As third-level students return for the academic year, it is timely to consider the tax relief available on tuition fees paid for approved third-level courses.
What relief is available?
Tax relief is available at the standard 20 per cent income tax rate on qualifying tuition fees paid for approved third-level education courses at approved colleges.
Qualifying costs are the college fees and the student contribution charge, but not the administration fees, any student centre or sports levies or Union of Students in Ireland levies.
The maximum amount eligible for relief is €7,000 per course, per person, per academic year.
Each claim is subject to a single disregard amount of €3,000 for full-time students or €1,500 for part-time students for each tax year. This means that the first €3,000 (for full-time students ) or €1,500 (for part-time students ) of fees paid each tax year does not qualify for relief.
Who can claim?
Relief can be claimed by the person who pays the fees. It is particularly beneficial for parents with more than one child in third-level education, as the disregard amount applies only once per claim, not per student.
Tuition fees covered by grants, scholarships or employer funding do not qualify.
Approved courses
Approved courses include:
Undergraduate courses that are carried out in an approved college and last at least two academic years.
Postgraduate courses that are carried out in an approved college lasting at least one academic year but not longer than four academic years and lead to a postgraduate award based on either a thesis or examination.
Postgraduate courses in publicly funded or accredited universities and institutions of higher education outside the EU may also qualify.
A full list of approved colleges and courses is available on the Revenue website.
Example one:
Student contribution €3,000 + student levy €300 = €3,300
Student levy not eligible for tax relief: (€300 )
Disregard amount of €3,000: (€3,000 )
Amount on which relief is available: €0
Example two:
Two students: contribution €3,000 + student levy €300 each = €6,600
Student levies not eligible for tax relief: (€600 )
Disregard amount of €3,000: (€3,000 )
Amount eligible for relief: €3,000
Tax relief at 20 per cent: €600
How to claim tax relief
Tax relief can be claimed either in the tax year in which the academic year commenced or in the tax year in which the tuition fees were paid.
Tax relief can be included either in a Form 11 or a Form 12 income tax return, depending upon an individual’s personal filing obligations.
Alternatively, if there is no requirement to file a tax return, tax relief can be claimed through MyAccount on ROS by selecting ‘Tuition Fees’ under the Tax Credits and Reliefs page.
