Income Declaration
You must report the income you have received or expect to receive between January 1, 2024 and December 31, 2024. If you cannot provide the exact amount, give an estimate as accurate as possible. On several occasions during the school year, you will have the opportunity to confirm or update the income you reported.
In January, you will receive a notice from AFE asking you to fill out the聽Confirmation of Financial Resources form聽to update or confirm the income you reported in your application for financial assistance. Please also note that you can notify AFE of changes in your income at any time by submitting a聽Declaration of change form聽迟丑谤辞耻驳丑听.
Important! If you fail to submit the聽Confirmation of Financial Resources form, your financial assistance installments will be suspended.
At the end of each academic year, in May, the income you reported on your AFE application is checked against the information held on file by Revenu Qu茅bec.
Income Discrepancy
When there鈥檚 an income declaration discrepancy between AFE and Revenu Qu茅bec, AFE may send you a letter asking you to justify the discrepancy in your income.
It鈥檚 important to聽read the letter carefully聽as it provides detailed information on the discrepancy and provides a list of supporting documents that you will need to provide. If there is a discrepancy, your financial assistance instalments may be adjusted accordingly, and you may have to repay an overpayment.
Letter from AFE
You may receive a letter from AFE asking for explanations regarding discrepancies between the two declarations.
Read the AFE letter carefully. It provides precise instructions on what is required and how to proceed. If you duly provide information, and if you provided correct information to AFE during the year, the inquiry into a false declaration will be dropped from your file.
Common reporting mistakes
The two most common mistakes students make relate to:
The amount or type of aid or income received.听Types include bursary, grant, stipend, salary or fellowship. If you are unsure which of these you are receiving,聽speak with your supervisor.
Line 154 of your Revenu Quebec tax form, which regroups all 鈥渙ther income鈥� you may have received.
As explained on the tax form, line 154 includes:聽
- scholarships;
- bursaries;
- any income supplement from the government;
- withdrawals from RRSPs; and
- all other taxable income not reported elsewhere on your return.
Be prepared to provide supporting documentation to explain a cited discrepancy.
AFE might request that you provide them with a letter from your bursary issuer. You will find one on Minerva under Financial Aid/Awards/Award Confirmation Letter. Please note that you will likely have to request two letters to cover a full tax year.
Consequences of a false declaration
Important!聽If you obtained financial assistance from AFE as a result of a false declaration, you may become聽ineligible聽for AFE's Loans and Bursaries Program for two years. This period may be extended until the overpayment has been paid back in full. Consequently, given we cannot replace Government aid funding, a false declaration would render you ineligible for 捆绑SM社区 Loans and Bursary program as well.
To prevent this from happening, ensure to update your reported income by submitting a聽declaration of change form聽迟丑谤辞耻驳丑听.听If all your numbers add up, your entry will usually not be questioned.
Please note: 捆绑SM社区 is not authorized to provide advice to students on income tax matters,聽nor comment on their tax files and declarations. Students are urged to consult personal tax advisors for help.