Tax forms

As directed by the Canada Revenue Agency, beginning with the 2020 taxation year, the amount is determined by the tuition fees paid for terms in the calendar year (not academic year). It is not based on when you paid the institution. So, even if you paid for your winter term several months in advance, it will show up on the certificate for the calendar year associated with that term.

Prior to the 2020 taxation year, the amount was determined by the fees assessed to the student for terms in the calendar year. Any retroactive amendments required to these certificates will continue to follow these guidelines.

The amount also includes fees for eligible co-op placements and eligible ancillary (supplementary) fees. Those eligible ancillary fees include:

• Student Services
• Admin Services
• Athletics & Rec Building
• Student Athletics
• Commerce Services
• Student Health Services
• Educational Trading Centre
• Business Employment Services
• Science Career Co-op Education
• Examination re-read fees
• Application fees paid to McMaster, provided there was subsequent enrolment

In addition, if any pandemic-related credits associated with T2202-eligible fees were applied to the student’s account for terms in the 2020 calendar year, those credits will offset (reduce) the amount on the certificate.

In most cases, months are counted based on the class start and end dates. There are also minimum duration requirements: the course must run for a minimum of three consecutive weeks and must require instruction or work in the course of at least ten hours per week throughout the duration.

For undergraduate students, this is determined by your actual load taken in the term, regardless of your academic designation as either a full- or part-time student. In fall and winter terms, full-time load is considered to be 9 units; for the spring term it is 6 units. For non-undergraduate programs, your approved academic load for your program is used to determine whether you receive full- or part-time months of study credit.

It’s possible that the official class start or end dates for a course you took fell outside the dates of the term. You would still get credit for those months even though they are outside the term. There would not be any fee associated with those outlying months, though.

It’s possible that the course you took did not meet the minimum duration requirements, or that the course was ineligible for T2202 consideration in accordance with CRA guidelines.

Professional Development programs offered by McMaster Continuing Education are not T2202 eligible.

As an inbound exchange student, you would have paid your fees to your home institution. Therefore you will only see months of study credit for those months in which you attended McMaster.

As an outbound exchange student, you would have paid your fees to McMaster. Since you did not physically attend McMaster, we cannot record months of study credit. Therefore, you will only see tuition amounts for what you paid to McMaster. The institution which you attended during your exchange can provide information on your attendance there.

According to Canada Revenue Agency guidelines, they are not eligible.

Do not claim the amount paid by your employer. Similarly, your employer can claim only the portion they paid.

Your T2202 was generated using the address we have in Mosaic which is designated as your home address. This may be different from your mailing address. If your home address is no longer active, we suggest that you go into Mosaic and change it so that nothing else picks up that incorrect address in the future.

Your address is not a critical piece of information for filing and does not affect the your return, so don’t worry if you have an incorrect address listed on your forms. The most important part of your tax forms is your SIN, needed by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).

If you are an undergraduate Nursing student from Conestoga College or Mohawk College, they are your home institution and are responsible for providing your T2202.

McMaster has electronic versions of T2202s (formerly known as T2202A) going back to the 2008 taxation / calendar year.

For taxation year 2017, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) required institutions to split amounts for any term that straddled July 1, due to legislative changes in Saskatchewan. The tuition amounts are pro-rated based on the month counts.

Your SIN will not appear on your T4A or T2202A if it was not previously updated in Mosaic.

To update your SIN, click the “Update SIN (Student)” tile. You can also navigate to your Student Centre and click Demographic Data under Personal Information. Enter your SIN, without spaces, and click Save.

Please note: Your SIN is required by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). If you claim an education deduction and your T2202 does not include your SIN the CRA may deny your deduction.

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You will only be issued a T4A if you received eligible aid or scholarships during that calendar year.

If you were paid for any TA or research work, then a T4A would be issued by Human Resources for those payments and would be available through the Employee Self-Service section of Mosaic.

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) requires the inclusion of this information on T4A certificates as these certificates represent a source of income to the student. While international students will not have a SIN, all domestic students should have one, and it must be registered in Mosaic. The CRA requires that McMaster prove due diligence in obtaining SINs, and we have been reaching out to those students since December 2020. It is important to note that McMaster will still report all T4As to the CRA whether or not they include a SIN.

For students who have been issued a brand new SIN and who show proof of new issue, McMaster will issue an amended T4A which includes the new SIN. Amendments for SIN will not be issued otherwise.

Information on how to obtain a Social Insurance Number can be found through Service Canada.

All scholarships, bursaries, and other aid which has been designated as T4A-eligible is reported if it was issued to the student during the calendar year (not academic year). Any adjustments to said aid which is made in the subsequent calendar year will be reported on that year’s T4A.

McMaster has paper copies of T4As from taxation years 2010 to 2014 inclusive, but as we are only required to keep 10 fiscal years’ worth of forms, these paper copies will eventually be destroyed. Electronic versions of T4As are available for the 2015 taxation year and onward.