Most tax payers have gotten to the point where they are going to try and get everything that is coming to them in regards to tax breaks. For those families that have kids in school they are well aware of how expensive education has become, and it can be a financial struggle to get the education for their kids that they need.
The Government is also aware of this and it poses a problem for them from another point of view. In some cases young people do not pursue the profession of their choice simply because the education required is unaffordable. As a result the Government sees that future industries may suffer from the lack of trained expertise. This is one of the reasons why they have put some effort into addressing the costs of education via potential tax breaks. The problem is though are they enough and are they fair?
On the surface when you look at what is available in tax relief there seems to be quite a mixture when you take into account what both the Federal and Provincial governments offer as a whole.
There are the federal education credits which include the textbook credits, and these cost the government the most money. Don’t forget that when we say the government we are actually referring to your tax dollars that you pay, as they are working with your money.
If you were to tally up all the potential tax credits that you may be eligible for could possibly reduce your education bill by about $2,000 for a year for a University student and slightly less for those college students.
While this doesn’t seem like a lot, every little bit helps. The only way you can take full advantage of this is by knowing about them and making sure that you make use of them accordingly. All too often the tax laws and regulations are so complex that they tend to turn off the average tax payer from delving into them deeper.
It is very common for an individual who turns to a professional accountant to be quite surprised at how their tax obligations have been reduced. This is because these experts know where the tax breaks are and how to apply them properly according to the regulations.
There is no doubt that the potential tax breaks available when it comes to education still fall short of offering any real relief and will not solve all of the financial concerns, but at least they will help and it is imperative that you as a parent, or you as a student take advantage of what is being offered to you.
