96,830
Canadian educators claimed this credit last year.
There are more than half a million teachers in Canada, and a couple of hundred thousand early childhood educators.
Claimant count: CRA, Individual Income Tax Return Statistics (2024 tax year), Final Table 2, line 46900 (source). CRA processed 2024 returns to 30 November 2025, so late filers and later reassessments aren't included. The real figure is somewhat higher.
What are you leaving on the table?
Most educators underestimate this, because they're only counting the big trips.
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.
How it works
Five seconds at the till beats an afternoon in April.
Snap or forward
Photograph the receipt at the till, or forward the confirmation email to your private Crumbli address. Both land in the same place.
We flag what qualifies
Every line item is read and checked against the CRA’s eligible-supplies rules. The duotangs count and the snacks don’t, on the same receipt.
Tax season takes minutes
Your line 46800 total is ready, with an itemized list to keep and a pre-filled certificate for your principal to sign.
What counts, and what doesn't
The electronics surprise most people: calculators, USB drives, webcams, headphones and printers are all on the CRA's list. Whiteboards and furniture are not.
Counts
- Duotangs, scribblers, foolscap, bristol board
- Pencil crayons, markers, highlighters, erasers
- Glue, tape, scissors, staplers, laminating pouches
- Paint, crayons, stickers, pipe cleaners, modelling clay
- Flashcards, charts, posters, name tags
- Seeds, potting soil and baking soda for science experiments
- Books, games, puzzles, educational toys
- Calculators, USB drives, webcams, headphones
- Projectors, printers, speakers, digital timers
Doesn't count
- Anything your school reimbursed you for
- Whiteboards, corkboards, easels and other classroom equipment
- Furniture, shelving, cabinets, rolling carts
- Professional development courses and memberships
- Field-trip admissions and transportation
- Snacks and classroom food
- A computer your employer already gave you for home use
Some things depend on a fact only you know: whether your school reimbursed you, or whether that laptop was employer-provided. Crumbli asks instead of guessing, and leaves it out of your total until you confirm.
The form your principal has to sign, already filled in.
If the CRA asks about your claim, it wants a written certificate from your employer confirming the supplies were eligible. Most educators find this out at the worst possible moment.
Crumbli generates it for you: your eligible purchases itemized, the statutory attestations drafted, ready for a signature. Teach at two schools? You get one certificate per school, because a principal can only certify what was used in theirs.
Forward, don't photograph
Ordered online? Forward the confirmation email to your private Crumbli address and it's captured. No photo, no typing.
A running total, not a shoebox
See exactly how close you are to the $1,000 ceiling at any point in the year, and what it's worth so far.
A sample certificate with example purchases. Yours is built from your own receipts.
$39 per year.
Works out to $3.25 a month.
One flat annual price, per teacher, unlimited receipts. The credit is worth up to $250. The arithmetic is not subtle.
Questions educators actually ask
Am I eligible?
You are if you were employed in Canada during the year as a teacher at an elementary or secondary school with a valid provincial teaching certificate, or as an early childhood educator at a regulated child care facility with a recognized ECE certificate or diploma. The credit is for employees. A self-employed tutor claims supplies as business expenses instead, not through this credit.
Do early childhood educators qualify?
Yes. ECEs at regulated child care facilities are eligible on exactly the same terms as teachers: same 25%, same $1,000 ceiling, same $250 maximum. This is the single most-missed part of the credit.
How much can I actually get back?
25% of up to $1,000 of eligible supplies, so $250 at most. It is refundable, which means the CRA pays it to you even if you owe no income tax at all. It is not just a reduction of tax payable.
What if I bought supplies for my classroom but used them at home?
They still count. The original 2016 rule required supplies be used in a school or child care facility, but that requirement was removed for 2021 and later years. What matters now is that they were used in performing your duties as an educator, including remote and at-home teaching.
Do I need to send my receipts to the CRA?
No. You keep them. The CRA does not want them with your return, but it can ask for them later, along with a written certificate from your employer confirming the supplies were eligible. Crumbli stores the receipts and generates the certificate for your principal to sign, so you have both if you are ever asked.
What about my province?
The figures on this page are the federal credit, which every eligible educator in Canada can claim. A couple of provinces have their own additional credit; Crumbli tracks the federal one today and we would rather show you a number we can stand behind than one we cannot.
Can I use this all year, or just at tax time?
All year, and that is the point. Capturing a receipt in September takes five seconds; reconstructing September in April takes an afternoon and misses things. Your running total updates as you go, so you always know how close you are to the $1,000 ceiling.
Start with the receipt in your bag right now.
You bought those supplies months ago. Getting the credit for them takes about a minute to set up.
Start tracking free