuition, Education and Textbook Amounts Certificate, below), and give a copy of the form to the person you are transferring the amounts to.

Students with an impairment in physical or mental functions

If you are a part-time student who has an impairment in physical or mental functions that prevents you from being enrolled full-time, an attesting letter from a healthcare professional must be submitted to us.

You may be entitled to claim full-time rather than part-time education and textbook amounts in such a situation. If you are already entitled to the disability amount (line 316 on Schedule 1) the attesting letter from a medical practitioner is not needed when completing forms TL11A or TL11C.

Tuition, education, and textbook amounts

In choosing a foreign educational institution, an important consideration is whether you will be able to claim the tuition fees you paid and the related education and textbook amounts.

Unless you commute to the United States or are a deemed resident of Canada, a foreign educational institution must be a university outside Canada (see Form TL11A). We will accept that an educational institution is a university outside Canada for purposes of the tuition, education, and textbook amounts if it meets all of the following conditions:

• it has the authority to confer academic degrees of at least the baccalaureate level (bachelor's degree or equivalent) according to the education standards of the country it is located in;
• it has an academic entrance requirement of at least secondary school matriculation standing; and
• it is organized for teaching, study and research in the higher branches of learning.

See Information Sheet RC190, Information for Educational Institutions Outside Canada, for the information we use to determine if an educational institution is a university outside Canada for purposes of the tuition, education, and textbook amounts.

The foreign educational institutions listed in Schedule VIII of the Income Tax Regulations are considered universities outside Canada for purposes of the tuition, education, and textbook amounts. These institutions are also qualified donees, if they are also included on a publicly available list maintained by us, which means that donations they receive may be eligible for a non-refundable tax credit (or a deduction for corporations). See Information Sheet RC191, Becoming a Prescribed University outside Canada.

For the United States, we will also accept that an accredited degree-granting institution currently recognized by the Institute of Education Sciences National Center for Education Statistics or the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) is a university outside Canada, provided that the institution can grant degrees of at least the bachelor level.

An educational institution outside Canada that confers only associate degrees, diplomas, certificates or other degrees at a level less than the bachelor level or equivalent does not qualify. An institution that is affiliated to a university but that does not have the authority to confer degrees does not qualify. The institution itself must be able to confer degrees at the bachelor level or higher to be accepted as a university outside Canada for purposes of the tuition, education, and textbook amounts.

We will also accept that an educational institution that is part of the Association of Commonwealth Universities is a university outside Canada, provided that the institution can grant degrees of at least the bachelor level. See the links to the relevant websites under References and Publications.

If you live in Canada all year near the United States border and commute regularly to take courses in the U.S., a qualified educational institution is a university, college, or other institution that provides courses at a post-secondary school level, see Form TL11C.

For a deemed resident of Canada claiming eligible tuition fees, a qualified foreign educational institution is a university, college, or other educational institution that gives courses at a post-secondary school level. Form TL11D must be completed. However, for a deemed resident to claim the education and textbook amounts, the educational institution has to be a university outside Canada and Form TL11A must be completed.

To determine if we accept a particular foreign educational institution as an educational institution outside Canada for purposes of the tuition, education, and textbook amounts, call one of the telephone numbers shown under Call us.

Even if the institution is an accredited and recognized educational institution, your course or learning program must still meet certain conditions to be eligible for the tuition, education, and textbook amounts.

For more information, see Income Tax Folio S1-F2-C1, Education and Textbook Tax Credits, and S1-F2-C2, Tuition Tax Credit. The RC190 information sheet for foreign educational institutions provides other details on eligibility conditions. Note that the eligibility conditions for claiming tuition amounts are not the same as for claiming the education and textbook amounts.

The conditions for claiming the tuition, education, and textbook amounts can vary according to your situation, attendance or enrolment, the duration of the courses, and the type of educational institution. See Table of differences between Forms TL11A, TL11C and TL11D in the Appendix of this information sheet to find out what requirements apply to your situation.

The following paragraphs highlight the general eligibility conditions.

Changes for 2017

Effective January 1, 2017, the federal education and textbook tax credits will be eliminated. This measure does not eliminate the tuition tax credit, and it does not affect the ability to claim the credits on your 2016 return. Unused education and textbook credit amounts carried forward from years prior to 2017 will remain available to be claimed in years after 2017.

Changes will be made to ensure that under other subsections of the income tax act – such as the tax exemption for scholarship, fellowship and bursary income – that currently rely on eligibility for the education tax credit, or use terms defined for the purpose of the education tax credit, will be unaffected by its elimination.

Tuition amount – University outside Canada (Form TL11A)

To claim an amount for tuition fees paid to a university outside Canada, all of the following conditions have to be met:

• you have to be in full-time attendance at a university outside Canada;
• each course that is claimed for tuition purposes must last at least three consecutive weeks;
• each course must also lead to a degree of at least the bachelor level or higher; and
• the tuition fees claimed must consist of eligible fees and must have been paid.

To be considered in full-time attendance, you must be enrolled on a full-time basis and be either physically present on the campus of the university or virtually present at the university in scheduled, interactive, course-related activities conducted by Internet (see below).

Distance learning courses conducted by Internet may qualify for the tuition amount if the courses require you to be in virtual attendance, on a full-time basis, for regularly scheduled classes and other interactive course-related activities. You must be able to show that you have met the full-time attendance requirements.

You are not considered to be in full time attendance if you are carrying a minor course load or if you devote the greater amount of time to other non-curriculum activities, such as earning income from employment.

Fees you paid to a foreign university for distance-learning courses carried on by correspondence-type methods, including courses where you study largely at your own pace, and where assignments or work are submitted electronically, do not qualify for the tuition amount. However, such courses may qualify for the education and textbook amounts as they have different eligibility conditions (see Education amount – University outside Canada (Form TL11A)).

Eligible tuition fees generally include any portion of tuition fees paid by scholarships, fellowships, bursaries, and prizes. However, tuition fees reimbursed by your employer or your parent's employer are not eligible unless the amount reimbursed is included in the recipient’s income.

The eligible tuition fees are shown in Part 1 of Form TL11A and claimed on line 2 of your federal Schedule 11, Tuition, Education, and Textbook Amounts, and on line 2 of your provincial or territorial Schedule (S11) except for residents of Quebec.

If you commute across the border to the United States, see Form TL11C. If you are a deemed resident of Canada and you attend an educational institution outside Canada, see the comments for Form TL11D. The requirements for tuition, education, and textbook amounts in these situations differ.

Education amount – University outside Canada (Form TL11A)

If you want to claim an education amount for a particular month for enrolment in a learning program given by a university outside Canada, all of the following conditions must be met:

• you have to be enrolled at a university outside Canada;
• the course (or at least one of the courses in the learning program in the particular month) must last at least three consecutive weeks and lead to a bachelor degree or higher; and
• you must be enrolled in a qualifying educational program as a full-time student (for the full-time credit) or in a specified educational program (for the part-time credit).

A "qualifying educational program" is a program that lasts at least three consecutive weeks and requires that you spend at least 10 hours per week on courses or work in the program, not including study time. However, for a university outside Canada, the Income Tax Act definition of a "designated educational institution" requires that the program must have at least one course that lasts at least three consecutive weeks and leads to a degree. Both definitions have to be met for a particular month.

A "specified educational program" is one that lasts at least three consecutive weeks and requires that you spend at least 12 hours in the month on courses in the program. If you are a part-time student enrolled in a university outside Canada, such a learning program must also include at least one course that lasts at least three consecutive weeks and leads to a degree.

If you do not qualify for the tuition amount, you may still qualify for the education and textbook amounts because they do not require full-time attendance at a university outside Canada. Part-time students enrolled in a specified educational program may qualify for the part-time education and textbook amounts. However, to claim the full-time education amount, you have to be enrolled as a full-time student (unless the student has a certified impairment in physical or mental functions). This is a separate test from whether you are in a qualifying program.

Therefore, if you are enrolled in distance-learning courses or courses carried on by correspondence, you may be eligible for the full-time education and textbook amounts if the course load is such that the educational institution reasonably considers you to be enrolled full-time, and the other general conditions are met.

You can claim only one education amount for each month, the full-time amount or the part-time amount.

The number of months of part-time enrolment for which you can claim an education amount is shown by the university on Form TL11A in column B; full-time enrolment is indicated in column C.

Enter the number of months to the left of line 3 or line 6 of the federal Schedule 11, Tuition, Education, and Textbook Amounts, and to the left of line 3 or line 4 of the provincial or territorial Schedule (S11) (line 3 or line 6 for Yukon and Nunavut), if applicable. Complete the calculation on these lines to determine the total education amount.

If you participate in university studies that do not lead to a degree, you are not eligible for tuition, education, or textbook amounts on Form TL11A for a university outside Canada. However, if you commute regularly from Canada to a United States post-secondary educational institution or you are a deemed resident of Canada, see the information for Forms TL11C and TL11D, since a degree might not be required.

You are not eligible for the education or textbook amount you receive an allowance, benefit, grant, or reimbursement of education costs from an arm’s length party. For example, you cannot claim these amounts if your employer reimburses part of the education costs regardless of whether the reimbursement is included in the recipient’s income. There is an exception for amounts received as scholarships, fellowships, bursaries, prizes for achievement, and certain government student loans and financial assistance (see Guide P105, Students and Income Tax). These forms of assistance do not prevent you from getting the education and textbook amounts.

Tuition amount – Commuter to the United States (Form TL11C)

If you live in Canada throughout the year near the United States border and regularly commute to an educational institution in the United States where you are enrolled, the following conditions apply for claiming tuition fees:

• the institution has to be a university, college, or other educational institution in the United States that provides courses at a post-secondary level; and
• the fees paid must consist of eligible tuition fees, and the fees paid to any one institution at which the individual is enrolled must be more than $100.

Note that the course does not have to last at least three consecutive weeks, does not have to lead to a degree, and you do not have to attend full-time. Therefore, if you attend part-time, commute, and meet the general conditions, you are eligible for the tuition amount.

The term "commute" means that the distance between your residence and the educational institution must be close enough to allow daily or regular travel back and forth, especially by car, bus or train. Distances that are beyond daily travel, such as airline travel three times a semester, are not considered a commute. In such a case, consider if Form TL11A might apply instead.

The rules relating to education reimbursements are the same for Forms TL11C and TL11A (see Guide P105).

Education amount – Commuter to the United States (Form TL11C)

If you live in Canada throughout the year near the United States border and regularly commute to an educational institution in the United States, the following conditions apply for claiming the education and textbook amounts:

• the institution has to be a university, college, or other educational institution in the United States providing courses at a post-secondary level; and
• you have to be enrolled in a qualifying educational program or a specified educational program. The definition of these two programs is the same as explained for Form TL11A, except that a course in a program does not have to last three consecutive weeks and does not have to lead to a degree.

The same rules under which certain allowances, benefits, grants, or reimbursements of education costs disqualify the education and textbook amount for Form TL11A also apply to Form TL11C (see Guide P105).

The number of months you are enrolled part-time for which you can claim an education amount are shown in column B on Form TL11C; the number of full-time months is shown in column C. You calculate the education amount on line 3 or line 6 of federal Schedule 11, Tuition, Education, and Textbook Amounts and on line 3 or line 4 of the provincial or territorial Schedule (S11) (line 3 or line 6 for Yukon or Nunavut), if applicable.

Textbook amount (Forms TL11A and TL11C)

The federal textbook amount is $20 for each month you qualify for the part-time education amount or $65 for each month you qualify for the full-time amount, as explained in Guide P105.

The educational institution does not enter or certify this amount on any form. Although this amount is used to help offset the cost of textbooks, it is not based on the actual cost of the textbooks. Under no circumstances can the cost of textbooks be considered as eligible tuition fees paid to an educational institution outside Canada.

Calculate the textbook amount on line 4 of federal Schedule 11, Tuition, Education, and Textbook Amounts based on the number of eligible months shown in column B of Form TL11A or TL11C. Calculate the textbook amount on line 7 based on the number of months shown in column C. If you are a factual resident of the Yukon or Nunavut, you may also calculate a territorial textbook amount on line 4 or line 7 of the Yukon or Nunavut territorial Schedule (S11).

Tuition amount – Educational Institutions outside Canada for a Deemed Resident of Canada (Form TL11D)

Use Form TL11D is used to certify only your eligible tuition fees if you are a deemed resident of Canada under section 250 of the Canadian Income Tax Act where you meet the following conditions:

• you are enrolled at a university, college or other educational institution outside Canada that provides courses at a post-secondary level; and
• the eligible tuition fees paid to any one institution must be more than $100.

Note that the course does not have to last at least three consecutive weeks and does not have to lead to a degree, and you do not have to attend full-time.

The education and textbook amounts are not certified under Form TL11D. If the educational institution is a university outside Canada, Form TL11A must be completed.

The following tuition fees are not eligible:

• fees paid or reimbursed by your or your parent's employer, where the amount is not included in your or your parent's income;
• fees paid by a federal, provincial, or territorial job training program, where the amount is not included in your income; or
• fees paid (or eligible to be paid) under a federal program to help athletes, where the payment or reimbursement has not been included in your income.

In most cases, if you have been reimbursed the tuition fees for your program, you will not be eligible for the education tax credit, whether or not the reimbursement is included in income.

Lifelong learning plan (LLP)

Under certain conditions, the LLP allows an individual to withdraw amounts from their RRSP to finance training or education for themselves or for a spouse or common-law partner at a designated educational institution, which includes a university outside Canada in a course lasting at least three consecutive weeks and leading to a degree.

It also includes a United States educational institution that provides post-secondary courses if you live in Canada throughout the year near the United States border and commute to that institution to take the course. For more details, see Guide RC4112, Lifelong Learning Plan (LLP).

Registered education savings plan (RESP)

Under certain conditions, an RESP allows educational assistance payments to be made to a beneficiary (student) to help finance the cost of post-secondary education. This may include a qualifying educational program at an educational institution outside Canada that has courses at the post-secondary school level, as long as you are enrolled in a course that lasts at least three consecutive weeks. For more details, see Information Sheet RC4092, Registered Education Savings Plans (RESPs).

Call us

If you need more information, call one of the following numbers:

Calls from Canada and the U.S.: 1-800-959-8281
Calls from outside Canada and the U.S.: 613-940-8495
Fax: 1-613-941-2505

Regular hours of service
Monday to Friday (except holidays)
9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Eastern time

Extended hours of telephone service
From mid-February to the end of April (except Easter weekend)
Monday to Friday – 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Eastern time
Saturday – 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Eastern time

We accept collect calls by automated response. Please note that you may hear a beep and experience a normal connection delay.

References and publications

Forms

• TL11A, Tuition, Education, and Textbook Amounts Certificate – University outside Canada
• TL11C, Tuition, Education, and Textbook Amounts Certificate – Commuter to the United States
• TL11D, Tuition Fees Certificate – Educational Institutions outside Canada for a Deemed Resident of Canada

Guide

• P105, Students and Income Tax

Other publications

• S1-F2-C1, Education and Textbook Tax Credits
• S1-F2-C2, Tuition Tax Credit
• S1-F2-C3, Scholarships, Research Grants and Other Education Assistance
• RC190, Information for Educational Institutions outside Canada
• RC191, Becoming a Prescribed University outside Canada

Internet

• Canada Revenue Agency
• CRA forms
• CRA student information
• CRA international webpage
• Association of Commonwealth Universities
• Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA)
• Institute of Education Sciences National Center for Education Statistics

Appendix

Table of differences between Forms TL11A, TL11C, and TL11D