You can only transfer what is unused to bring the student's tax payable to zero. There is no calculation to be made. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) requests that all that needs to be used shall be used. The rest can be transferred to someone else or carried forward to the next year for the student.

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I have the amount allowable that can be transferred. How can I calculate how much I should be using. I don’t want to use all of it if it’s not beneficial for me. 

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If you are transferring your tuition to a parent or spouse - TurboTax will advise how much you can transfer. Before TurboTax tells you how much you can transfer - it will use what it needs for your return first. 

Thank you for choosing TurboTax.