TAX RELIEF FOR THIRD-LEVEL FEES

You may be able to claim tax relief on tuition fees paid for approved:

  • Undergraduate courses
  • Postgraduate courses
  • Information technology (IT) and foreign language courses.

Lists of courses and colleges approved for relief each year are published on the Revenue website.
You can claim tax relief as long as you have actually paid the fees, either on your own behalf or on behalf of another person.

You cannot claim tax relief on:

  • Examination or administration fees
  • Any part of the tuition fees that is met directly or indirectly by a grant, a scholarship or otherwise, e.g. where fees are reimbursed by an employer.

Read more about tuition fees and the student contribution.

The maximum amount of fees (including the Student Contribution) that can qualify for tax relief is €7,000 per person per course.

Full-time student: There is no tax relief on the first €3,000 spent on tuition fees (including the Student Contribution) for the 2018/2019 academic year.
Part-time student: There is no tax relief on the first €1,500 spent on tuition fees (including the Student Contribution) for the 2018/2019 academic year.
More than one student: If you are claiming for more than one student, you will get full tax relief on tuition fees (including the Student Contribution) for the second or subsequent students.

You can find examples of  how the tuition fees tax relief works on the Revenue website.

Undergraduate courses
Tax relief is available for tuition fees paid for:

  • Approved full-time and part-time undergraduate courses in both private and publicly funded third-level colleges in the State
  • Approved full-time and part-time undergraduate courses in both private and publicly funded third-level colleges in any EU member state. This includes courses in medicine, veterinary medicine, dentistry and teacher training.
  • Full-time and part-time undergraduate courses operated by colleges in any EU member state providing distance education in the State.

Conditions for granting tax relief for undergraduate courses

  • Courses must be for at least two years’ duration
  • Colleges and courses within the State must be approved by the Department of Education and Skills

Postgraduate courses
Tax relief is available for tuition fees paid for:

  • Approved postgraduate courses in private and publicly funded colleges in the State
  • Postgraduate courses in a university or publicly funded college in another EU member state, including such colleges that provide distance education in the State
  • Postgraduate courses in a university or publicly funded third-level college in non-EU countries.

Conditions for granting tax relief for postgraduate courses

  • Courses must be for at least one academic year but not more than four academic years in duration and must lead to a postgraduate award based on either a thesis or an examination.
  • The person taking the course must already have a primary degree or an equivalent qualification.

Information technology and foreign language courses
Tax relief is available in respect of fees paid for training courses in information technology and foreign languages (other than postgraduate courses) if certain conditions are met:

  • The course involved must be less than two years’ duration
  • It must result in the awarding of a certificate of competence (and not just a certificate of attendance)
  • The course must be on Revenue’s list of approved courses.

Details of schemes
Revenue publishes detailed information about tax relief for tuition fees, covering tax relief for undergraduate and postgraduate courses and tax relief for information technology and foreign language courses.

Tax relief is given at the standard rate of 20%.
There is no limit on the number of individuals for whom you can claim.

Paying fees in instalments

If you pay fees in instalments and at least one instalment is paid in the tax year following the year your course started, then the relief for fees relating to that academic year may be granted either:

  • in the tax year the course started, or
  • the tax year in which the instalment was paid.

However, relief will only be granted in respect of amounts actually paid and subject to the maximum relief available in that academic year.

Undergraduate and postgraduate courses:

The maximum amount of fees (including the Student Contribution) that can qualify for tax relief is €7,000 per person per course.

Information technology and foreign language courses:

The course fees paid must not be less than €315 and not more than €1,270 (these refer to the course fee and are not simply an amount per annum).

You can claim tax relief on fees paid for undergraduate, postgraduate, IT and foreign language courses using Revenue’s myAccount service. You can also access the myAccount service on mobile and tablet devices using Revenue’s RevApp.

If you’re self-employed, you can apply for tax relief on tuition fees by using Revenue’s Online Service (ROS).

Alternatively, you can download the application form to claim tax relief on undergraduate or postgraduate tuition fees (pdf) or to claim tax relief on IT and foreign language tuition fees (pdf) and return it to your Revenue office.

Keeping receipts for Revenue: You do not need to submit your receipts for fees paid with your claim, but you must keep them as Revenue may wish to see them.

Once you have made your claim, you must keep your receipts for fees paid for 6 years. You can use Revenue’s receipt tracker service to keep a digital record of your receipts.

Further information on tax relief on third-level fees is available from your Revenue Office.

Can I switch from Stamp 2 Student permission to Stamp 1A Trainee Accountant permission as a graduate?

Yes in certain circumstances this is permitted. Non-EEA graduates, on Stamp 2 or Stamp 2A Student permission who having studied in Ireland complete a qualification (NFQ 7-10) granted by an Irish Authority (overseas accreditation will not be accepted) and who have not exceeded the overall 7 year time limit may transfer to Stamp 1A Trainee Accountant Permission for the balance of the 7 year time limit. To stay beyond the 7 years the graduate would be required to secure an alternative immigration permission from that of a Stamp 2 or Stamp2A student or Stamp 1A Trainee Accountant (for example as an employment permit holder).

Can I switch to work permit employment when I am in Ireland to study?

Permission to work is granted by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation. Check their website for details on how to obtain a working permit. (Available at dbei.gov.ie.

Further information may be found at the following links below;

http://www.inis.gov.ie/en/INIS/Pages/Student%20Pathway
http://www.inis.gov.ie/en/INIS/Third%20Level%20Graduate%20Programme.pdf/Files/Third%20Level%20Graduate%20Programme.pdf

Persons qualifying for graduate immigration permission of up to twelve months

Graduates with an award at Level 8 on the National Framework of Qualifications will be granted a twelve-month permission to a maximum of seven years’ student permission overall. (i.e. time spent on Stamp 2 as a student and on Stamp 1G under this programme cannot exceed an aggregate time of seven years in total).

Persons qualifying for graduate immigration permission of up to twenty-four months

Graduates with an award at Level 9 or above on the National Framework of Qualifications qualify for the Programme will be granted permission for twenty-four months to a maximum of eight years’ student permission overall (i.e. time spent on Stamp 2 as a student and on Stamp 1G  under this programme cannot exceed an aggregate time of eight years in total).

Please Note: Graduates with an award at Level 9 or above on the National Framework of Qualifications qualify for the Programme will be granted permission for twelve months initially. This will be renewed for a further period of twelve months (subject to the overall eight year limit) where the graduate satisfies the immigration authorities that he or she has taken appropriate steps to access suitable graduate level employment (e.g. attendance at job interviews, signing up with graduate employment agencies, etc.). The aforementioned policy document sets out additional information, including transitional arrangements to programmes, which will cease to be an eligible basis for granting 1G permission under the revised programme.