Why is some of my tuition claimed amount being carried over to next year and not applied to this year if my tax return is not 0/negative?

Do you have any income this year?  The tuition tax credit is non-refundable it brings your owing down (If any) but doesn't get you any refund. If Tuition fees is not required to use for this year it will be automatically transfer to the next year. Please refer to this link: Understanding the Tuition Tax Credit in Canada: All You Need to Know

 As per the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) that all of the tuition fee required to bring his taxes to zero be used before the left over amount can be transferred to you as seen in this CRA link: Transfer the current year's amount

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