Three topics students ask about constantly: the tuition tax credit most people don’t claim correctly, what Edmonton schools actually cost once you go past the headline tuition number, and how RESPs work if someone set one up for you. This issue covers all three.
Tuition Tax Credits
The tuition tax credit is one of the most valuable tools available to students in Canada. Most students either don’t know it exists or leave money on the table by not using it strategically.
How it works
The federal tuition tax credit lets you reduce the income tax you owe by 15% of your eligible tuition fees. If you paid $5,000 in tuition, that generates $750 in tax credit. The credit is non-refundable, meaning it can reduce your tax bill to zero but won’t produce a refund on its own.
To claim it, you need a T2202 form (Tuition and Enrolment Certificate) from your school. Your institution issues this each year by the end of February. Keep it. The CRA can ask for it. For the full details on T2202 forms, eligible fees, and carry-forward strategy, see our T2202 guide.
Your three options
Use it now. If you owe taxes this year, you can apply the credit to reduce what you owe.
Carry it forward. Unused credits carry forward indefinitely. This is the option we recommend for most students. If your income is low right now, your tax bill is already close to zero, so the credit does little work. After graduation, when you’re earning more and owing more in taxes, that banked credit becomes significantly more valuable.
Transfer up to $5,000 to a family member. You can transfer a portion of your tuition credit (minus whatever you claimed yourself) to a spouse, common-law partner, parent, or grandparent. This only makes sense if your own tax bill is zero and carrying forward won’t benefit you, which is rare.
One thing to know about Alberta
Most provinces offer a provincial tuition tax credit on top of the federal one. Alberta eliminated its provincial tuition credit in 2020. If you’re studying in Alberta, the federal 15% credit is what you have.
What Edmonton Schools Actually Cost
Tuition is not the number that matters. The number that matters is your total annual cost, and that includes mandatory fees, a health plan, a transit pass, books, and supplies. Once you add all of that, the gap between schools narrows and the differences between programs at the same school widen.
Here is what domestic students can expect at Edmonton institutions per year:
| School | Estimated Annual Cost (Domestic) |
|---|---|
| University of Alberta | $7,000 base (up to $20,000 for professional programs) |
| MacEwan University | $6,000 to $7,000 |
| NAIT | $4,000 to $5,000 |
| Concordia University | ~$5,000 |
| NorQuest College | ~$4,000 |
International students pay significantly more. Costs range from roughly $9,000 to $28,000+ per year depending on the school and program.
These figures reflect tuition plus mandatory fees. Your actual cost will vary based on your program, course load, whether you live on or off campus, and how you handle transportation and housing.
A few things that catch students off guard: health plan fees are often opt-out rather than opt-in, meaning you pay unless you actively waive coverage. Transit passes are bundled into student fees at several institutions. Textbooks can add $500 to $1,500 per year depending on your program. These are not optional costs. For ways to reduce that number, see Tips for Affording Textbooks.
RESPs
If someone opened a Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) for you when you were young, you may have more money available for school than you realize. RESPs are savings accounts designed specifically for education, and the government adds money to them automatically.
The two government programs
Canada Education Savings Grant (CESG). The government matches 20% of annual RESP contributions, up to $500 per year. The lifetime maximum per beneficiary is $7,200. So if a family contributed $2,500 in a year, the government added $500 on top of it. That money compounds over time.
Canada Learning Bond (CLB). Families that meet lower-income thresholds receive up to $2,000 in CLB contributions, with no required contributions from the family. The government deposits this money directly into the RESP.
How withdrawals are taxed
Original contributions come out tax-free. The government grants and investment growth are paid out as Educational Assistance Payments (EAPs), which are taxed in the student’s hands at the student’s tax rate. Since most students earn well below the basic personal amount (currently $16,129 federally for the 2025 tax year), they pay little to no tax on those withdrawals.
That tax treatment is a meaningful advantage. Money that grew in an RESP for 18 years and gets withdrawn at a student’s tax rate costs far less than the same money withdrawn by a parent at a higher rate.
If you don’t know whether an RESP exists for you
Ask. Check with your parents or guardians. If an RESP was opened and has never been drawn on, the balance may be larger than anyone remembers. You need to be enrolled in a qualifying post-secondary program to make withdrawals, and you have a limited window to do so before the account has to be wound down.
This Week’s Recommendations
Read: You Are a Badass at Making Money by Jen Sincero. Not a typical personal finance book. It focuses on the mindset side of money, which is the part most finance books skip. Worth reading alongside something more mechanics-focused.
Listen: I Will Teach You to Be Rich podcast by Ramit Sethi. The podcast version of the book from last issue’s recommendation. Real stories about how people manage money, spend, and save. Practical and direct.
