Hey all! I haven't commented here before, but I have read quite a few posts (especially about filing Canadian taxes as a PhD student in the US). Unfortunately, I just landed myself in some hot water: I've been reassessed, and the bottom line is not good (>$4000 owing). Yikes! I want to check if I've misinterpreted anything. I can post this in a new thread if that's preferable, but since it's related to the same topic, I thought I would try here first.
I moved to the US and started my PhD in the fall of 2016; before that, I worked in Canada. In the US, I receive a graduate assistantship (~20,000 USD) and a tuition waiver (which is applied directly on my account). On my Canadian taxes, I reported my NSERC (T4A), and my income from my Canadian job (T4); I didn't report my US income as it's intended to support my studies, and I didn't report the tuition waiver, since it's not "income" in any real way (no W2). I did claim tuition credits, though, and submitted a TL11A.
Unfortunately, I was audited, and the official decision was that because "an employer, union, or other organization reimbursed your tuition fees, or you received a reimbursement or assistance through federal, provincial, or territorial job training program, and the reimbursement was not included in your income." So, they reset all of my tuition credits to $0 and I got dinged with a heavy balance.
Has this ever happened to anyone else? Should I have reported the tuition as "foreign income"?
Thanks!