You cannot "save" tuition credits if you owe taxes. The Income Tax Act requires that tuition tax credits be used. If you have a tax liability, the CRA requires you to use your current year's tuition and any carry-forward amounts to reduce that tax to zero before carrying forward the balance.
The CRA’s formula on Schedule 11 is designed to calculate the maximum amount needed to reduce your tax to zero. Unlike some other credits, you cannot voluntarily skip claiming tuition to "save" it for a higher-income year.
If you have tax owing, the tuition credit must be applied first.
If you try to reduce the claim (an override), the CRA’s computer systems will likely "correct" your return during assessment, apply the tuition anyway, and then reduce your carry-forward balance accordingly.
If your tuition credit wipes out your Canadian tax payable, your tax liability becomes $0$.
Since the Foreign Tax Credit can only be used to offset tax actually paid in Canada on that foreign income, if your tax is already $0$ due to tuition, the Foreign Tax Credit often goes to waste (unless it's for "non-business" income, which has limited carryforward).
In a nutshell, you cannot bypass the cell and carry forward tuition to offset future income.
Hope this helps.
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