http://decision.tcc-cci.gc.ca/tcc-cci/decisions/en/item/71938/index.do 
Van Helden v. The Queen (June 13, 2014 – 2014 TCC 196) involved payments for grade 9 and 10 private piano lessons for the daughters of the taxpayer. The taxpayer had claimed tuition tax credits in the amount of $8,095.
[1] The issue in this appeal is whether the Appellant can claim tuition credits of $8,095 in 2011 for fees paid to private instructors for piano lessons for his two children. The children transferred the tuition credits to the Appellant under section 118.9 of the Income Tax Act (“ITA”).
The Minister had in fact allowed tuition fees and examination fees of $1,095 paid by the taxpayer to the Royal Conservatory of Music. The question boiled down to whether the two individual teacher were “institutions” for the purposes of the Income Tax Act.
[4] Subsection 118.5(1) of the ITA provides that an individual may claim a credit for tuition fees under certain conditions. It reads in part:
(1) Tuition credit – For the purpose of computing the tax payable under this Part by an individual for a taxation year, there may be deducted,
(a) [institution in Canada] – subject to subsection (1.1), where the individual was during the year a student enrolled at an educational institution in Canada that is
(i) a university, college or other educational institution providing courses at a post-secondary school level, or
The court held that they were not:
[20] In conclusion, the original intent of the tuition credit was to make post secondary education more accessible to students by lessening their financial burden. Although subsection 118.5(1) should be interpreted broadly, it is clear that Parliament did not intend that the provision should apply to fees which students paid for private piano lessons at an instructor’s home.
[21] The appeal is dismissed.