Know Your Rights has been compiled by Kerry Citizens Information Service which provides a free and confidential service to the public…

Question: My daughter is repeating a year at college and both the Student Contribution and tuition fees are due this year. Can I claim any tax relief for her third-level course?

Answer: You may be able to claim tax relief on tuition fees (including the Student Contribution) that you pay for your daughter’s course.

Tax relief is given at the standard rate of 20%. You can claim it as long as you have actually paid the fees, either for yourself or for another person. There is no limit on the number of people you can claim for.

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

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However, there is no tax relief on the first €3,000 spent on tuition fees, including the Student Contribution (€1,500 for part-time students).

If you are claiming for more than one student, you get full tax relief on tuition fees (including the Student Contribution) for the second and subsequent students.

For both undergraduates and postgraduates, the approved course can be full or part-time in a private or publicly-funded third-level college in Ireland or in any other EU member state. (Postgraduate students can also claim for approved courses in non-EU countries.)

Undergraduate courses must be of at least two years’ duration while postgraduate courses can be between one and four years. For postgraduate courses, students must already have a primary degree or equivalent. Tax relief may also be available for approved foreign language and IT courses that are less than two years’ duration and which result in the award of a certificate of competence (the fees paid must be over €315 and under €1,270).

Lists of courses and colleges approved for relief each year are published on the Revenue website.

You can claim tax relief on tuition fees using Revenue’s myAccount service. Alternatively you can download an application form from revenue.ie and return the completed form to your Revenue office.

Further information is available from the Citizens Information Service below.

• Contact us in Tralee on Tel: 0761 07 7860 Killarney 0761 07 7820, Listowel 0761 07 7840 Kenmare 0761 07 7810, Killorglin 0761 07830 & Caherciveen 0761 07 7780.

Information is also available online at citizensinformation.ie and from the Citizens Information Phone Service, 0761 07 4000