Canadian teacher tax credit calculator
The Eligible Educator School Supply Tax Credit gives Canadian teachers and early childhood educators 25% of up to $1,000 of classroom supplies back, a maximum of $250 a year. It is refundable, so you receive it even if you owe no income tax. Work out what you're owed:
Employed at an elementary or secondary school, with a valid provincial teaching certificate.
Out of your own pocket. Anything your school reimbursed doesn't count.
$500
Your estimated federal credit
$125
$500 more of eligible supplies would take you to the $250 maximum.
The credit is refundable, so you get it even if you owe no tax. It's 25% of up to $1,000 of eligible supplies, claimed on lines 46800 and 46900 of your T1.
Estimate only, and federal only. Confirm your own eligibility, keep your receipts, and get your employer certificate. Not tax advice.
Who qualifies
You are an eligible educator if, at any time in the tax year, you were employed in Canada as a teacher at an elementary or secondary school and held a teaching certificate valid in your province or territory, or as an early childhood educator at a regulated child care facility, holding a recognized ECE certificate or diploma.
The credit turns on being employed. A self-employed tutor is not eligible for it, and instead deducts supply costs as ordinary business expenses.
What counts as an eligible supply
Supplies must be bought for teaching or facilitating students' learning, and directly consumed or used in performing your duties. They must not have been reimbursed, and must not be deducted or claimed anywhere else.
Eligible
- Construction paper, bristol board, duotangs, scribblers
- Pens, pencils, pencil crayons, markers, erasers
- Glue, tape, scissors, staplers
- Paint, crayons, stickers, modelling clay
- Flashcards, posters, charts
- Seeds, potting soil, baking soda and other experiment materials
- Books, games, puzzles, educational toys
- Calculators, USB drives, webcams, microphones, headphones
- Projectors, printers, speakers, digital timers, wireless pointers
Not eligible
- Supplies you were reimbursed for
- Amounts deducted or claimed elsewhere on any return
- The personal-use share of a mixed-use item
- Whiteboards, corkboards, easels
- Furniture, shelving, cabinets, rolling carts
- Professional development and memberships
- Field trips, transportation, classroom food
Computers are the one conditional item: a laptop, desktop or tablet qualifies only if your employer did not make one available to you for use outside the classroom. Since 2021 there is no longer any requirement about where supplies are used, so supplies used at home or for remote teaching qualify.
How to claim it
Enter your total eligible supplies expense on line 46800 of your T1 return, capped at $1,000. Enter 25% of that figure on line 46900. There is no separate schedule.
Keep your receipts but don't file them. The CRA can ask for them afterwards, along with a written certificate from your employer confirming the supplies were eligible. That includes confirming, if you claimed a computer, that your employer had not made one available for use outside the classroom. Getting that certificate signed while you still work there is considerably easier than getting it later.
Tracking it through the year
The hard part isn't the arithmetic. It's remembering, in April, what you bought in September. Crumbli reads each receipt as you capture it, flags which line items qualify, keeps a running total against the $1,000 ceiling, and generates the employer certificate pre-filled for your principal to sign.
Start tracking freeCommon questions
How much is the eligible educator school supply tax credit?
It is 25% of up to $1,000 of eligible teaching supplies, so a maximum of $250 per year. The credit is refundable, which means the CRA pays it to you even if you owe no income tax.
Who is an eligible educator?
Someone employed in Canada during the year either as a teacher at an elementary or secondary school, holding a teaching certificate valid in their province or territory, or as an early childhood educator at a regulated child care facility, holding a recognized ECE certificate or diploma. The credit is for employees; a self-employed tutor deducts supply costs as business expenses instead.
Do early childhood educators qualify for the teacher tax credit?
Yes. ECEs at regulated child care facilities qualify on the same terms as teachers: the same 25% rate, the same $1,000 ceiling and the same $250 maximum.
What supplies are eligible?
Two groups. Consumables such as construction paper, flashcards, art supplies, stationery and items for science experiments. And a fixed list of durable goods set out in the Income Tax Regulations: books, games and puzzles, containers, educational support software, calculators, external data storage, webcams, microphones and headphones, projectors, wireless pointers, electronic educational toys, digital timers, speakers, video streaming devices, and printers. Laptops, desktops and tablets qualify only if your employer did not make one available to you for use outside the classroom.
What does not qualify?
Anything you were reimbursed for, anything already deducted or claimed elsewhere, the personal-use portion of a mixed-use item, and general classroom equipment such as whiteboards, corkboards, easels, furniture, shelving and rolling carts. Professional development, memberships, field trips and classroom food are also outside the credit.
Does it matter where I used the supplies?
Not since 2021. The original rule required supplies be used in a school or regulated child care facility, but that requirement was removed for the 2021 and later tax years. Supplies used at home or for remote teaching now qualify, provided they were used in performing your duties as an educator.
How do I claim it on my tax return?
Enter your total eligible supplies expense on line 46800 of your T1 return, then enter 25% of that amount on line 46900. There is no separate schedule to file, and you do not send receipts with your return.
Do I need receipts and a certificate from my employer?
Keep your receipts but do not file them. The CRA can later ask for them and for a written certificate from your employer (usually your principal or facility manager) confirming the supplies were eligible, including that any computer claimed was not provided by your employer for use outside the classroom.
This page describes the federal credit only and is general information, not tax advice. Figures reflect the 2021 and later tax years, when the rate rose from 15% to 25%. Confirm your own eligibility with the CRA or your tax preparer. See also Crumbli for Educators.