The OSAP T4A tax form is the slip that reports the grant or bursary portion of your OSAP funding to the Canada Revenue Agency. Its full name is the Statement of Pension, Retirement, Annuity, and Other Income, and the OSAP grant amount sits in Box 105.1Canada.ca. T4A Statement of Pension, Retirement, Annuity, and Other Income2Canada Revenue Agency. Taxable Scholarships, Fellowships, Bursaries, and Artists’ Project Grants You report that amount on Line 13010 of your return, and for most full-time students a scholarship exemption cancels out the tax on it.
What the T4A Covers
Only the non-repayable portion of OSAP appears on the slip. Loans are not income and never show up on a T4A. If everything you received in the year was loan money, you won’t get a T4A for OSAP at all.
Under CRA administrative policy, an issuer only has to produce a T4A when the total payments in the calendar year exceed $500.3Canada Revenue Agency. T4A Slip – Information for Payers Smaller grant amounts may not generate a slip, but you’re still expected to report the income if it’s taxable in your situation.
Your school may also issue its own T4A for scholarships it administered directly, separate from anything OSAP sends. Check your student account alongside the NSLSC portal so nothing gets missed.4Government of Canada. Repay a Student Loan – Tax Information
Is the Grant Actually Taxable?
Whether you owe tax on the Box 105 amount depends on your enrolment.
Full-Time Students
If you were enrolled full-time in a qualifying post-secondary program, the Income Tax Act’s scholarship exemption covers the entire amount of scholarships, fellowships, and bursaries you received.5Justice Laws Website. Income Tax Act RSC 1985, c 1 (5th Supp) – Section 56 You still enter the T4A on Line 13010, but the exemption reduces the taxable portion to zero.2Canada Revenue Agency. Taxable Scholarships, Fellowships, Bursaries, and Artists’ Project Grants
Part-Time Students
Part-time students get a narrower exemption. Your grants are exempt only up to your tuition and program-related costs, plus a basic $500 exemption. Anything above that combined total is taxable and gets reported on Line 13010. Part-time students who qualify for the disability tax credit are treated as full-time and receive the full exemption.
You Weren’t Enrolled That Year
If a grant landed in a year when you weren’t enrolled, the first $500 is exempt and the rest is taxable. The CRA looks at whether you were a qualifying student in the year the amount was received, the year before, or the year after, so a payment that crosses a calendar year after you finish a program doesn’t automatically become taxable.5Justice Laws Website. Income Tax Act RSC 1985, c 1 (5th Supp) – Section 56
Where to Find Your T4A
Your OSAP T4A is available through the National Student Loans Service Centre (NSLSC) account, which posts T4A slips and interest statements at the start of each calendar year. Log in with your NSLSC credentials; your OSAP portal login is separate and won’t work here.
The same slip eventually appears in your CRA My Account once the issuer files it with the CRA, which can take until mid-March or later. If the NSLSC copy and the CRA copy show different amounts, go with the NSLSC slip and contact the issuer about the discrepancy.
Save a PDF copy. Access to NSLSC or OSAP portals can be cut off after your loans are paid or your student status changes, and you’re expected to keep the slip for at least six years from the end of the tax year it relates to.6Canada Revenue Agency. How Long Should You Keep Your Income Tax Records
How to Report It on Your Return
Two line numbers do the work.
Line 13010 takes the amount from Box 105 of the T4A. CRA-certified tax software applies the full scholarship exemption automatically if you qualify as a full-time student, and walks part-time students through the narrower calculation.2Canada Revenue Agency. Taxable Scholarships, Fellowships, Bursaries, and Artists’ Project Grants
Line 31900 is where interest paid on qualifying government student loans goes. The credit is 15% of the interest paid, non-refundable, and unused amounts can be carried forward for up to five years.4Government of Canada. Repay a Student Loan – Tax Information7Canada Revenue Agency. Line 31900 – Interest Paid on Your Student Loans The federal government has permanently eliminated interest on Canada Student Loans, and Ontario has done the same for its provincial loans, so most current OSAP borrowers won’t have new interest to claim.8National Student Loans Service Centre. What’s New The line still matters if you have unused carry-forward from an earlier year, or student loans from another province that continues to charge interest.
For the 2025 tax year, NETFILE opens on February 23, 2026.9Canada Revenue Agency. Find Certified Tax Software If a preparer files for you, hand over both the T4A and the interest statement so nothing gets missed.
Missing or Incorrect T4A
If your T4A hasn’t shown up by mid-March, check NSLSC and CRA My Account first. Many slips are issued electronically with no paper version mailed. If it’s genuinely missing, contact the issuer to request a replacement.
If the amount on the slip doesn’t match what you actually received, ask the issuer for a corrected T4A rather than filing with a number you know is wrong. Mismatches between your return and the CRA’s records tend to surface later as reassessments. If the deadline is close, you can file on time using your own records of the actual amounts received and keep documentation in case the CRA asks.
Filing When You Owe Nothing
If your grants are fully exempt and you have no other income, you may owe no tax at all. There’s no late-filing penalty when the balance owing is zero, but delays can hold up benefit payments like the GST/HST credit and the Ontario Trillium Benefit. File on time to keep those flowing, even when the return itself comes out to nothing.