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New Member
posted Oct 30, 2019 2:29:44 PM

Can I declare an NSERC postdoctoral fellowship as a grant on line 104, instead of a prize/fellowship on line 130?

 I have received a postdoctoral fellowship from NSERC.  I received a T4A with the amount 45,000 in box 105.  Turbotax automatically puts this on line 130 as a prize/fellowship.

A significant portion of this money was used to conduct scientific research (for journal publication fees, traveling for conferences, ...).   If declare my fellowship as a grant, I can deduct these expenses from my income.  

I have read that whether I can do this depends on the nature of the fellowship (see link at bottom). If the purpose of the fellowship is for training purposes, it's a prize (line 130).  If the purpose is to conduct research, it's a grant (line 104).

I believe that the fellowship qualifies as a grant.  I'll write the relevant paragraph from my acceptance letter - in my interpretation, the main purpose of the money is to conduct research.  

"The NSERC PDF Program provides financial support to a core of the most promising Canadian researchers in natural sciences and engineering at a pivotal time in their careers.  This support allows fellows to seek out the best research programs in their chosen fields, both within Canada and abroad.  These fellowships are intended to secure a supply of highly qualified Canadians with leading-edge scientific and research skills for Canadian industry, government and universities."

https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/technical-information/income-tax/income-tax-fol... 

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1 Replies
Intuit Alumni
Oct 30, 2019 2:29:46 PM

In doupt, you better confirm with CRA