If you were 16 at the end of the year, you can claim the education and textbook amount only for courses you took at the post-secondary level (see types of institutions on the Eligible tuition fees page), except in the case of courses provided by educational institutions certified by the Minister of Employment and Social Development Canada that furnish a person with skills for, or improve a person's skills in, an occupation (other than courses designed for university credit).

A grant, reimbursement, benefit, or allowance does not include any scholarship, fellowship, bursary, or prize you received, or any benefit you received under the Canada Student Financial Assistance Act, Canada Student Loans Act, the Apprentice Loans Act or an Act respecting financial assistance for education expenses of the Province of Quebec.

These amounts also do not include any financial assistance provided under Part II of the Employment Insurance Act (as shown in box 20 of your T4E slip), a labour-market development agreement as part of a similar provincial or territorial program, or a program developed under the authority of the Department of Employment and Social Development Act.

Courses taken for purposes of educational upgrading to allow entry into a university or college program would not normally qualify for the education tax credit because these courses are not considered to be at a
post-secondary school level.

A post-secondary program that consists mainly of research is eligible for the education amount, and the scholarship exemption, only if it leads to a college or CEGEP diploma, or a bachelor, masters or doctoral degree (or an equivalent degree). Accordingly, post-doctoral fellowships will continue to be taxable.