College Fees Tax Relief

You can claim tax relief on fees that you have paid for third level education courses. Tuition fees (including the student contribution) qualify for this relief.

You may be the student, or you may pay the fees on the student's behalf. You cannot claim relief for fees that are funded by grants, scholarships or your employer.

No relief is available for examination fees, registration fees or administration fees.

The limit on tuition fees you can claim is €7,000 per course. You will receive relief at the standard rate of tax which is 20%.

Each claim is subject to a single disregard amount each tax year. This amount is taken away from your qualifying fees. You cannot receive relief on that portion of the fees.

For the 2016 tax year the disregard amount is €3,000 for a full-time course and €1,500 for a part time course.

Example:

Michael pays tuition fees of €5,500 and the student contribution of €3,000 for an approved full-time college course.

His qualifying fees are restricted to €7,000.

He must then subtract the disregard amount of €3,000.

This leaves him with €4,000 on which he can claim tax relief at 20% which is €800.

Date published 5 Oct 2017

This article is intended to inform rather than advise and is based on legislation and practice at the time. Taxpayer’s circumstances do vary and if you feel that the information provided is beneficial it is important that you contact us before implementation. If you take, or do not take action as a result of reading this article, before receiving our written endorsement, we will accept no responsibility for any financial loss incurred.