Earning Credits

Recommendations

Based on the foregoing, the Taxpayers’ Ombudsman recommends that:

1. The CRA ensure that determinations on eligibility for the tax tuition credit are based on the provisions of the Income Tax Act and not solely on its internal policies, practices, and procedures.
2. The CRA provide clear, accurate, and timely information to taxpayers about the criteria for determining eligibility for the tuition tax credit.
3. The CRA post on its Web site and in other media a list of the educational institutions outside Canada that have already been recognized by the CRA as a university outside Canada for the purpose of paragraph 118.5(1)(b) of the Income Tax Act, while emphasizing that the list is neither determinative nor exhaustive.
4. The CRA provide a clear and accessible explanation that institutions on the list of qualified donees and Schedule VIII of the Income Tax Act are automatically recognized as universities outside Canada for the purposes of the tuition tax credit.
5. The CRA consider posting links on its Web site to the lists that are maintained by different organizations in various countries and are utilized by the CRA to verify tuition tax credit claims made by students who attend educational institutions outside Canada.