The eligible educator school supply tax credit is a refundable tax credit that allows teachers and early childhood educators to claim up to $1,000 for amounts expended (for which no allowance or reimbursement was provided) for supplies and some durable goods used to teach or facilitate students’ learning. Individuals must have a certificate from their employer attesting to the eligibility of their expenses for the year.

Shift to online learning

In an October 19, 2021Technical Interpretation, CRA stated that if a shift has been made to an online classroom due to COVID-19, supplies consumed could still be eligible for the educator school supply tax credit.

Enhancements to the credit

The government has proposed to enhance the eligible educator school supply tax credit to 25% of eligible supplies from the existing 15% credit and expand the list of durable goods eligible for the credit, both effective for 2021 tax years. The limit of $1,000 of eligible supplies remains unchanged.

The expanded list of durable goods includes all of the following (the first four items were previously allowed, while the other items have been added for 2021 and onwards):

• books;
• games and puzzles;
• containers (such as plastic boxes or banker boxes);
• educational support software;
• calculators (including graphing calculators);
• external data storage devices;
• web cams, microphones and headphones;
• multimedia projectors;
• wireless pointer devices;
• electronic educational toys;
• digital timers;
• speakers;
• video streaming devices;
• printers; and
• laptop, desktop and tablet computers, provided that none of these items are made available to the eligible educator by their employer for use outside of the classroom