Claiming Tutoring Fees on Your Income Tax

If you are paying for a tutor for your child, you can claim the fees you pay on your income tax.  In Canada, you can claim the tuition fees through the Children’s Art Tax Credit.  The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) provides a tax credit for fees that are paid for activities related to the “artistic, cultural, recreational or development of your child” (http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/gncy/bdgt/2011/qa01-eng.html).  Eligible expenses are for fees that “provide enrichment or tutoring in academic subjects.”

So, what do you need to know?  Some of the highlights of the credit include:

- You can claim $500 per year for each of your children under 16 years of age.  The $500 would include the total fees for all eligible programs – tutoring, music lessons or any other artistic, cultural, recreational or developmental activity.

- The program whose fees you are claiming must run for eight consecutive weeks or for five consecutive days.  When claiming tutoring fees, the most likely scenario will be claiming the costs of eight consecutive weeks of lessons.

- Ask for receipts but do not include them when you file your income tax and benefit return – keep the receipts in case CRA asks for them to verify your claim. Receipt should have the organization/individual’s name and address; name of the eligible program; amount received, date received, full name of payer, full name of the child, child’s year of birth and a signature.

Disability credits are also available, although there are some special rules that apply.  You should contact the CRA directly if you have any questions on how to claim credits for your disabled child.

Helping Students in Need of Extra Help

Just as school was beginning this year I came across an excellent article from one of our local newspapers - "Helping Students in Need of Extra Help" http://www.windsorstar.com/Helping+students+need+extra+help/8814313/story.html

The article outlines some steps parents can take to help their children reach their full academic potential.  If you feel your child is struggling, spend time doing homework with them.  It is the easiest way to figure out the areas where your child excels and where they are struggling. Secondly, talk with the teacher.  They work with your child everyday and may be able to confirm your suspicions or allay your fears. 

If you determine your child needs some additional guidance in a particular subject, develop a tutoring plan.  Some parents can tutor their child on their own.  Other cannot.  From personal experience, when I am tutoring my own child, I sometimes think she would respond better to a third party tutor.  It isn't because I cannot help her, but just because I am Dad.  When Dad asks her to do something, there is a natural reaction to sometimes question or challenge what I am asking her to do.

If you decide to seek help for your child from a tutor or tutoring service, talk to the tutor about your concerns.  Ask for regular updates to track how well your child is doing during the tutoring sessions.  Talk to your child's teacher to see if your child has made any progress.  Lastly, stick with the tutoring plan as progress might take longer than anticipated.  It might take the entire school year before your child takes it to the next level.

Why Blog about Tutoring?

It seems everyone is either blogging or sharing their opinion in some way through social media or by just commenting on every news article you read.  So why am I creating a blog on, of all things, helping children achieve their full potential?  Why blog about tutoring?

The aim of this blog is two-fold.  The first is to post and comment on items I come across that I find interesting or think it may be of interest to some people.  I'm not sure who the audience is, but I am thinking you are involved in education in some capacity- you're a parent who is concerned about your child's development; or you are a tutor looking for resources for your toolbox; or you may be someone looking at entering the education profession as a education assistant, teacher, or volunteer and care about issues in education.  I envision the makeup of the audience as such because I am all of these - parent, tutor and aspiring teacher.  Ideally, each post will provide a forum for discussion and a springboard for future posts.

Secondly, I am blogging to support my private tutoring business.  Blogging is yet another way to connect with the parents of my students.  It is an opportunity for parents to gain some insight into my philosophies on education, how I feel about certain issues relevant to learning and how they can get involved in their children's learning.  There are a myriad of things a parent can do outside the hour long tutoring session to help their children "take it to the next level."