How to claim Tax Relief on Tuition fees paid for third level Education
You can claim tax relief on fees (including the student contribution) that you have paid for third level education courses.
You may be the student, or you may pay the fees on the student’s behalf. You can claim the relief if you have actually paid the fees.
No relief is available for:
– examination fees
– registration fees
– administration fees.
How do you calculate the relief?
You will receive relief at the standard rate of tax, which is 20%. This is applied to the total qualifying fees once the disregard amount has been subtracted.
What are the qualifying fees?
The qualifying fee is the amount you pay for tuition fees (including the student contribution). The maximum amount you can claim is €7,000 per person per course.
What is a disregard amount?
Each claim is subject to a single disregard amount each tax year. This amount is taken away from your total qualifying fees. You cannot receive relief on that portion of the fees.
If you have paid fees for more than one course or student, you only subtract the disregard amount once.
There are different disregard amounts for each year, and for full-time or part-time courses.
| Year | Full-time course | Part-time course |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | €3,000 | €1,500 |
| 2016 | €3,000 | €1,500 |
| 2015 | €3,000 | €1,500 |
| 2014 | €2,750 | €1,375 |
| 2013 | €2,500 | €1,250 |
You cannot claim relief for fees that are funded by:
– grants
– scholarships
– your employer.
If you receive partial funding towards tuition fees, you must declare it to Revenue when you claim tax relief.
How to claim relief on tuition fees:
Tuition fee claims can be submitted after the tax year has ended. In certain circumstances claims can be made during the tax year.
Making claims after the tax year has ended.
You will have to wait until you receive your P60 statement for the year. If you are jointly assessed you must also wait for the P60 statement for your spouse or civil partner.
How to apply if you are a PAYE taxpayer:
You can use myAccount to complete a Form 12 tax return for the year you wish to claim for. You can do this by following these steps:
- Sign into myAccount
- click the ‘Review your tax’ link in PAYE Services
- select the Form 12 for the relevant tax year
- in the ‘Tax Credits & Reliefs’ page select ‘Tuition Fees’ and add it as a tax credit.
You can instead send a written claim using Form IT31, to your Revenue office.
How to apply if you pay tax under the self-assessed system:
The relief is claimed by completing the tuition fees section on your Form 11 annual tax return at the end of the year.
Making claims during the tax year:
You can make a claim in the current tax year, provided the fees are paid for at the time of the claim. You can claim relief by sending a written claim to your tax office using Form IT31.
If you receive any grant, scholarship or payment towards the fees you must include this information when claiming the relief.
Record of receipts:
If you make a claim for tuition fees, you must keep a record of the receipts. You do not need to submit these receipts when you are claiming. However, we may request to view them if your claim is checked.
You must keep receipts for six years once you have claimed for these expenses.
