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Most scholarships, bursaries and fellowships are tax-free for a full-time student. If you were a full-time qualifying student, the whole award is exempt as long as it supported your enrolment. Part-time students can exempt tuition plus program materials, and anyone else can exempt up to $500. What is left goes on line 13010. Post-doctoral fellowships and research grants follow different rules.
Are scholarships and bursaries taxable in Canada?
Under the Income Tax Act a scholarship, fellowship, bursary or achievement prize is income, and then an exemption takes most or all of it back out. Scholarships and bursaries for elementary and secondary school are not taxable at all. For post-secondary awards, what you can exempt depends on whether you were a full-time qualifying student, a part-time qualifying student, or neither.
| Your situation | What you can exempt | What goes on line 13010 |
|---|---|---|
| Full-time qualifying student | The whole award, to the extent it supported your enrolment | Usually nothing |
| Part-time qualifying student | The lesser of the award and tuition plus program materials, then up to $500 of what is left | The rest |
| Not a qualifying student (for example a work-term education payment) | Up to $500 | The rest |
| Post-doctoral fellow | No scholarship exemption, the fellowship is taxable | Taxable, see the T4A box codes below |
| Research grant | No exemption, but allowable research costs reduce it | Nothing, it goes on line 10400 |
What makes you a full-time qualifying student for the exemption?
The CRA ties the full exemption to a program where you were a full-time qualifying student in the year you received the award or in an adjacent year. For awards received in 2025 the guide says 2024, 2025 or 2026. A program that is mostly research qualifies only if it leads to a college or CEGEP diploma or to a bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degree, or the equivalent.
The award also has to be meant to support your enrolment. The CRA looks at the length of the program, the terms of the award and the period it covers, and in general accepts the link unless the award is much bigger than tuition, living costs and other program expenses. A student who is eligible for the disability tax credit, or who cannot study full-time because of an impairment, is not held to the tuition-and-materials cap that applies to part-time students.
How are scholarships reported on the T4A?
A Canadian payer reports a scholarship, fellowship, bursary or artists’ project grant in box 105 of the T4A. The slip shows the full amount, even when you can exempt every dollar of it, so working out the exemption is your job. Other boxes you may see on the same slip: research grants use code 104, and code 106 is for death benefits, not for awards. Post-doctoral fellowship income is reported with code 210 as well as 105. See the T4A slip explained for the rest of the boxes.
The taxable part of a scholarship goes on line 13010. Research grants go on line 10400 after you subtract eligible expenses such as research travel, assistant fees, and equipment and lab costs. The expenses cannot be more than the grant, and personal living costs do not count.
What awards are always taxable?
Post-doctoral fellowships are taxable, and a post-doctoral fellow generally cannot use the scholarship exemption. Awards that are really pay for work are employment income, whatever the payer calls them. A student assistantship is split: the fellowship part is a scholarship and the payment for services is employment income.
Apprenticeship grants are taxable too and are reported in box 105 of the T4A on line 13000. Money from a registered education savings plan is not a scholarship either. The educational assistance payment is taxed in the student’s hands, usually at a low rate because students earn little (see RESP and the education savings grant).
What does a worked example look like?
These cases use the CRA’s calculation in its latest students guide, which is written for 2025 returns. The exemption is the sum of the full-time awards, the lesser of the awards and the part-time costs, and the lesser of $500 and whatever award is left over.
Amara is a full-time university student and gets $6,000 in entrance awards. The T4A shows $6,000 and the whole amount is exempt, so line 13010 is $0.
Dev studies part-time and receives $3,000. His tuition is $1,800 and his program materials are $300, so his part-time costs are $2,100. That leaves $900 of the award, and he can exempt the lesser of $500 and $900, which is $500. His exemption is $2,600 and the taxable $400 goes on line 13010.
Nina is not a qualifying student but gets $1,200 in education assistance for a work term. She exempts $500 and reports $700. All of these figures are our own arithmetic from the CRA formula.
Do scholarships change the tuition credit or other claims?
No. The tuition amount is a separate claim based on your T2202 or an official receipt, and a scholarship does not reduce it. The federal education and textbook amounts were eliminated in 2017, though unused amounts from before then can still be claimed on line 32300. For carrying forward or transferring tuition, read the tuition credit article. Interest on a government student loan has its own credit, covered in student loan interest credit, and our student tax return page lists the other slips students usually get.
What could change?
The CRA publishes the students guide each year, and the version for 2026 returns has not appeared yet (checked 31 October 2026). The $500 figure and the exemption formula above come from the guide for 2025 returns, so confirm them against the 2026 edition in early 2027. The official pages are Canada Revenue Agency: P105 Students and income tax and Canada Revenue Agency: T4A slip.
Where does this information come from?
Rules come from the Canada Revenue Agency guide P105 Students and income tax, Income Tax Folio S1-F2-C3 on scholarships, research grants and other education assistance, and the CRA T4A slip page for payers. Checked on 31 October 2026. This is an independent information site: we provide no services, we do not represent the CRA or any organization, we collect information from open sources, and we do not guarantee that anything here is accurate or current. We accept no liability for decisions based on it. Check the official source before you rely on it. See the full disclaimer.
Frequently asked questions
Is a scholarship taxable if I am a full-time student?
Usually not. A scholarship, fellowship or bursary received for a program where you were a full-time qualifying student is exempt, as long as the award was meant to support your enrolment. The T4A still shows the full amount, so you calculate the exemption yourself.
What is T4A box 105?
Box 105 is where a payer reports scholarships, fellowships, bursaries and artists' project grants. Research grants use code 104, and code 106 is for death benefits. The box shows the full amount paid before any exemption, and the taxable part, if any, goes on line 13010.
How does the $500 exemption work?
If you are not a qualifying student, for example you receive education assistance for a work term, you can reduce the amount by up to $500, limited to what you received. The remainder goes on line 13010. Part-time students can also use $500 on any award left after tuition and program materials.
Are research grants and post-doctoral fellowships taxable?
Yes. A research grant is reduced by eligible research expenses and the net amount goes on line 10400. A post-doctoral fellowship is taxable and cannot use the scholarship exemption.
Do I report an exempt scholarship on my tax return?
Enter the T4A in your tax software so the exemption is calculated and the slip is matched to your return. An exempt scholarship adds nothing to taxable income. Only the part above the exemption goes on line 13010.
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